Planning a trip to Normandy? Then check out our 5 ideas for visiting the D-Day landing beaches: a crossroads of history and remembrance!
Almost 75 years ago, the biggest military operation of all time took place: the Allied landings of 1944. The Côté de Nacre, with its beautiful sandy beaches , saw the landing of American, British and French troops from all over the world, who had come to liberate Western Europe. The landscapes, museums, memorials and military cemeteries of this land and its beaches still bear witness to these historic operations. Would you like to relive history and immerse yourself in this impressive and heroic event? In this article, we’ll give you our five ideas for visiting the Normandy landing beaches.
Walk in the footsteps of soldiers from all over the world who landed here. Discover their stories and enjoy a solemn moment.
The D-Day landing beaches in a nutshell
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On the night of June 5-6, 1944, the Allied landings in Normandy were launched. The aim of this vast operation was to create an Allied bridgehead in north-western Europe, thus opening up a new front in the west against Nazi Germany . On that day, a hundred thousand American, British, French, Canadian, Polish, Czech and Australian soldiers landed on five beaches chosen by the Allied command. These five beaches all have a code name:
- Utah
- Omaha
- Gold
- Juno
- Sword
They stretch between Sainte-Mère-Eglise, Bayeux and Cabourg. On that day, and even more so in the days that followed, thousands of soldiers sacrificed their lives in the hope of liberating Europe from the Nazi yoke. To commemorate these men and this titanic operation, the Normandy landing beaches are now home to numerous memorial sites. Among the unmissable are :
- La pointe du Hoc
- Utah Beach and its D-Day Museum
- Omaha Beach and the Colleville-sur-Mer American military cemetery
1. Utah Beach
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Utah Beach is the first of the Normandy landing beaches from the west. It stretches from Sainte-Marie-du-Mont to Quinéville, a distance of around 5 kilometers, with the main assault zone at Varreville. This sector was highly strategic for the Allies. Landing on Utah Beach enabled them to quickly seize the port of Cherbourg.
The landing on this beach was certainly the least costly in terms of human lives, with results close to the Allies’ initial objectives. The success of the landing was also due to the paratroopers of the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions who had landed on the beach the previous night. The operation is featured in the TV series Band of Brothers, created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg.
- In Sainte-Mère-Église, the Airborne Museum pays tribute to the American divisions that distinguished themselves during the parachute drops on June 6, 1944 and the day that followed.
- On the very spot where American forces landed on June 6, 1944, you’ll also find the fascinating Utah Beach Museum. It offers a complete chronological tour of this historic event and the landing on this strategic beach. The star of the museum, and the highlight of the collection, is an authentic B-26 bomber. This aircraft was instrumental in the success of the D-Day landings. If you’re visiting the Normandy landing beaches, don’t miss this museum!
The best way to discover Utah Beach
To immerse yourself in the atmosphere, we recommend starting your visit to the Normandy landing beaches with a stop at the Airborne Museum. Obviously, this is the best option if you start your tour from the west. If you’ve started from the beaches to the east, then this is the museum to do at the very end, in our opinion.
You can then drive to the Utah Beach Landing Museum, just a 15-minute drive from Sainte-Mère-Église. Visit the museum first, then take a stroll along the beach. You’ll be able to remember the events and visualize them better on the actual site.
2. Omaha Beach
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Omaha Beach is the second-most westerly beach. It is also the best-known of the Normandy landing beaches. After all, if there’s one place where this gigantic operation almost failed, it’s on Omaha Beach, located at Colleville-sur-Mer! It was here that the Allies suffered their heaviest losses of the operation. The beach is nicknamed Bloody Omaha. On the sands of Omaha Beach, in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer to be precise, stands the Statue des Braves.
In Omaha Beach, you can visit the important Omaha Beach Memorial Museum. You’ll also find the vast Colleville American Cemetery, inaugurated in 1956 and built on a 70-hectare site granted by France to the United States. More than 9,000 headstones stand in perfect alignment on a majestic grass esplanade. The emotion is palpable! Behind the cemetery, inland, you can also visit the Overlord Museum, which tells the whole story of the D-Day landings. It also boasts a unique collection of over 10,000 items, including more than 40 vehicles, tanks and cannons.
Between Utah and Omaha Beach, you should also visit Pointe du Hoc. Heavily fortified, the German guns in this position had to be absolutely neutralized to ensure the success of the landings on both beaches. It was thus stormed and captured on the morning of June 6 by Colonel Rudder’s Rangers, at the cost of heavy losses. Today, it bears witness to the violence of the fighting.
The best way to discover Omaha Beach
After visiting Utah Beach, head east to Pointe du Hoc along the D913, then the N13 and finally the D514. By car, the journey takes an average of 40 minutes. Then, still by car, take the D514 to Omaha Beach, its museums and cemetery. The journey takes just 10 minutes by car.
To discover Omaha Beach and visit the Normandy landing beaches in a different way, you can also opt for two beautiful hiking trails!
- The Omaha Beach circuit offers a small wooded loop, starting at the Belambra parking lot. Follow the yellow markers to the Omaha Cemetery parking lot. From here, you can choose to stop off at the cemetery, or continue on your way and visit it later, at the end of the hike.
- In this case, you’ll have to drive along the roadside parking lot. Once you’ve reached the traffic circle, the service road will take you to a bramble-lined wooded path, before joining a landscape of dunes along the beach. You’ll then start on the trail of the Great American Loop, which is more arduous, but full of striking relics and views. At the end of this loop, the Omaha Cemetery can be reached via a path leading up to the lookout.
3. Gold Beach
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Located in the center of the landing zone, the Gold Beach sector saw the landing of British forces. At Gold and Juno, the Anglo-Canadian army’s threefold objective was to take Bayeux, block the main Bayeux-Caen axis to all German tanks, and link up with the Americans at Port-en-Bessin. By the morning of June 7, most of these objectives had been achieved. Arromanches, immediately to the west of Gold Beach, was transformed into a vast artificial port. Its remains can still be seen today.
In Gold Beach, if you want to visit the Normandy landing beaches, don’t miss these two museums:
- The Musée du Débarquement, which takes a detailed look at the design and construction of the port.
- You’ll also find Arromanches 360. This circular cinema presents the complete story of the Battle of Normandy.
The best way to discover Gold Beach
Arromanches is just 30 minutes from Omaha Beach. You should always follow the D514 road eastwards. On the way, you can stop off at the Longues-sur-Mer Battery. These coastal defences bear witness to the Germans’ impressive fortifications and the harshness of the fighting. However, there are no explanatory panels.
4. Juno Beach
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Juno Beach is the sector assigned to the Canadians. On June 6, 1944, 14,000 Canadians and 9,000 British landed on this beach. These troops suffered heavy losses in this sector, due to fierce German resistance, bad weather and less effective bombing than expected. Despite some setbacks, the objectives were generally achieved by the following morning.
Today, you can visit the Juno Beach Centre, which presents the Anglo-Canadian landings and the course of operations in the area.
The best way to discover Juno Beach
Juno Beach is in Courseulles-sur-Mer, as is the museum of the same name. You can reach the town in just 20 minutes by car from Arromanches. You’ll also need to follow the same D514 road eastwards.
5. Sword Beach
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Sword Beach is the easternmost beach. This sector is the only one of the five D-Day beaches where French commandos landed. It was here that N°4 Franco-British Commando landed on Sword Beach on June 6, 1944. The beach is 8 kilometers long, stretching fromOuistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer.
In this area, we recommend a visit to the N°4 Commando Museum, as well as the Atlantic Wall Bunker Museum. Both are in Ouistreham.
The best way to discover Sword Beach
We recommend that you reach Ouistreham by car. It’s a 30-minute drive from Courseulles-sur-Mer. You’ll still need to follow the same D514 road. Once there, visit the two museums before heading up Sword Beach at your leisure.
Then you’ll have fully visited the Normandy landing beaches!