Normandy Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
region of France
About Normandy
Normandy is the land of the Normans, whoseNorseancestors arrived in 820 and conducted several raids in their longboats up the River Seine, terrorising and extorting theFranksout of much of their wealth. In 911, the Viking warrior leaderRollobesieged Chartres and forced the Frankish king Charles the Simple to sign a costly treaty; in exchange for ceasing their raids and protecting the coast from their Norse kin, Rollo and his people were granted the lands that became theDuchy of Normandyin perpetuity. On paper, the dukes of Normandy (as Rollo's descendants became) were vassals of the Frankish, and later French, crown. However, the early French kings were weak and controlled very little land beyond Paris, so Normandy had a lot of practical independence and levity to expand its borders, which
Normandy Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 13 sections including: