La Vélomaritime : de Courseulles-sur-Mer à Arromanches

Situated on the beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, the Juno Beach Centre is the only Canadian museum on the D-Day beaches. Founded by Canadian veterans in 2003, this memorial pays tribute to the 45,000 Canadians who lost their lives during the Second World War, including 5,500 during the Battle of Normandy and 381 on D-Day. Visitors are welcomed by young, bilingual Canadian guides, who passionately share the history and legacy of Canadian soldiers. Combining history, immersion and emotion, the permanent exhibition traces Canada’s civilian and military war effort during the Second World War through five exhibition rooms and two films. It also offers a window onto Canada today. Artefacts, photographs, archives and personal accounts offer a moving experience, placing people at the heart of the exhibition. At the heart of this space, the ‘Explore Juno’ exhibition for young visitors invites families to discover Canada through specially adapted displays and educational digital games. New: Audio guide in six languages (FR, EN, NL, DE, IT and ES) available on your mobile for €2. Average duration of visit: 1 hour 30 minutes. The temporary exhibition ‘My Childhood, 1939–1945’ explores the daily lives of children in Normandy and Canada during the Second World War. Average duration of visit: 30 minutes. From April to October, a guided tour of the bunkers, led by a young Canadian guide, offers an insight into the evolution of the Atlantic Wall defences and the history of the Canadian landings at Juno Beach. The tour includes a command post and an observation bunker built during the German occupation. Tour duration: 45 minutes. The Juno Beach Centre combines remembrance, sustainable development and more responsible tourism.

The America Gold Beach Museum comprises two historic exhibition areas. The America area tells the story of the very first air mail link between the United States and France, made by the three-engined Fokker America which made a water landing at Ver-sur-Mer on the 1st of July 1927. The Gold Beach exhibition area tells the story of the painstaking preparations for the D-Day Landings by the British secret services and of the events on Gold Beach on D-Day, when the 69th Brigade made its victorious assault on the 6th of June 1944. Scale models, slide shows, photographs, personal objects and testimonies, etc. Unaccompanied tour time: 40 minutes.

Situated on the heights of Mont Fleury, overlooking the Gold Beach sector, the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer commemorates the 22,540 men and women who lost their lives under British command during the landings and throughout the Battle of Normandy. The Memorial also pays tribute to the French civilians who lost their lives that summer. It is the only site in Normandy where all these names are brought together. They are listed in chronological order on the 160 columns that form the Memorial’s central pergola. The Memorial is situated on a site covering more than 20 hectares, with breathtaking views of the beach and Mulberry Harbour at Arromanches. In 2024, King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the Memorial and opened the Winston Churchill Centre. This visitor centre comprises two galleries, an educational area and a café serving snacks and drinks seven days a week throughout the summer. Entry to the Memorial and the Winston Churchill Centre is free. There is a charge for parking (€4.50 per day, €12 for coaches), which helps to fund the site’s upkeep. Guided tours are offered by the Gold Beach Tourist Office from June to mid-September: visit their website www.goldbeach-tourisme.fr for more information. The Memorial also offers bespoke guided tours for school groups. Please email contact@normandymemorialtrust.org to arrange a visit with your school.

Small-scale traditional biscuit making. Visits of the production workshop by appointment. Tour lasts: 25 mins. Our produce is on sale on site in the factory boutique.

The various phases of the Allied landing operation are presented. Explanation on how the Winston artificial harbour was built and operated from its design to its final use (3D animation, animated scale models, slide show, archive footage, etc.). Unaccompanied or guided tour in French: 1h15. Visitor aids in 19 languages. Film in 9 languages, slide show in 6 languages.

"The 100 days of Normandy" The images projected on nine screens stem from British, Canadian, German, American and French archives. On both sides of the Channel, one was preparing for this longawaited moment. Then, in spite of unfavorable weather conditions, came the morning of June 6, 1944, the fi rst step towards the liberation of Western Europe. From the landings on the 5 beaches of the Manche and Calvados departments to the tragic bombing of Le Havre on September 12, the Battle of Normandy lasted 100 days. Experience 20 minutes of pure historical intensity! To improve the visitor experience, our reception area has been fully redesigned: maps, the chronology and the outcome of the Battle of Normandy are now presented. Several British military artifacts from the Caen Mémorial collection are also on display. Film screened every 30 minutes, on the hour and at the half hour. Commentary overlooking the artificial harbour from the cinema’s terrace roof (30 minutes) during school holidays).