It’s such a moving experience to visit the D-Day beaches anywhere along the World War II invasion area on the channel coast of France. Here’s a map that clearly shows the layout of the five Allied sectors.
Visiting Sword, Juno, and Gold Beaches
For the first time, I recently visited Gold, Juno, and Sword Beaches on the coast of Normandy. One of my goals on this trip to Normandy was to learn more about these British and Canadian beaches. As Americans, we tend to focus on Omaha Beach and Utah Beach. I wanted to get a more complete picture of what happened along all 60 miles of coastline on D-Day. So I booked an all-day tour with Overlord Tours to find out more about Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches. Our guide Rethro proved to be not only knowledgeable but also personable. The others in our group were British, and we took some good-natured teasing for our American lack of familiarity with British history, which was delightful. Let me take you along to some of the highlights of these historic beaches.
Pegasus Bridge and Sword Beach
Sword Beach and Utah Beach lay at the east and west ends of Operation Overlord. Paratroopers dropped behind the beaches in the middle of the night to prepare for the invasion from the English Channel. The idea was to hem in the Germans from either side. So it’s important to go behind the shore when visiting these two beaches. Our tour began at Pegasus Bridge, a few miles inland from Sword Beach. This bridge over the Caen Canal was a crucial Allied objective. Gliders of British troops landed just after midnight on the canal banks. Here the first casualty of D-Day was Lt. Brotheridge, who was shot while leading the charge over the bridge. The British eventually pushed the Germans off the bridge and held on until the troops landing on the shore broke through to relieve them.
Today you can walk across the replacement bridge, which is built in the same design as the 1944 bridge. Schoolchildren painted a colorful mural thanking the British troops who fought to liberate their country. The design includes puzzle pieces showing that all the Allies worked together to complete the picture of freedom.
On the west end of the bridge the historic cafe serves coffee or lunch. And a plaque proudly announces that this was the very first French house liberated in the wee hours of June 6, 1944.
I happened to visit at the right time to see this drawbridge in action. Boats still wait for the bridge to go up to continue their river journey.
The 1944 bridge can be seen at the Pegasus Memorial Museum around the corner. With its displays of World War II memorabilia and photographs as well as the full-size bridge and vehicles, this museum is well worth a visit.
While the landing of the British paratroopers in the night of June 5 – 6 yields so many fascinating stories from behind the beaches, of course there is also Sword Beach. This is where the Army and Navy troops landed at dawn on D-Day.
Juno — the Canadian Landing Beach
This section of coastline was one of the most heavily defended on D-Day. In the first wave of men ashore, half were injured or killed. The Canadians fought on bravely and eventually captured more towns and land than any other battalions involved in the invasion. The little towns on the beach here remember what the troops did for them, 75 years later.
This house still stands. We saw photos of it from 1944. Notice the poem: “And one June morning, June 6, 1944, from the sea, a page of my history was written.”
This is the home in Bernieres-sur-Mer where journalists lived in the summer of 1944.
This photo, displayed on a stone wall, notes: “How handsome he is my liberator, everything is beautiful, I feel like dancing.”
Here’s our little tour group walking on the sands of historic Juno Beach.
Gold Beach and the Mulberry Harbors
Gold Beach, in the middle of the five beaches, included the fishing town of Arromanches. This was the site of an amazing feat of engineering that resulted in a working port just days after D-Day. Cement pontoons towed across the Channel formed the based of the operations. In the summer of 1944, 500,000 vehicles and four million tons of materiel came ashore in Arromanches. Of the original 115 pontoons, 20 survive despite the pounding of the rough waters.
Here you can tour the wonderful Arromanches Landing Museum and learn about what the British accomplished here on D-Day.
After 10 hours crammed with learning, emotions, and experiencing these beaches firsthand, it was time to say good-bye to Rethro. Our tour ended, but I will certainly by thinking about all we took in this day for years to come.
Getting to the D-Day Beaches from Paris
You have several options if you are traveling from Paris to the D-Day Beaches.
By train, journey either to Caen or Bayeux. Trains leave from the Paris Saint-Lazare station. The trip is about two to two-and-a-half hours.
If you drive from Paris to Bayeux or Caen, allow about 3 hours. Take A13 to Caen or A13 and A84 to Bayeux.
The easiest way to get from Paris to Bayeux is to train to Caen, then rent a car. The car rentals are conveniently right across the street from the train station in Caen. Then drive about 20 minutes to Bayeux. Driving in Paris can be crazy. I made the mistake of renting a car in the city. I actually went around the Arc de Triomphe in a circle several times before finding the right exit street. And I haven’t wanted to repeat that adventure!
Where to Stay When Visiting the Five D-Day Beaches
To stay near the D-Day Beaches, you can stay in Bayeux as your base. Bayeux is a charming town in Normandy, France, known for its well-preserved medieval architecture and its famous Bayeux Tapestry. It’s also the closest town to Omaha Beach. You will love the town, the food, and the people.
When staying in Bayeux, you have various accommodation options ranging from hotels to guesthouses and bed-and-breakfasts. You may want to opt for a hotel in the city center. That way, you are close to the sights as well as plenty of dining and shopping choices.
My favorite hotel is the Hotel Churchill. It’s in a historic building in the heart of the town. It offers comfortable and well-equipped rooms, with amenities like free Wi-Fi, flat-screen TVs, and private bathrooms. Some rooms may offer views of the city or the courtyard. And the hotel has a bar and lounge area where guests can relax and unwind. A tasty breakfast is served in a pleasant room. I found the front desk staff to be very helpful with planning your day and finding a restaurant for dinner.
Another base for exploring the beaches is the town of Sainte Mère Église, which is a few miles inland from Utah Beach. Famous for the paratrooper hanging on the cathedral, this is a charming small town with cafes and restaurants. Here are two hotel options:
Hotel Sainte-Mère: One option in the center of Sainte Mère Église is Hotel Sainte-Mère. This hotel features modern amenities, an upscale restaurant, and easy access to local attractions.
Auberge John Steele: This inn is named after the famous paratrooper John Steele, whose parachute got caught on the church steeple during the D-Day invasion. It’s a unique place to stay with a historical theme. A restaurant is also in the hotel.
Do You Want to Book a Tour?
You can visit the D-Day beaches on your own. This is not difficult if you have a car. Or you may opt for a tour instead. I have visited the beaches both with and without tours. If it’s your first visit, a tour may give you lots of information and stories of the war that you wouldn’t otherwise get.
If you are coming as a day trip from Paris or wanting the enriched experience of a tour guide, here are good options.
Overlord Tour: Overlord Tour is one of the most highly regarded D-Day tour operators in the region. They offer small group tours with knowledgeable guides who provide detailed historical information about the events of D-Day. I went on the British Beaches tour and found the guide to be knowledgeable and engaging. I toured on a shuttle with seven other people. We enjoyed conversing about WWII. It was a totally positive experience.
D-Day Battle Tours: D-Day Battle Tours is the company I toured with in a WWII-era Jeep. While my tour was in the Utah Beach area, this company also offers guided tours of Omaha Beach. My guide Monica kept up a running commentary as we drove along the Normandy lanes. You can choose from private and public tours. I can highly recommend this company.
Or book with respected Viator tours.
Read more about the D-Day Beaches
Read more about visiting all five D-Day Beaches in Normandy.
Read more about visiting Omaha Beach.
Read more about visiting Utah Beach.
Read more about what it’s like to visit the D-Day beaches in an article I wrote for Travel Awaits.
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30 Comments
Another great adventure with you. I do love our journeys together.
What a great endeavor of you Sharon to get to know more about these bridges freed by the UK troops. You think in a more international way than most:) For a book I am writing I read specific details about the “bridge one too far” at Arnhem, and the planned strategy of the Allies. Since then i understand how important bridges are to conquer, because it cuts off the enemy! Also, I am beginning to understand the huge undertaking and the determined quest for freedom was against the Nazi powers back then. Freedom is a necessity to live a happy life! Many thanks for sharing all this specific historic information with All Seasons. – which should never become obscure or forgotten! Have a beautiful week:)
What great photos and an excellent commentary.
OH wow; what a wonderful way to learn so much more about history. Thanks so much for sharing with us.
Stunning shots.
Wonderful photos and a very interesting history. Thanks for the history lessons too..
Great post. Awesome photos.
Oh wow, thank you for that great historylesson, I really enjoyed reading theis.Its always fun to get a bit of education in whilst you’re travelling 🙂
Your passion for this historical topic is clearly evident. It’s so important to share these experiences so we don’t forget the importance of this event — here in the UK we celebrate 11/11 by wearing poppies “lest we forget” – I’m surprised that that poppy tradition hasn’t caught on in the U.S. to the same extent.
Wow, this is really interesting! I guess because we get to see mainly American documentaries as well, we in Europe also hardly focus on the other beaches, which is very unfair as most of The Netherlands was liberated by Canadians, British and Polish resistance (who allied with the British). Thank you for this info, very enlightening.
#WanderfulWednesday
Thanks for sharing this interesting bit of British and Canadian WWII history. I’ve only been to Normandy once and concentrated on the American story. I love this part of France and hope to return and spend more time there. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get to the areas you mentioned.
What a gorgeous little town. Looks like a fascinating (and moving) visit. #WanderfulWednesday
Amazing photos..I feel like I am standing right there with you. So many emotional feels just looking at these and reading your experience.
Thanks for sharing your tour with us! I would love to visit there one day, but until then, your photos are a great sight!
Your post on ‘My Corner of the World’ is great to see this week!
My Corner of the World
What an amazing experience! Really puts things in prospective. My husband and son (and me) would love to visit Northern France one day. My husband was a history major and my son has always been interested in WW2.
A fascinating insight into D Day, thank you for sharing.
Fascinating and sobering. I’ve been to Northern France a number of times but for some reason never visited here. Will do on my next trip.
What an insight to D Day. Enjoyed your photos. Thank you so much for sharing this.
What a powerful place, with so much history and emotion. Thank you for sharing your experience.
It is so moving to see where the history took place. Definitely on my travel wish list. What an incredible history lesson to walk around and soak in.
We ate on a mission o. our European travels to see as many WW2 memorials as possible. Although these northern beaches have yet to make it o to our itinerary. What a great account. thank you for sharing and keeping these stories alive.
Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos and a fascinating information about D Da.
Thank you for sharing the beautiful photos and fascinating information about D Day.
Awesome post! Full of details, and well organized. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and learning so much. The Sword Beach looks so peaceful and summery, but holds a lot of history!
What a wonderful experience! I am a history teacher, and I’ve wanted to do a trip like this for awhile. My in-laws just did this and loved it as well. There is so much to learn there!
Normandy is such a gorgeous place! I will make sure I visit this one next time I go to France. Nice to know about these historic beaches.
One of the reasons I love to travel is learning about the history of a place. Thanks for shining the light on some of these lesser known beaches, but equally as important! Thanks for linking up with #farawayfiles
Really informative post. Even though I live in the UK, I have never been to visit the beaches & I really like the sound of this tour. Such an important part of our history & reading this has definitely made me want to visit to hear the stories & see where it all happened. Thank you for sharing.
Really great article. We visited a couple of years ago and my favourite has to be the Pegasus Bridge and museum. There are so many personal stories in the museum that you just don’t get anywhere else. The letters and information about some of the brave soldiers really does hit home so much more than some of the other museums.
Hi, I greatly enjoyed reading all your visit reports on the D Day beaches. You saw much more than most visitors and that really shows in your writing. The beaches and villages are very atmospheric places and you do seem to have avoided being overwhelmed by the deeply sad stories. It is, after all, a story of victory for all our freedoms.
I hope you don’t mind my commenting on a small point, the concrete Mulberry harbour sections were actually towed across the channel, not carried on ships. Some of my family helped build them and the design was so clever as they could be hidden underwater on the English coast before being re-floated for D Day. Once on site they were suck in place.
One little known story is that of the British submariners who came very near shore a week before D Day to observe defences and finally , on the night of D Day, to surface and provide direction lights to guide the troops on shore for the British and Canadian beaches. American senior staff had decided not to use them. The men in the midget submarines spent a total of 8 days in them and made a huge difference to the success of the day.
Thank you again for your thorough and thoughtful reports.