What food is Normandy known for?
The four cheeses
Camembert is the famous one and the one you already know. Neufchâtel is the heart-shaped one that visitors almost never order. Livarot is nicknamed “the colonel” for the five bands of reed wrapped around it. Pont-l’Évêque is the square washed-rind. Naming all four is a better answer than naming Camembert alone, and buying all four at a market stall costs less than you would think and makes an excellent lunch on a sea wall.
Apples, and the pause in the middle of dinner
Cider and poiré, which is perry, made from pears; pommeau, the apple aperitif; and Calvados, the apple brandy. The custom worth knowing is the trou normand: Calvados poured over apple sorbet and taken between courses to clear the palate. It is a genuine Norman table habit, not a tourist invention.
What to order
- Coquilles Saint-Jacques — scallops, and the place to eat them is a working port. Port-en-Bessin, at the western end of Gold Beach, lands its own.
- Marmite dieppoise — a creamy fish and shellfish stew.
- Teurgoule — slow-baked cinnamon rice pudding, the regional dessert, and the right thing to order after a day on the beaches.
- Agneau de pré-salé — salt-marsh lamb grazed on the tidal flats of la Manche.
- Tripes à la mode de Caen — the Caen speciality. Genuinely local, and genuinely not for everyone.
- Andouille de Vire and boudin noir du Perche — the smoked chitterling sausage and the black pudding, for the same sort of eater.
- Duck à la rouennaise, and pork cooked in cider — the cream-and-cider end of the repertoire.
Eating on a tour day
Most guided days do not feed you. The Bayeux minivans, full-day and half-day, leave meals to you — buy a lunch in town before you meet at Place de Québec, or eat at a stop. The Paris coach day trip does include a two-course lunch with a glass of cider, taken at a restaurant in the port at Grandcamp-Maisy, which is the sort of place where the cider is local and the fish came in that morning. The Canadian-sector day out of Paris includes food as well. On the private tour, lunch is not included — the guide will point you at a local restaurant, and Robert from the United States noted that his guide “came through with an incredible lunch spot when we asked”. What each ticket does and does not contain is set out on what a D-Day tour includes.
Frequently asked questions
What food is Normandy famous for?
Cheese, cream, apples and seafood. The four AOP cheeses are Camembert, Neufchâtel, Pont-l’Évêque and Livarot; the apples become cider, poiré, pommeau and Calvados; and Normandy oysters carry their own AOP alongside scallops, mussels and lobster.
Which D-Day tours include lunch?
The Paris coach day trip includes a two-course lunch with a glass of cider at Grandcamp-Maisy, and the Canadian-sector small-group day from Paris includes food. The Bayeux minivan tours do not. See day trips from Paris.
Where should I eat near the landing beaches?
Port-en-Bessin is a working fishing port between the American and British sectors and the obvious place for scallops; Bayeux has the widest choice of restaurants within walking distance of a hotel. See where to stay.