You can’t visit Normandy without feeling the full, weighty impact of the region’s dramatic history. The choppy, slate grey sea, whipped up by the fresh breeze, conjures up images of ships heading out, and arriving, for events that would shape the future of Europe. Secluded memorials and quiet cemeteries remind you to take a minute to reflect on this frontier of a continent.

Away from the history, Normandy, is a region for long walks amongst windswept sand dunes and beaches of flat, wet sand running for miles along the rugged coastline. It’s a region for discovering quiet, rural villages at the end of leafy country lanes and enjoying fresh seafood at a shoreline restaurant, and eating camembert in a small cafe nestled in the square of an atmospheric medieval town.