the landing beaches

The famous D-Days landing beaches in Normandy were operational on the eve of the 5th to 6th June when three airborne divisions were dropped. Meanwhile approaching by sea towards the five landing beaches were 135 000 men and around 20 000 vehicles. The rest is history.

The ultimate mission of the Commanding General ETOUSA is the total defeat of Germany. The object of the operation OVERLORD is to mount and carry out an operation with forces and equipment established in the United Kingdom and with target date as designated, to secure a lodgement area on the Continent from which further offensive operations can be developed.

Come and see the Normandy invasion and discovers: the landing beaches (Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, Pointe du Hoc, Utah), airborne sectors, D-day battlefields and the D-day museums.

Take a fascinating and informative battle site tour led by our guides, noted military historians, recommended by veterans.

Some examples of tourist sites:

Omaha Beach
Utah Beach
Gold Beach
Juno Beach
Sword Beach
Arromanches
Pegasus Bridge

Omaha Beach

Discover the landing beach and its museum situated just 200 metres behind the beach. The Museum presents each phase of the US sector, from the Occupation up to the D day. Exhibition of weapons, uniforms, military vehicles, 155 mm guns, landing barges and Sherman tanks.

Don’t miss the American cemetery. This area of seventy hectares overlooks Omaha Beach. It contains 9387 white crosses in Carrare Marble in perfect rows. The cemetery also has a chapel and a memorial dedicated to the youth of America.

Utah Beach

The fourth Us Military landed here from 6.30 AM onwards, by midday the beach was completely cleared. Discover the War Museum and its expositions of photos of archives and geological survey maps, amphibian machines and historical movies.

Gold Beach

“Gold”was the code name for the centre beach of the five designated landing areas of the Normandy Invasion. The beach was more than five miles wide and included the coastal towns of La Rivière and Le Hamel. On the western end of the beach was the small port of Arromanches, and slightly farther west of the port was the Town of Longues-sur-Mer.

Juno Beach

Juno Beach is also known as Canadian Beach as it was assigned to the third Canadian Infantry. Juno was the second most heavily defended of the five landing sites chosen. General Wilhelm Richter was in charge of the 716th Division guarding the beach, with 11 heavy batteries of 155 mm guns and 9 medium batteries of 75 mm guns at his disposal. Additionally, pillboxes and other fortifications were present all along the beach, most heavily concentrated in the Courseulles-sur-Mer region. The seawall was twice the height of Omaha Beach, and the sea was heavily mined. Aerial bombardment of Juno Beach in the days leading up to D-Day caused no significant damage to German fortifications.

Sword Beach

The landing was concentrated in the Queen sector of the beach Hermanville-sur-Mer. The key objective was to quickly reach and capture the key town of Caen and the nearby Carpiquet aerodrome to the west.

Arromanches

Discover its Landing Museum. It talks about the construction and operation of the artificial harbor built after D-Day, which is the key to the success of the battle of Normandy. Don’t miss the 360° cinema which offers the possibility to watch an exceptional film “the Price of the freedom” on nine screens in a circular room. Including images of the landing in 1944 and the nowadays Normandy region, this projection will make you live an unforgettable moment.

The Pegasus Bridge

The Pegasus Bridge is a bascule bridge (a type of movable bridge) over the Caen Canal. The bridge, also known as the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, was a major objective of Operation Tonga. Units landed by glider near it during the Normandy Invasion on 5–6 June 1944. It was given the permanent name of Pegasus Bridge in honour of the operation. This name derives from the shoulder emblem worn by the attacking British, which is the flying horse Pegasus.

Some examples of tourist sites in the neighbourhood: