Bayeux & D-Day Beaches

The base for the Normandy D-Day battlefields: Omaha Beach, the American cemetery and the remains of the artificial harbor, plus the thousand-year-old Bayeux Tapestry.

Bayeux is in the Calvados department of Normandy, France, about 270 km from Paris and only about 10 km from the coast, and is the most common base for visiting the D-Day beaches of 1944. The old town was left almost undamaged in World War II and preserves its medieval cathedral, half-timbered houses and the water wheels on the Aure River; it is also the home of the Bayeux Tapestry. The landing beaches, from west to east, are Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword, stretching about 80 km. In the west are Sainte-Mère-Église, the Utah Beach Museum, Pointe du Hoc and the German cemetery; in the middle are Omaha Beach and the American cemetery, the Longues-sur-Mer battery and the artificial harbor at Arromanches; in the east are the Juno Beach Centre, Pegasus Bridge and the Merville Battery. About 30 km to the southeast, Caen has the Mémorial de Caen peace museum, William the Conqueror's castle and abbeys. The best season is April–October. There are commemorations around June 6, when accommodation is tight; in winter many museums shorten their hours or close. Getting there: from Paris Saint-Lazare station it takes about 2 hours to Caen and about 2.5 hours to Bayeux. Buses between the beaches are infrequent, so driving or joining a small-group guided tour is recommended (one day for the American sector, one for the British and Canadian sector). We suggest staying 2–3 days. Note: the Bayeux Tapestry Museum has been closed for renovation since September 2025, and the tapestry will be on loan to the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027.

Top sights

Omaha Beach & Normandy American Cemetery – The landing beach with the heaviest casualties on D-Day in 1944. More than 9,000 white crosses and Star of David headstones face the sea fr…
Arromanches & Mulberry Harbour – A seaside town on Gold Beach where the giant concrete caissons of the Allies' Mulberry artificial harbour still lie scattered in the sea.
Bayeux Tapestry Museum – An 11th-century embroidered cloth nearly 70 m long that tells the Norman conquest of England in 1066 in comic-strip form. It is inscribed o…
Pointe du Hoc – Where U.S. Army Rangers scaled a 30-m cliff to seize German gun batteries. The ground is still pocked with shell craters and shattered bunk…
Bayeux Cathedral – A Norman-Gothic cathedral consecrated in 1077, for which the Bayeux Tapestry was first made, with 11th-century murals preserved in its unde…
Bayeux Old Town & Aure Mills – A medieval old town that survived World War II, with half-timbered houses, stone mansions and an old watermill on the River Aure, ideal for…
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire Baron Gérard (MAHB) – A municipal museum in the former bishop's palace beside the cathedral, with Bayeux porcelain, Bayeux lace and European paintings.
Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy & Bayeux War Cemetery – A WWII museum on the edge of Bayeux that tells the full story of the 1944 Battle of Normandy, directly opposite Normandy's largest Commonwe…
Longues-sur-Mer Battery – The only German coastal battery in Normandy that still has its original 150 mm naval guns, with four gun casemates lined up facing the sea.
Overlord Museum – A privately run military museum beside Omaha Beach that uses original tanks, artillery and recreated scenes to show the story from the land…
La Cambe German War Cemetery – The resting place of more than 20,000 German dead, its dark crosses and central burial mound creating a solemn atmosphere that contrasts sh…
Port-en-Bessin – An important scallop fishing port in Normandy, where fishing boats, a fish market and a 17th-century Vauban tower make for a lively harbour…
Utah Beach Landing Museum – A museum built into a former German strongpoint, displaying an original B-26 bomber and landing craft and telling the full story of the Uta…
Sainte-Mère-Église & Airborne Museum – The town where paratrooper John Steele's parachute snagged on the church spire on the night of the landings. A paratrooper dummy still hang…
D-Day Experience & Dead Man's Corner Museum – An airborne-themed museum on the outskirts of Carentan where you can sit in a C-47 simulator and experience the night flight of the landing…
Mémorial de Caen – One of France's most important museums on WWII and peace, tracing the story from the war's origins to the Normandy landings and on to the C…
Château de Caen – A castle built by William the Conqueror around 1060, one of Europe's largest medieval castles, housing a Normandy museum and a fine arts mu…
Abbaye aux Hommes (Saint-Étienne) – A Norman abbey founded by William the Conqueror. The abbey church holds his tomb, and the former abbey buildings now house Caen's town hall.
Pegasus Bridge & Mémorial Pegasus – The first battle of D-Day: British glider troops swooped in just after midnight to seize the canal bridge, and the original bridge is now d…
Merville Gun Battery – A German gun battery stormed by British paratroopers on the eve of the landings. Its gun casemates are now a museum, one of which recreates…
Juno Beach Centre – Canada's only WWII museum in Normandy, telling the story of the Canadian landings on Juno Beach, with guided tours of the beach bunkers ava…
British Normandy Memorial – A memorial park completed in 2021, its stone pillars inscribed with the names of more than 22,000 British dead from D-Day and the Battle of…

Where to eat

La Rapière – A Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant set in a 15th-century house in Bayeux, serving dinner only, with entirely homemade d…
L'Angle Saint-Laurent – A Michelin Bib Gourmand bistro in the center of Bayeux, serving modern dishes made with local Normandy meats and vegeta…
Le Pommier – A classic Normandy restaurant at the foot of Bayeux Cathedral, serving local cheeses, oysters, and apple desserts, with…
Le Moulin de la Galette – A popular creperie housed in a converted old mill on the Aure River, facing the Bayeux Tapestry Museum, serving savory…
La Petite Plage – A highly-rated seafood bistro in Arromanches-les-Bains under new ownership, praised by travelers for its fresh fish of…

Itineraries

Classic Normandy – Drive west from Giverny, connecting Rouen, the Alabaster Coast, Honfleur, the D-Day Landing Beaches, and Mont Saint-Mic…
Paris, Normandy, Mont Saint-Michel & Loire Valley 10-Day Self-Drive Itinerary – A self-drive loop from Paris connecting Giverny, the Normandy coast, Mont Saint-Michel, and the Loire châteaux.
Normandy, Brittany & Loire Valley Grand Tour – Depart from Paris and loop through the Normandy Coast, the Emerald Coast, and the Loire Châteaux before returning to Pa…
Car-Free Normandy 5-Day Rail Itinerary – Travel entirely by train and bus, visiting Rouen, Bayeux, the D-Day Landing Beaches, and Mont Saint-Michel before retur…