| A plethora of museums, memorials and historical sites recall Normandy’s essential role in the end game of World War II |
A trip to Normandy often includes a visit to the D-Day landing beaches but the region also includes many other places involved in the momentous events which led up to 6 June, 1944.
It would take several days to cover
all the relevant sites and museums in the area and absorb all the local information about the battle, so to keep all members of the family happy combine a selection of museum visits with a spot of sightseeing and, if you have children, perhaps a stop at one of the sandy beaches along the way.
1. THE BEGINNING OF THE END
Starting in Caen, leave the ring road at Junction 2a then take the D515, signed Ouistreham, for 8km before turning right onto the D514. Continue for 0.6km until you reach Ranville-Bénouville. Leave the motorhome in the car park at Pegasus Bridge, alongside the Pegasus Memorial.
The first British soldiers of the Second World War to arrive in Normandy were the members of the Sixth British Airborne Division. On the night of 5 June, 1944 they used gliders and parachutes to arrive silently and stealthily in the town of Ranville-Bénouville to capture the now-famous Pegasus Bridge from the Nazis and so ease progress the following day. There were many casualties that night but it was the first step toward allied victory.
A memorial in the town now honours the bravery of the soldiers of the Sixth British Airborne Division. Next to the memorial is a museum devoted to the event and there is also a park containing hundreds of large-scale exhibits, including the original Pegasus Bridge (pictured right). A similar structure was erected on the original site in 1993.
2. MUSEUM OF THE BRAVE
Zero the trip meter, exit the car park at Pegasus Bridge and follow the D514 towards Sword Beach and Ouistreham. At 5.7km you will reach the Musée No.4 Commande, which is located opposite the casino on Place Alfred Thomas. The best place to park is alongside the museum.
The Musée No. 4 Commande (No. 4 Commando Museum) is packed with WWII memorabilia and you can expect to spend an hour or more here, learning how the first commandos, a French battalion among them, jumped into the sea on 6 June, 1944 to reach Sword Beach, their mission to destroy the powerful German defences and allow the vital
establishment of the beachhead.
3. KEEPING TRACK
Leave the museum and continue on the D514 for 9.5km to Luc-sur-Mer, here turning left onto the D83 for 4km until you reach the Musée Radar (Radar Museum) at a place called Douvres-la-Délivrande.
The Radar Museum is the first museum devoted to the history of this crucial technology. It includes two preserved bunkers to help explain the role of radar and how it was developed. Guided tours are available in English and last one hour.
4. PORT WINSTON
Drive straight to the coast and the pretty seaside town of St Aubin-sur-Mer for a snack or a stroll along the promenade, next to which you can leave the motorhome. From here it’s a 17.3km drive on the D514 to the town of Arromanches at Gold Beach.
Arromanches is the largest town on the D-Day strip and it is here that the allies erected Port Winston (codenamed Mulberry B), the famous artificial port which allowed provisions to get past the Nazis to the invading troops. The brainchild of Winston Churchill, this amazing construction was made in Great Britain and towed across the Channel the day after D-Day. At that time the Nazis controlled all coastal outlets through which supplies and reinforcements could be unloaded, but Port Winston succeeded in outsmarting them.
The remains of the port are still visible, with a good view afforded by the Musée du Débarquement, which provides a detailed history of the construction of the Port as well as information about military equipment, uniforms and much more. Among the exhibits is an excellent eight-minute slide show depicting the seizure of the Normandy beaches.
Another local attraction not to be missed is Arromanches 360, a circular theatre in which an 18-minute film called The Price of Freedom is projected onto overhead television screens.
5. PEACEFUL GUNS
From the car park situated at the top of Arromanches town take the D514 for 6.5km to Longues-sur-Mer and
La Batterie.
At Longues-sur-Mer, the German battery is another highlight of the D-Day circuit. It dominates the beaches of the Allied sector near Arromanches and is the only such site which still has its guns.
6. TAKE YOUR HAT OFF
To complete our tour we could have continued into Bayeux, the first French town to be liberated, on the evening of 7 June, 1944. Instead we stayed on the D514 for another 15km and headed for St Laurent-sur-Mer and the Musée Omaha, which includes an American Sherman tank with a 155mm ‘Long Tom’ cannon. Another stop along this stretch of beach is the US Cemetery, 1km north of Colleville-sur-Mer. Here a 170-acre plot with 9387 perfectly-aligned
crosses makes a moving sight.
We finished our own tour at the Musée Omaha, but there are plenty of other war-related attractions for those who have a little more time to spend.
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Distance 64 km
Time 71/2 hours
Start Pegasus Memorial car park, Ranville-Bénouville
Finish Musée Omaha, St Laurent-sur-Mer
Suitable for All the family
REFRESHMENT
Take a packed lunch or choose from one of the many cafés
and restaurants on the main
street in Arromanches.
ATTRACTIONS
Pegasus Memorial (near Ranville-Bénouville)
Tel 00 33 (0)2 31 78 19 44
Musée Radar
Tel 00 33 (0)2 31 06 06 45
Musée du Débarquement
Tel 00 33 (0)2 31 22 34 31
Arromanches 360
Tel 00 33 (0)2 31 22 30 30
Information
Calvados Tourist Board
Tel 00 33 (0)2 31 27 90 30
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