What to do in Normandy

Normandy asks for time and a raincoat. Walk Omaha Beach, stand on Pointe du Hoc and see the remains of the Mulberry harbour at Arromanches on a private D-Day tour, or follow the same routes in a Willys Jeep. Mont-Saint-Michel rises from its tidal bay like something out of Tolkien (you can arrive by helicopter over the landing beaches), and Bayeux has its near-thousand-year-old tapestry, plus a cathedral with rooms most visitors never see. Then ease off the history in the Pays d'Auge, with its half-timbered villages, Camembert, cider and Calvados, by sidecar if you're game. Finish on the coast, between Honfleur's slate-grey harbour, beloved of the Impressionists, and Deauville's striped parasols. The weather changes by the hour. The cider is reassuringly consistent.