School Trips to Normandy

Voyager School Travel specialises in organising school trips to Normandy, and we have been sending school trips to this part of France for over 20 years.

Normandy is home to three of Voyager's own language residential centres: Château de la Baudonnière, La Grand'Ferme and Château de Chantereine. Voyager's French HQ is also based here, meaning your group benefits from unrivalled local knowledge and 24-hour support.

The Normandy region of France is a stunning destination for hands-on learning, full of history and not too far from the UK. It's no wonder that so many teachers love Normandy for school trips. The region is rich in French military history, from the Bayeux Tapestry to the World War Two landing beaches, making it the perfect trip for history students, as well as French language and culture.

To see more of its benefits, read why teachers love Normandy for a school trip. 

Voyager's team of centre managers and French animateurs are part of the local Normandy community, with links across the region, so whichever of our school trips to Normandy you choose, we will ensure your group enjoys an authentic exposure to local French culture.

Our Normandy school trip to châteaux and programmes

The Lower Normandy region - stretching from the D-Day landing beaches south to Mont Saint Michel - is home to two of Voyager's accommodation centres. 

Château de la Baudonnière, Lower Normandy region

Château de la Baudonnière is our flagship residential centre, and our experienced team there are responsible for the training and ongoing development of all our French animateurs. 

Our school trips to Normandy and the château offer a full programme of immersive French language activities in the grounds of a fairy-tale château, with its own adventure park, mini-farm and lake. What makes our French trips to the château different is that your students will be fully immersed in the French language throughout their stay. 

Whether kayaking, climbing, making French bread or enjoying their evening meal, all they will hear is French. In fact, we believe that a week at the château exposes students to more French in a week than a term of formal lessons. And all led by our experienced French-native animateurs.

La Grand’Ferme, Mont Saint Michel, Lower Normandy region

Voyager’s La Grand’Ferme residential centre is set in its own secluded grounds, with a pool, sports courts, and playing fields. The comfortable centre has views of Mont-Saint-Michel – one of the most popular attractions for school trips to Normandy. 

The La Grand’Ferme centre offers a mixed French language programme for schools which combines on-site activities and local excursions to create an authentic French language and cultural experience. 

Your group will be led, in French, throughout the trip by our team of experienced French-native animateurs who are trained to encourage learners always to use their French, building confidence, comprehension and vocabulary. With cultural visits to the local community and spectacular Normandy landmarks, it’s the perfect mix of fun and education.

Read why the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mont Saint Michel, is a must-do experience for school groups visiting Normandy.

Château de Chantereine, Upper Normandy region

Château de Chantereine is the home of our newest French language immersion school trip. The majestic 17th-century Château de Chantereine is located in Upper Normandy, just a two-hour coach journey from Calais, making it our most accessible château for school French trips. 

The centre is located just outside the coastal town of Criel-sur-Mer and is within walking distance of the beach. As with all our school French immersion programmes, your students will be looked after by our own team of experienced French-native animateurs who are trained to encourage learners to use their French.

The Upper Normandy region of Normandy – stretching along the coast between Dieppe and Le Havre – has a rich choice of school visits. 

The Normandy experience: escorted school tours of France

This popular French school trip is an escorted tour of Normandy with one of our experienced French-native animateurs. You and your students will stay in a choice of pre-vetted accommodation in Normandy within easy reach of the local excursions and activities you would like to visit, depending on your school’s preferences and learning objectives. 

Voyager’s Normandy Experience is a great mix of French language, culture, and history, providing a cross-curricular French trip exploring Normandy’s highlights and landmarks such as Mont St Michel, Bayeux, and the D-Day landing beaches.

D-Day landing beaches: Normandy school trip excursions

Normandy is home to some of the most significant WWII sites in the world. From the D-Day landing beaches and clifftop bunkers at Pointe du Hoc to the war memorials that mark the human cost of the conflict, there's no better place to bring history to life for students.

School trips to Normandy highlights

Using our local knowledge, we will design you a bespoke school trip to Normandy that is packed full of exciting, adventurous activities and excursions in the Normandy region, such as:

• Mont St Michel – Beautiful cobbled streets and the abbey of this UNESCO World Heritage Site are perched on an island, a must-see for any Normandy trip. 
• Bayeux tapestry – Famous as the home of the 70-metre-long Bayeux Tapestry, the medieval town is also home to the largest British military cemetery in France, making it a key destination for groups studying the history of conflict. 
• D-Day landing beaches – Omaha Beach with impressive steel sculpture Les Braves, Pointe du Hoc, where you can see bunkers and machine gun posts, Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. 
• A taste of Normandy - The region is famous for its local produce; visit a local goat's cheese farm or experience one of the region’s apple, cider, scallop and seafood festivals held in September. 
• Arromanches – Is the heart of the D-Day landings, with a moving 360° Cinema, Mulberry Harbour and museum. 
• Quicksand experience – Walk barefoot across the sand to Mont St Michel and learn how to escape from quicksand with our experienced guide. Read our guide to planning a school visit to Mont Saint-Michel.
• Château de la Baudonniere – Visit Voyager’s residential centre for kayaking, climbing, fencing and mini-farm adventures with our French-speaking animateurs. 
• Visit a local French market – Experience real Normandy culture exploring a town market in Bayeux, Avranches or Villedieu-les-Poêles. 
• Saint-Malo – Historic walled cathedral city with a surrounding beach and a great aquarium. 
• Villedieu-Les-Poêles – The town is famous for its Bell Foundry, Copper Workshop and Pewter Museum. It is rich in history and has a bustling morning market every Tuesday. 

Looking for adventure activities on-site at a fairy-tale château, opportunities to experience local culture, or guided visits to Normandy’s historic landmarks? Our specialists can help create a Normandy château trip that suits your group.

When is the best time for a school visit to Normandy?

Normandy is an all-year-round destination. The summer months (June to August) are warm and dry, but peak tourist season, meaning higher ferry prices and popular spots, such as Mont Saint Michel, can be extremely crowded. 

Normandy is famous for its cider orchards, and the autumn term is apple-harvest time, our favourite time to visit because the weather is still mild, but the historical sites are less crowded. 

To experience Normandy like a local, we recommend planning your trip to coincide with one of the region's seasonal festivals, such as the Granville Carnival, the highlight of the Normandy calendar. 

Read about Normandy's seasonal highlights that should not be missed.

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