How to visit the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy? What is the name of the 5 landing beaches? Where to stay to visit the landing beaches? In this post, you will discover all you need to know for visiting the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy: here we go!

D-Day marks the starting point of Operation Overlord, also named the Battle of Normandy in french.

What are the names of the 5 D-day landing beaches?
TOP 12 places to visit
Map of the landing beaches
Where to stay to visit the landing beaches?
How to organize the visit to the landing beaches?
What to visit in Normandy?

1. What are the 5 D-Day landing beaches in Normandy?

The 5 landing beaches in Normandy:

Sword Beach (near Luc-sur-Mer)
Juno Beach (Courseulles-sur-Mer)
Gold Beach (between Asnelles and Ver-sur-Mer)
Omaha Beach (Colleville-sur-Mer)
Utah Beach (Domaine de Beauguillot National Nature Reserve)

2. The TOP 12 places to visit

Next to the landing beaches in Normandy, here are the TOP 12 places you can visit.

Siet of the Poite du Hoc

Juno beach center in Courseulles-sur-Mer: this center pays tribute to the 45,000 Canadians who lost their lives during the Second World War.

Normandy Victory Museum and D-DAY experience in Carentan-les-Marais: a truly immersive and interactive tour of the Normandy landings. Moreover, it is one of the must-see sites to discover when visiting the landing beaches.

Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Eglise: the museum is opposite the bell tower at the end of which John Steele hung for a few hours. The museum aims to pay tribute to the American airborne troops of the 82nd and 101st divisions.

American cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer: this cemetery contains the graves of 9,387 soldiers who fell in combat. There is a chapel, a memorial, and the garden of the disappeared.

British military cemetery in Bayeux: 4,000 British soldiers and 181 Canadian soldiers.

Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy in Bayeux: this memorial retraces the course of the 77 days of fighting in the Battle of Normandy from June 7 to August 29, 1944. It is one of the places to discover when visiting the beaches of landing in Normandy.

The German battery at Longues-sur-Mer: in the heart of the Allied assault sector, this battery played a strategic role during the landing.

Coudehard-Montormel Memorial in Mont-Ormel: this memorial offers videos, interactive maps, and explanations to retrace the history of the Falaise pocket.

Landing Museum in Arromanches-les-Bains: this was the first museum built to commemorate the Normandy landings. Here, you will find various objects, weapons, uniforms, and photos separated into different rooms dedicated to each nation: the United Kingdom, Canada, United States.

German military cemetery in La Cambe: 21,222 soldiers are buried there.

Battery Museum in Merville-Franceville-plage: Here was one of the coastal batteries of the Atlantic Wall, built by the German army during the Second World War.

3. Map of the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy

Here is a map for visiting the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy from Normandy’s official tourist information office.

4. Where to stay to visit the landing beaches in Normandy?

In which cities to stay near the landing beaches? The nearby towns convenient for visiting the landing beaches are Bayeux, Sainte-Mère-Eglise, Colleville-sur-Mer, Courseulles-sur-Mer, Arromanches-les-Bains and Colleville-sur-Mer. You can also stay in Caen, but it will take at least 1 hour to go to the landing beaches.

4.1 Where to stay in Bayeux

It is one of the most significant towns in the area. Moreover, it can be considered a central point for visiting all the landing beaches. You can stay here for several nights and visit the different places from here. The advantage is always staying in the same place and therefore avoiding unpacking and repacking things. On the other hand, the drawback is traveling every day.

Located in the heart of Bayeux, the Hôtel Particulier “Le Clos de la Croix” is an excellent place to stay. The rooms are spacious, the breakfast is delicious, and there is a garden and a terrace.

In a private mansion dating from the 18th century, located in the former botanical garden of Bayeux, you will love the apartments, Le Tardif, Noble Guesthouse offers. Period furniture, varnished parquet, and a swimming pool.

You can also opt for a bed and breakfast at Le Petit Matin, located in an 18th-century building in the historic district of Bayeux.

4.2 Where to stay when visiting the D-Day landing beaches

If you choose to visit the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy in several small “stopovers”, you can stop at Sainte-Mère-Eglise, Colleville-sur-Mer, then Courseulles-sur-Mer. Thus, you can stay a night in each place and leave the next day for the rest of the itinerary. The advantage is that you drive less every day, so you can enjoy the sites more once you are there.

Where to stay in Sainte-Mère-Eglise? 4 km from Sainte-Mère-Eglise, you can spend a night in this splendid manor house offering double rooms and family suites: Le Manoir De Juganville. It is a pretty 16th-century residence with a beautiful garden just 5 minutes by car from the seafront and the Utah Beach landing beach.

Where to stay in Colleville-sur-Mer? You can also move away from the coast and stay in this beautiful castle 7km from Colleville: Le Château d’Asnières en Bessin. It is a perfect place to stay to visit the landing beaches.

Where to stay in Courseulles-sur-Mer? In Courseulles-sur-Mer, the hotel La Cremaillere is very well located: facing the sea and in the town center. There are rooms for two people, but also 6 with a sea view! On the beach, if you visit the landing beaches alone or as a couple, you can stay in this charming studio facing the sea.

5. How to organize your trip? Itinerary in 10 steps!

Here is how you can organize the visit to the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy in several steps: an idea of an itinerary in 10 stages from West to East, ending the visit with Caen.

Go to Pointe du Hoc: to the west of the 5 landing beaches, it is an impressive battlefield site to visit in Normandy and Calvados. A breathtaking view of the cliffs and the English Channel!
Visit Sainte-Mère-Eglise: the museum is opposite the bell tower, at the end of which John Steele hung for a few hours. The museum aims to pay tribute to the American airborne troops of the 82nd and 101st divisions.
Go to the Utah Beach landing beach in the Domaine de Beauguillot National Nature Reserve.
Live the day of the landing at the D-DAY experience: in Carentan-les-Marais, in this memorial, you can relive the landing day in an immersive way.
Visit the American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer and the landing beach at Omaha Beach
Go to Bayeux
Visit the Gold Beach between Asnelles and Ver-sur-Mer
Go to the Juno Beach landing beach in Courseulles-sur-Mer
Visit Sword Beach near Luc-sur-Mer
Visit Caen: when you visit the landing beaches, you can take the opportunity to discover Caen, its castle, but also its religious and historical heritage. Find out more in: Visit Caen.

6. What to visit in Normandy?

The D-Day landing beaches are not the only places to visit in Normandy; far from it! During your stay, you can discover other places. For example:

See the magnificent cliffs of Etretat (find out how to visit Etretat in this post)
Visit the flowery coast with cities like Deauville and Trouville
Visit Rouen
Discover the most beautiful villages in Normandy and, in particular, the town of Claude Monnet: Giverny

Visiting the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy is one of the essential things to do on the Normandy coast to learn more about the history of the Second World War. During the visit, you can also enjoy the incredible beaches and landscapes. It is a family visit to remember these events in our history.

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Visiting the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy