Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) is an area of many flat open beaches giving way to rich farmland. It is famous for producing Camembert cheese and other dairy based delicacies. Normandie makes up for its unsuitability to viticulture by producing cider and the powerful Calvados from the fruit it does produce in abundance, apples.Basse-Normandie has more to offer than Haute Normandie from a tourism point of view. will also forever be remembered as the site of the D Day Landings in June 1944 which was one of the most significant events of the 20th Century. D Day or Operation Overlord was and remains the largest invasion in history. The beaches around Arromanches were where the mainly American, British and Canadians came ashore and tipped the balance of the European Theatre of World War Two. Normandy has an even greater historical legacy than D Day. Vikings (Norsemen) from Scandinavia once pillaged then settled this coast. Eventually they evolved into the Normans who became the most feared military force in early medieval Europe.William the conqueror, King of Normandy assembled an army, crossed the English Channel, defeated King Harold at Hastings (1066) and completely reshaped England. William became King of Normandy and England further cementing his power. It is because the Normans that the English language evolved the way it has. Many of the longer words in English come from the French via latin. Many of the monosyllabic words in the English language come from Saxon (German). So the Vikings (Saxons) who became French invaded England and changed the English language. This is why many British aristrocratic names have a French ring to them. Here endeth the lesson. A great deal of Norman history is laid out on the 73 metre long Bayeux Tapestry (in Bayeux, Normandy). It records much of William the Conqueror’s life including the Battle of Hastings and even Halley’s Comet. The Normans also expanded their lands by conquering southern Italy and left a lasting impression on Sicily. They were also major movers and shakers in the Crusades. Today the Normans are unassuming peaceful cheese-making people who wouldn’t dream of invading anything. | | 
Basse-Normandie Quick Facts Population: 1,453,000 Departments: Calvados (14), Manche (50) and Orne (61) Major Centres: Caen, Cherbourg, Bayeux What to see and do: Normandy D Day Beaches Bayeux Ttapestry Mont St Michel Deauville Film Festivals Fishing port of Honfleur What to eat: Camembert cheese What to drink: Calvados Airport: Dinard, Rennes Region Official Tourism Site Region Wikipedia Site |
