Second World War remembered  Normandy was selected by the allies as the landing point from which to start the assault that eventually led to the end of the Second World War in Europe.  Even though the German army was expecting an attack further north in the Pas de Calais, this area was still heavily defended and there was an inevitable loss of life that is difficult to imagine.  There are many places one could visit in this area on the the coastline of the Calvados département, here is a small selection.

American Cemetery at Omaha Beach

Location: Near Colleville-sur-Mer on the D514 coast road, approx 19kms NW of Bayeux
General Information: Website 14710 Colleville-sur-Mer, Tel No:- 0(2) 31 51 62 00 Open daily from 09.00-17.00 except Dec 25th and Jan1st. There is no entrance charge. Info in many languages is available at the visitor centre.

Description: This is the largest Allied cemetery in Normandy with 9,387 graves on a 170 acre site. It is surpassed in number size only by the German cemetery  at La Cambe between Bayeux and Isigny with 21,300 graves, athough this site is only 7 acres. The cemetery overlooks Omaha Beach where so many Americans lost their lives. It is  beautifully maintained and a visit here is a very moving experience.  A very impressive new Visitor centre slightly apart from the Cemetery visitor centre opened during 2007 with a fascinating museum packed full of facts and newsreel items.
Our Recommendations: The extremely large car park would indicate that this can be a very busy site so plan your visit carefully. We visited out of season and it was fairly quiet.
For the Children: It is possible to get down to the beach from the cemetery grounds. At the time of our visit the gates to access the paths down to the beach were locked, but this did not seem to deter the public who simply climbed over them.  It is also possible to access the beach to the east of the new visitor centre by leaving the car park and heading down towards the sea.

    - American Cemetry (Omaha)
    - Arromanches 360
    - Atlantic Wall Museum
    - Caen Memorial
    - Canadian Museum (Juno)
    - Merville-Franceville Battery
    - Pegasus Bridge
    - Pointe du Hoc
    - Tour of the Battlegrounds

If you know of any other historic attractions in Normandy which are worthy of inclusion in this website, please send us your feedback.

For more pictures of the area visit the schools history website here.

And an excellent D Day site that is full of useful information.