| Great escapes: Normandy 3 |
| France at war |
| Scores of museums, memorials and sites offer a vivid and poignant reminder of Normandy's crucial role in the victory of World War II |
A trip to Normandy inevitably includes a visit to the D-Day landing beaches,
and the region also includes many other places
which were involved in the momentous events which led up to 6 June, 1944. It will take several days to cover all the relevant sites and museums in the area and to absorb all of 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 also a stop on one of the sandy beaches along the way.
1. Pegasus Bridge
Starting in Caen, leave the ringroad 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 car 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-Bênouville
to capture the now famous Pegasus Bridge from the Nazis. 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 plus a large park containing hundreds of exhibits including
the original Pegasus Bridge (pictured left). A similar structure was erected on the original site
in 1993.
2. Remembering Sword Beach
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 Commando, which is located opposite the
casino on Place Alfred Thomas.
Park 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, among them a French battalion, 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 beach head.
3. Radar Museum
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 Douvres-la-Délivrande.
The Radar Museum is the first museum devoted to the history of this 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. Arromanches
Drive straight to the coast and the pretty seaside town of St Aubin-sur-Mer for a snack or a stroll along the promenade (below), next to which you can leave the car. From here it's a 17.3km-drive on the D514 to the town of Arromanches on Gold Beach.
Arromanches is the largest town on the D-Day strip, and it is here that the allies erected Port Winston (code name Mulberry B), the famous artificial port which allowed provisions to get past the Nazis to the 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.
Remains of the Port are still visible, with a good view afforded by the Musée du Débarquement which gives a detailed account 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 nine screens for a panoramic effect.
6. La Batterie de Longues-sur-Mer
From the car park at the top of Arromanches take the D514 for 6.5km to Longues-sur-Mer and
La Batterie.
The German battery at Longues-sur-Mer 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. A bow to America
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 a US Sherman tank with a 155mm Long Tom cannon.
Another stop along this stretch of beach is the American Cemetery, situated 1km north of Colleville-sur-Mer. Here a 170-acre plot with 9,387 perfectly aligned white
crosses makes a moving sight.
We finished our own tour at the Musée Omaha, but there was plenty more on offer had we had time to continue. |
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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
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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