Normandy

Normandy stretches along the northern coast of France, and it carries history in a way few regions can match, from the D-Day landing beaches to the eleventh-century Bayeux Tapestry, an extraordinary embroidered chronicle of the Norman conquest of England. Away from the coast, the countryside softens into orchards, half-timbered villages and dairy farms producing some of France’s best butter and cheese. It is a region best explored slowly, by car, with plenty of stops for cider and calvados along the way.