Practical information

- Open 1 February to 30 December : Winter : 9h30 to 12h30 and 13h30 to 17h30. Summer : 9h to 19h. Annual closure : 1 January – 31 January
- Four-language reception, trilingual guided visit, visit aids
- Boutiques-souvenirs
- Duration of visit :1h15
- Prices : Adults : 6.00 Euros / Children, students : 5.00 Euros.

Winston Churchill had the foresight to recognize the need for the creation of an artificial harbor in Normandy. He knew that the thousands of troops landing on the beaches of France could only carry enough supplies (food, bullets, fuel, etc.) for a few days. Since the Allies were not planning to invade any of the major existing ports on the northern coast of France, the troops would suffer without reinforcement of supplies. Therefore, engineers took Churchill’s concept and built huge concrete blocks that would be used to create the docks needed for the port. Because of the secrecy required, workers in England built the giant blocks without even knowing what they were!

Arromanches was not the only artificial harbor built by the Allies. Two harbors were originally constructed and were named Mulberry A and Mulberry B. The harbor at Arromanches was Mulberry B, while Mulberry A was near Omaha Beach where the American forces landed. Unfortunately, just a few days after the harbors were built, a major storm struck. The harbor at Mulberry A was completely destroyed, and Mulberry B was severely damaged. After the storm, all of the Allies had to use the harbor at Arromanches. I found it interesting that the harbors were named “Mulberry” because the mulberry plant grows so fast.

Arromanches 360 is a circular theatre of 9 screens showing the poignant film ‘The Price of Freedom’. This film mixes news-reel images and archive material from war correspondents with modern day pictures. There is no spoken commentary, simply the sounds and noises of the D-Day sections and music covering the modern sequences. Note:- the show is standing only – there are no seats in the theatre. This theatre was built to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day and the Normandy Invasions.  The show plays at ten minutes and 40 minutes past the hour between 10AM and 5PM seven days a week, except during January when it’s closed. It’s free for children under ten and WW2 veterans.
Our recommendations: The museum in the town itself is probably worth a visit . The circular theatre on the hilltop  shows an  interesting film (if this is the only D-Day museum that you visit) though possibly expensive. If you  visit the Caen Memorial Museum you may see the film there and you may want to give this one a miss

.
For the children: Walk beyond the museum along the cliff towards the town of Arromanches and look at the tank on display.

The Juno Beach Centre – is a museum and cultural centre, which opened at Courseulles-sur-Mer, on June 6, 2003. The Centre presents the war effort made by all Canadians, civilian and military alike, both at home and on the various fronts during the Second World War, as well as the manifold faces of contemporary Canadian society

The temporary exhibit room alternates between historic or cultural themes. Presented until September 30, 2011, the current temporary exhibit – entitled “Allies: Canadians and British During the Second World War” - was created by the Juno Beach Centre Association – Canada, under the scientific direction of Canadian historian Eric McGeer, Ph.D. It presents how Canadians and British fought side-by-side during major events of the Second World War: at sea during the Battle of the Atlantic, in the skies during the Battle of Britain, on D-Day and throughout the Battle of Normandy. With the use of “passports/ID cards”, visitors can discover the exhibit’s contents through portraits of soldiers, sailors, aircraft teams as well as Canadian and British civilians and discover how the story unfolded for these brothers in arms.

The Permanent Exhibit consists of 7 exhibit rooms, and draws upon documents, photographs, maps, artefacts, audiovisual and audio accounts, which allow specific atmospheres to be created. The permanent exhibit alternates between areas of emotion, reflection, discovery and information, eliciting the visitor’s participation.

Our Recommendations: If time permits take one of the guided park tours (extra charges) which take place outside the museum on the beach itself and among local remains of the defensive Atlantic wall.
For the Children: This visit is particularly appropriate for children who can follow two fictional characters, Peter and Madeleine in a discovery of Canada from 1930’s to the present day.

Opening times
Open every day From April 1 to September 30: 9:30am to 7pm March and October: 10am to 6pm February, November and December: 10am to 5pm Closed on December 25 and during the month of January
Admission
2010-11 INDIVIDUAL RATES Full Rate Reduced Rate Juno Beach Centre 6,50 € 5 € Temporary Exhibit only 2,50 € 2,50 € Juno Park only 5 € 4 € Juno Beach Centre + Juno Park 10 € 8 €

Roughly 5km south of Ouistreham, the main road towards Caen passes close by the site now known as Pegasus Bridge. On the night before D-Day, the twin bridges here that cross the Caen canal and the River Orne were a crucial Allied objective, and were the target of a daring but successful glider assault just after midnight. The original bridge was replaced in 1994, but is now the focus of the Mémorial Pegasus immediately to the east (daily: May–Sept 9.30am–6.30pm; Oct to mid-Nov & Feb–April 10am–1pm & 2–5pm; closed mid-Dec to Jan; €5). This vaguely glider-shaped museum holds the expected array of helmets, goggles, medals and other memorabilia, most captioned in English, as well as various model bridges used in planning the attack.

Pegasus Bridge

Location: At Ranville-Bénouville, half way between Ouistreham (on the coast) and Caen, just off D514.
General Information: Website. Avenue du Major Howard, 14860 Ranville. Tel No: 0(2) 31 78 19 42.  Entrance prices: Adult €6, children over 7 €4.50.  Open from February-November and without a lunchtime closure from April-September.
Description: A smallish museum which retells the full story behind the famous glider attack on Pegasus Bridge, one of the two bridges spanning the Orne River and canal. The museum is very informative and has a film show (available in English – do ask) that gives an excellent overview of the events. Outside in the grounds you can visit the original Pegasus Bridge (which has been replaced across the river with a new bridge) and an actual size model of a glider from the war period.

While the first bridge over the River Orne was taken with hardly any resistance, the Caen Canal Bridge – later renamed Pegasus in honour of those who fought there – became the scene of a brief but fierce battle.

Despite the memory of the carnage that followed, what Staff Sergeant Jim Wallwork, pilot of the first glider to land, remembers most clearly from that night, just days before the 65th anniversary, was the near-total silence.

“It was a rather spectacular arrival into France to put the Germans back in their place. People were dropping out of aircraft with supplies for the Resistance, things like that, but we were the first to start the fight. The outstanding thing was how bloody good we were at night. With a slight bit of moon we could put a glider anywhere you wanted, simply because of practice. The men clambered out of the wrecked glider and dashed towards the bridge, firing as they ran. Coming under enemy fire from dozens of German soldiers dug in around the bridge was something they just accepted,” said Mr Wallwork. “We were of that daft age where you believe that you are invincible and are going to live forever – that if a bloke’s going to be shot it’s going to be the one next to you,” he said. “We had not the slightest doubt we were going to pull it off. If the Germans had been better prepared they’d have wiped us out very quickly but luck was on our side, we took them by surprise and it worked out rather well; let’s put it that way.”

The assault lasted barely 10 minutes, but cost the lives of two British soldiers, with 14 others injured. Lieutenant Den Brotheridge, who led the charge to clear enemy trenches and machine-gun posts defending the bridge, became the first allied soldier to die by enemy fire on D-Day when he was shot in the neck. One of his men, Private Wally Parr, remembered the shock at finding the popular officer on the ground. “His eyes were open and his lips were moving; I just looked at him. I put my hand behind his head to lift him up; his eyes rolled back – he just choked and lay back. I took my hand away; he had got one right in the back of the neck. My hand was covered in blood. ‘My God,’ I thought, ‘what a waste.’”  A small bar, Café Gondree, beside the bridge, became the first building in Normandy to be liberated.

Our recommendations: For historians the museum at Pegasus Bridge is well worth visiting, but bear in mind that there are lots of D-Day museums that can be visited, so you may need to be choosy and pick only those of particular interest. If time permits, stop off at the equally famous Café Gondrée across the road for some refreshments – for aficionados this is full of memorabilia for sale

Le Mémorial de Caen

Location: On the NW section of Caen’s outer ring road.  Exit at Junction 7 (D22 for Creully) and follow signs.

General Information: Website – this is an excellent web-site in English and French and well worth consulting. The museum is open from 2nd Feb – end of the year. Prices are €17 (adults) and €15.50 for children over 10.

Description: This is a museum for Peace that gives an overall history of war from 1918 to the present day. It is split into many different sections starting with a journey into history in the aftermath of WW1 and then moving on to various aspects of WW2 including the French Resistance and D-Day. Sections on the world and the Cold War and the world for Peace can also be visited. The attention to detail in the exhibits and the layout of the museum is first class.

Le Memorial de Caen, is not a museum, but a centre of living history, the history of mankind’s stupidity during the 20th Century. Telling the story from World War One to the present time.
The focal point is the massive twin screened cinema, here shown simultaneously is, “D-Day”. On the right hand screen German soldiers in their blockhouses along the Atlantic wall. On the left hand screen the allies get ready to come ashore, the whole event opens up showing what it was like for both sides, literally hundreds of hours of work have been put into this production and in my opinion it is the ultimate historical film to be seen about D-Day. The Caen Memorial has to be visited, it is a fabulous tribute to everyone involved in the Battle for Normandy and the Liberation of Europe. It is dedicated to peace and the quest for peace throughout the world.
The Caen Memorial is a stark rectangular structure located 10 minutes from the Pegasus Bridge and 15 minutes from the D-Day beaches. The museum is entered through a small door in a long flat facade, which symbolizes the Allies’ breach of the “impregnable” Nazi Atlantic Wall. Inscribed in French across the facade are the verses:

“Pain broke me; brotherhood lifted me.
From my wound sprang a river of freedom.”

This opens into a spacious lobby, where the award-winning amenities of the museum are located: a large bookshop, library, cafe, children’s play area, and more. Above the lobby hangs a 1941 Hawker Typhoon used by the RAF. The museum itself is entered via a descending spiral staircase – symbolizing the descent into the hell of war – lined with photographs illustrating the rise of Nazi power.

Inside, the main exhibits include: spectacular video presentations of D-Day or Jour J (showing the events from Allied and German perspectives on a split-screen); models of bunkers, battleships and battlefields; artifacts from the French Resistance; and a tribute to the Holocaust.

A new wing added in 2002 houses exhibits on the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the development of the atomic bomb and the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Caen Memorial was the first museum outside of the United States to display artifacts from 9/11.

The last section visitors encounter in the museum, added in 1991 and housed in an old bunker, is dedicated to the ongoing movement for peace. It includes a Gallery of Nobel Peace Prizes, celebrating such figures as Andrei Sakharov, Elie Wiesel and Desmond Tutu.

The museum includes extensive tranquil gardens, which commemorate the Allied forces and wordlessly illustrate the ideal of peace: the Garden of Canada; the American Garden; and recently the British Garden, donated by Prince Charles in 2004.

Overall, the Caen Memorial provides a thought-provoking meditation on the evils of war, the importance of learning from past failures and successes, and the difficulty but necessity of finding lasting peace. The museum also runs daily, eight-person minivan guided tours of the D-Day beaches, which begin at the museum or the Caen train station.

Our Recommendations: Admission prices are not cheap and to fully appreciate all that the museum has to offer ideally takes a whole day as not only are there the many different sections to visit but there are also some  excellent films to watch. If lots of head knowledge all gets too much take time out to stroll through the lovely gardens of Peace and let children run off a bit of steam.

For the Children:  Children under 10 are free and there are special rates for families with older children.  While museums are not always the number one choice for children this one is very visual. It is also possible to buy several different guide books (in English) specially devised for children of varying ages. There is also a free crêche for children under 11 years of age.