The D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy have left a lasting impression on the region and the world. It can be difficult to plan a trip with the amount of beaches, museums, batteries and other places to visit.
Here is our selection of the best D-Day Nomandy battle sites and tips to help you plan.
D-Day Normandy battle sites to visit
Top 10 D-Day landing sites in Normandy to visit : map
In Normandy, the choice of beaches, museums, memorials, cemeteries, batteries of the second world war to visit can impress. Where to start?
Here is a map with our top 10 that you will find in more detail in this article.
Of course, this is a general choice, but depending on your family history, there are other choices to make.
OUR ADVICE FOR RENTING A CAR IN Normandy
- Compare prices on our preferred platform: DiscoverCars – one of the best rated sites.
- Choose a car that is comfortable enough (distances can be long) but compact (some parking lots and villages are narrow).
- Think of thecomplete insurance (some roads are tortuous and narrow).
- There is a lot of demand, book it early.
Top 3 – if you only have one day
25 places can still be an impressive number, so if you only have one day I recommend:
- For a general introduction:
The Caen Memorial Museum, Juno Beach and the Merville Battery - For a very visual version :
Arromanches les Bains: Gold Beach at low tide, the D-Day Museum and the Longues-sur-Mer battery - For an American perspective:
Omaha Beach, the cemetery of Courseulles-sur-mer and the Overlord Museum - For a Canadian perspective :
Juno Beach, Juno Beach Museum and Beny-sur-Mer Cemetery - For a British perspective:
Sword Beach, the Atlantic Wall Museum and Bayeux
Some tips to keep in mind
- Where to sleep?
The most convenient cities to stay and visit all the landing sites are :
Bayeux inland(see the best hotel deals)
Arromanches-les-bains by the sea(see the best hotel offers)
And Caen is the largest city in the area(see the best hotel deals) - Getting around
You can find organized tours from Paris, Caen or Bayeux – see options
However, I advise you to rent a car to be able to adapt your itinerary to your desires – see our favorite platform to find the best deals - How long
It is possible to have a snapshot in 1 day but to be able to see all the major sites, count 3 days and to really dig into the subject 5 days to a week.
More tips after the list of places.
STAYING NEAR THE D-Day beaches
Option 1: Bayeux
The most practical option, in our opinion, is to base ourselves in the town of Bayeux. We recommend..:
- Hotel Domaine de Bayeux in an 18th century mansion – see prices, photos and availability
- see all top rated accommodations in Bayeux
Option 2: in the countryside
In the countryside around the D-Day beaches, you will find beautiful buildings with a lot of charm: farms, manors…
- Hotel Domaine d’Utah Beach – prices, pictures and availability
- Hotel Ferme de la Rançonnière – prices, pictures and availability
Option 3: next to one of the beaches
If you’re looking for a seaside holiday or are fascinated by one of the beaches, you can choose a more specific hotel:
- Hotel Villas d’Arromanches in Gold Beach Beach – prices, pictures and availability
- Hotel La Sapinière in Omaha Beach Beach – prices, pictures and availability
5 D Day landing beaches in Normandy
Let’s start with the 5 landing beaches of the Normandy coast. A must-see.
Find more practical information on our article dedicated to the landing beaches.
#1. Utah Beach
The landing site called Utah Beach stretches from Sainte Marie du Mont to Quineville on the east coast of the Cotentin Peninsula. It was one of the American landing zones along with Omaha.
On June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord was launched and paratroopers arrived on the beach.
The sandy beach and sand dunes are home to memorials, statues and a museum.
- Driving time from Caen : 1h
- Driving time from Bayeux : 50min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#2. Omaha Beach
Omaha Beach is a long sandy beach. You can go down through several villages.
This beach was a trap for the Allies. There were many casualties here
In the middle, you can find a memorial in the sand.
The Overlord Museum is located a little further on.
- Driving time from Caen : 40 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 25 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#3. Gold Beach (Arromanches)
Gold Beach is located on the beach of Arromanches-les-Bains.
It was the landing zone for the British who were to liberate Bayeux.
This is the place where you can better realize what it could have been because, at low tide structures appear.
This is where the Mulberry Harbor was towed from Britain in June 1944. It became known as Port Winston.
Today, you can still see large concrete blocks around the beach and in the water, which is quite impressive.
Arromanches also has a 360° cinema on the landing and a museum.
- Driving time from Caen : 40 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 20 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#4. Juno Beach
In terms of nature, Juno Beach is a long sandy beach with sand dunes in the back.
Concerning the Second World War, you can discover some tanks and bunkers as well as the cross of Lorraine, commemorating the place where General de Gaulle set foot in France after 4 years of exile.
It is also home to the Juno Beach Center, a museum dedicated to Canada’s contribution to the liberation.
- Driving time from Caen : 30 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 30 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#5. Sword Beach
The Sword Beach area extended over 8 km from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer to Ouistreham.
The British landed there and were joined by French commandos to liberate several strategic bridges.
The beach of Lion-sur-mer
The beach of Ouistreham is very large and flat. Few things on the beach indicate its past but in the city you can visit the museums of the Atlantic Wall and the museum No. 4 commando.
- Driving time from Caen : 20min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 40min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
USE OUR GUIDE TO PLAN A
DREAM TRIP TO Normandy
All the information you need for your trip:
- 8 maps that make planning easier
- 160+ pre-selected locations
- Practical advice
- 300+ photos to help you choose
9 best D-Day museums in Normandy
Here is a selection of 9 D-Day museums to consider visiting.
There are of course more. These are the most important.
For a full list and even more practical information, see our article on D-Day museums.
#6. Caen Memorial
The Caen Memorial Museum is considered the best World War II museum in France. You can spend a whole day there, so rich in information and elements. It covers the landing but also the second world war as a whole.
In this huge museum, you will find a German bunker, historical objects, vehicles, sound and video recordings…
- On the outskirts of the city of Caen
- Driving time from Bayeux : 30 min
- Open every day – Closed in January and on Mondays in December
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#7. Museum of the Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall Museum is also known as the Great Bunker.
It is located at Sword Beach (Ouistreham), at the easternmost point.
This museum is worth a visit, not only for its connection of artifacts and information about the Atlantic Wall, but also for its unique structure.
It is installed in a huge blockhouse which served as a center for the German command. From this place, they controlled all the batteries.
It was taken by the Allied forces on June 9, 1944 (by British Lieutenant Bob Orrell and his men).
The 5 floors show all the rooms and how the operations were organized inside the bunker.
- Driving time from Caen : 20min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 40min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#8. Juno Beach Museum
The large Juno Beach Museum is located on the actual landing beach. It focuses on the contribution of Canadian troops during the D-Day landings and the entire Second World War.
You will also learn about life in Canada before, during and after the war.
See our article to plan your visit.
- Driving time from Caen : 30 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 30 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#9. Overlord Museum
The Overlord Museum is not on the beach, but is located only a few minutes drive from Omaha Beach, in Colleville-sur-Mer.
Its name refers to Operation Overlord, the code name for the Allied invasion of the beaches of Normandy.
The museum covers the D-Day landings and the liberation of Paris. The collection was founded by a local who witnessed the war as a teenager.
This museum is known for its tanks and armored vehicles and its impressive collection of artifacts showing the life of soldiers and not only the firearms aspect (documents, souvenirs, personal effects…).
- Driving time from Caen : 40 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 25 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#10. D-Day Museum at Utah Beach
Located on Utah Bach Beach, the Utah Beach Landing Museum is built over a German bunker.
It is organized chronologically with the strategy, the preparations, the history of D-Day (route, connections between divisions…) and the outcome of the landing.
You will see a lot of objects and vehicles (including a B26 bomber), as well as a very well made movie.
- Driving time from Caen : 1h
- Driving time from Bayeux : 50min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
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#11. Bayeux Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum
Many of the museums focus solely on the D-Day landings, but at Bayeux you can learn about the entire Battle of Normandy.
For those interested in strategic details, this is a good choice: the museum describes in detail the military operations from June 7 to August 29, 1944, day by day, and sometimes hour by hour.
- In the city of Bayeux
- Driving time from Caen : 30min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#12. Airborne Museum of Sainte-Mère-Église
The Normandy Airborne Museum is dedicated to the American paratroopers who arrived just as D-Day began.
The museum faces the church, which many will recognize because parachutist John Steele became famous for hanging from its steeple.
The museum has 3 buildings: WACO which focuses on gliders, C-47 which explains the preparations for D-Day and Operation Neptune to give you the experience of a night jump with their “hyper-realistic museography”.
- Driving time from Caen : 1h
- Driving time from Bayeux : 45 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#13. D-Day Museum in Arromanches
The D-Day Museum in Arromanches was the first museum built to commemorate the D-Day landings.
It brings a very different vision from other museums because it focuses on the creation of Mulberry Harbors, or artificial harbors. Due to lack of space to unload military vehicles, the Allied forces built temporary ports (developed by the United Kingdom).
Thanks to this technique they were able to unload and transport 9,000 tons of material per day.
You will see models, information about the construction and a film.
- Driving time from Caen : 40 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 20 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
PLAN YOUR TRIP TO Normandy
Inspiration destinations
- Deciding where to go in Normandy – the best destinations
- Our weekend ideas: best-of, romantic, unusual, seaside, luxury, family
- 16 seaside hotels in Normandy
- The most beautiful charming hotels in Normandy
Best of
Practice
- Where to stay in Normandy – best places and hotels
- See our tips for renting a car at CDG airport, Orly airport, Beauvais airport, Caen, Rouen, Bayeux…
#14. Normandy Victory Museum and D-Day experience (Carentan-les-Marais)
The Normandy Victory Museum is one of the most recent.
It focuses on the Battle of the Hedges, one of the least known periods of World War II: what happened in the days and months following D-Day.
You will find more than 10000 objects and 20 military vehicles (a barge, a P47…).
- Driving time from Caen : 1h
- Driving time from Bayeux : 40 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
4 impressive war batteries
All along the Normandy coast, you can discover bunkers and important German war batteries.
In the landing area, we recommend visiting these 4 batteries.
To find our more complete list, go to our article on the best German batteries in Normandy (coming soon).
#15. Pointe du Hoc
The Pointe du Hoc was one of the key elements of the German fortifications.
The battery was captured on the morning of June 6, 1944.
Today, you can see how the artillery battery was organized (command post, casemates, shelters).
In addition, the site offers a magnificent view of the cliffs and the ocean.
- Driving time from Caen : 50 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 35 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#16. Battery of Longues-sur-Mer
The battery was a key element of the Atlantic Wall. Today, it is one of the best preserved sites with its original cannons.
Despite the air raids of June 5, 1944, the artillery was still operational on the 6th. It was deactivated by the bombs sent by the warships.
The free walking path takes you to the various buildings with sea views.
- Driving time from Caen : 40min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 15min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in Bayeux
#17. Merville Battery
Merville was one of the main fortifications of the Atlantic Wall. It was neutralized by the 9th British ParachuteBattalion on June 7, 1944.
Today, it has been transformed into a museum and each bunker is equipped with videos, equipment and scenes.
One of the highlights is the impressive C47 aircraft.
- Driving time from Caen : 30 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 45 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#18. Maisy Battery
The German battery of Maisy has been buried for more than 60 years.
You can now visit it. It allows you to walk through 2 miles of original German trenches and explore World War II bunkers.
- Driving time from Caen : 1h
- Driving time from Bayeux : 35min
- Closed on Sunday
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
4 cemeteries and memorials
Nearly 130,000 soldiers, both Allied and German, lost their lives in Normandy in 1944.
Driving through the area, you will unfortunately see many cemeteries with soldiers’ graves. Here are the 4 best known.
#19. Colleville-sur-mer American Cemetery
The Normandy American Cemetery contains 9,385 graves.
The beautiful park overlooks the sea. It is organized around a central memorial in the form of a semi-circular colonnade and a reflecting pool.
It was established on the site of the temporary St. Laurent American Cemetery beginning in 1944.
- Driving time from Caen : 40 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 25 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#20. English cemetery in Bayeux
Next to the museum, the British military cemetery has 4648 graves of soldiers killed during the Second World War (338 unidentified and 500 of another nationality, mostly German).
There is a memorial to the fighters and rows of elegantly lined up headstones.
- In the city of Bayeux
- Driving time from Caen : 30min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#21. Beny-sur-Mer Canadian Cemetery
Not far from Juno Beach, at Beny-sur-Mer, you will see 2049 graves including 1694 Canadian soldiers. With its white tombstones, it is further inland than the beach where they landed.
The other equally important Canadian cemetery is at Bretteville-sur-Laize south of Cane.
- Driving time from Caen : 25 min
- Driving time from Bayeux : 30 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
#22. German cemetery in La Cambe
The German cemeteries are much less well known than the American, Canadian and English ones. The most visited is that of La Cambe.
More than 21,000 German soldiers are buried there with their names engraved on the ground.
This cemetery is recognizable by its vastness with only a few granite crosses grouped here and there.
All around the cemetery you will see maple trees, planted for the reconciliation of peoples.
- Driving time from Caen : 50min
- Driving time from Bayeux: 25 min
- See the best hotel and accommodation offers in the area
OUR ADVICE FOR RENTING A CAR IN Normandy
- Compare prices on our preferred platform: DiscoverCars – one of the best rated sites.
- Choose a car that is comfortable enough (distances can be long) but compact (some parking lots and villages are narrow).
- Think of thecomplete insurance (some roads are tortuous and narrow).
- There is a lot of demand, book it early.
Other sites of the Second World War
#23. Pegasus Bridge
The Ranville and Bénouville bridges were retaken at dawn on the night of June 5-6, 1944.
It was a British brigade, whose emblem is Pegasus, that succeeded in this strategic action. That’s why the bridge over the canal was renamed Pegasus Bridge.
#24. Montormel
Located between Chambois and Vimoutiers, the monument is surrounded by tanks in memory of the battles of Normandy. This is the site of the strategic battle in Normandy that was the beginning of the end of the war.
#25. Dover-la-Délivrande, the 2 towers and the radio stations
Where to sleep to visit the landing beaches
The main landing sites extend from Utah Beach to Ouistreham.
You can read our full article on where to sleep to visit the beaches.
Option 1 – Bayeux
You a central city with a lot of charms and a lot of restaurants, Bayeux is a good option.
And you can combine it with the discovery of its cathedral and its tapestry.
See the best hotel and accommodation offers
Option 2 – Near the sea or in the countryside
Arromanches has the advantage of combining sea views with a central location for most of the landing sites.
In addition, we find it one of the most spectacular sites with the pieces of the harbor that appear completely at low tide.
See the best hotel and accommodation offers
And in the countryside around the beaches, you’ll find magnificent manor houses converted into hotels, like the Hôtel Ferme de la Rançonnière: – see prices, photos and availability
Option 3 – Road trip to D-Day landing sites in 5 days
If you’re willing to change hotels every night, a road trip allows you to drive less each day. For example, from Caen
- Day 1
Memorial of Caen, road to Sword Beach (Ouistreham)
Night in Ouistreham – see the best offers - Day 2
Atlantic Wall Museum, route to Juno Beach
Juno Beach and Museum
Route to Gold Beach (Arromanches)
Night in Arromanches – see the best offers - Day 3
Arromanches Museum and beaches at low tide
Road to Omaha Beach
Battery of Longues sur Mer
Bayeux Museum
Night in Bayeux – see the best offers - Day 4
Road to Omaha
Omaha Beach, American Cemetery and Overlord Museum
Pointe ou Hoc and Maisy batteries
Nuis in Sainte Mère Église – see the best offers - Day 5
Sainte-Mère-Église and Utah Beach
Option 4 – Caen
From Caen, you will have to drive a little more each time to reach the different sites.
But if you prefer, the bigger cities with a wide choice of restaurants and hotels is the best option.
See the best hotel and accommodation offers
Other options
And of course if your points of interest are specific:
- Omaha Beach – see the best deals around Colleville-sur_mer
- Utah Beach – see the best deals around Sainte-Mère-Église
- Juno Beach – see the best deals around Courseulles-sur-Mer
Frequently asked questions and tips for visiting the landing sites
How to visit the landing sites
The easiest way is to rent a car from one of the airports in Paris or from the train station in Caen.
This will give you the freedom to choose your places of interest and spend as much time as you want in the museums.
Find deals on our favorite platform
How much time to allow
You can get an overview in one day, but for a more complete view and to immerse yourself in the history we recommend 3 to 5 days. See our 5-day itinerary above.
Organized tours
If you do not want to plan or have little time, you can also find organized tours
- From Paris, Omaha Beach, American cemetery and Juno Beach
See program and availability - From Paris, in a small and varied group: Omaha Beach, Overlord Museum, batteries of Longues-sur-mer and Pointe de Hoc, American cemetery
see program and availability - From Paris, private excursion to adapt your program to your wishes.
see program and availability
See more options, including from Bayeux and Caen
How to visit the landing sites with children
Our advice if you want to visit sites with children is to choose those with a lot of big vehicles and not to go to too many museums.
Our favorite landing sites for a visit with children are :
- Visit the battery at Longues sur Mer or Pointe de Hoc – children will love discovering the different shapes of bunkers and they can let off steam in between
- The Normandy Victory Museum and its D-Day Experience as if you were flying in the plane on the day of the bombing (to be decided according to the sensitivity of your children)
- In terms of beaches, Juno Beach and Utah Beach are the most suitable with room to run but also machines and stages set on the beaches
Books to read / movies to see before or after traveling
Films on the landing:
- The Longest Day (1962)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Ike. Countdown to D-Day (2004)
- …
Books on the landing
- History – Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose
- Novel – Dans la nuit du débarquement de Genevière Dubosq
- For children – D-Day June 6, 44 by Patricia Cété
- …
