I first visited Omaha Beach in 1950 as a 7 year old. There were still big rusting piles of tanks, jeeps, beach obstacles, you name it. (These disappeared quickly as the Korean war escalated and scrap metal once again had value.) Most of the Allied and German grave yards were still the temporary ones, not the later ones. Dad took me back a couple of times in the next 3 years as we lived in the suburbs of Paris.

Later - 1978-81 - I lived in Paris working for Caterpillar. I visited Normandy each Summer. The scrap metal was gone and the graveyards quiet, respectful, and still sad. there were a couple of good museums by then. Saint Mere Eglise had replaced the broken stained glass with new ones showing US Airborne soldiers. I also visited the Orne River Bridge or Pegasus Bridge

As Ryan mentions, Bayeux is not only quaint, but has the Bayeux Tapestry, a long narrow tapestry done after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Nearby is Falaise Castle, where William the Conqueror was born. On the West side of the Cotentin Peninsula is Mont-Saint Michel, the famous tidal island. There is not only much history in Normandy, but some of the best food in the world.