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.

Arromanches 360

Location: On D514 coast road just to the east of Arromanches town.
General Information: Public parking on the clifftops (small charge).  There is a screening every 30 minutes.  Tel No: 0(2) 31 22 30 30. Open 7/7 all year except for January. Website.

Description: Built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day the Arromanches 360 is a circular theatre of 9 screens showing the poignant film ‘The Price of Freedom’. This film mixes news-reel images and archive material from war correspondents with modern day pictures. There is no spoken commentary, simply the sounds and noises of the D-Day sections and music covering the modern sequences. Note:- the show is standing only – there are no seats in the theatre.
Our recommendations: An interesting film (if this is the only D-Day museum that you visit) though possibly expensive. If you have visited the Caen Memorial Museum and seen the film there then you may want to give this one a miss.
For the children: Walk beyond the museum along the cliff towards the town of Arromanches and look at the tank on display.

    - 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.