fter five years of war, the Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy, to liberate Europe from the Nazis.
Following months of painstaking planning, the Allies were able to land a huge force of men and machinery, breaching Hitler's Atlantic Wall, before advancing into France.
The Normandy Beaches
We recommend that groups follow the 'Circuit du Debarquement', a signposted route along Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah landing beaches which follows the execution of 'Operation Overlord'.
Arromanches
Arromanches played a critical role in the D-Day landings. There are the remains of the mile long Mulberry Harbour, an informative museum dedicated to the landings and a 360° cinema showing a film of the events.
Pegasus Bridge
Airborne infantry landed shortly after midnight on D-Day to capture these strategic bridges crossing the River Orne and Caen Canal.
Bayeux War Cemetery
The location of the main British War Cemetery and the Memorial to the Missing.
Battle of Normandy Museum in Bayeux
A superb museum containing unique documents and photographs of the battles.
Utah Beach
The most westerly of the American landing beaches, where the troops were commanded by Brigadier General Roosevelt, son of the former president.
Pointe du Hoc
Possibly the best preserved battlefield site in Normandy, including machine gun positions, bunkers and dug-outs.
Omaha Beach
The Americans suffered over 3,000 casualties capturing these heavily defended beaches on what became known as 'Bloody Omaha.'
The American National Cemetery
A memorial including the Spirit of America statue and the Reflective Pool. On the wall behind the memorial are the names of the 1,557 missing servicemen and in the cemetery are the graves of over 9,000 soldiers who died in the Normandy Battles, including Brigadier General Roosevelt.
The Caen Memorial Peace Museum
Not a war museum but a journey through history, plotting the failure of world peace, the dark years in occupied France, the world at war,
D-Day, the Battle of Normandy and the major events since 1945 to the present day.
