Mont St-Michel
Mont St-Michel's one main street, the Grande Rue, leads up the slope – past souvenir shops, eateries and a forest of elbows – to the star attraction of a…
Must-see attractions in Normandy
Le Mémorial – Un Musée pour la Paix
Caen
For a very insightful and vivid account of the entire war, with special focus on the Battle of Normandy, Le Mémorial is unparalleled – it's one of Europe…
Bayeux
The world’s most celebrated embroidery depicts the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 from an unashamedly Norman perspective…
Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet
Giverny
Monet’s home for the last 43 years of his life is now a delightful house-museum. His pastel-pink house and Water Lily studio stand on the periphery of the…
Étretat
It's impossible to miss this cliff, as the shingle beach bends around off to the southwest, with its natural arch and solitary needle. You will spy…
Honfleur
This unusual and intriguing complex captures the whimsical spirit of the eccentric avant-garde composer Erik Satie (1866–1925), who lived and worked in…
Normandy
Under Richard the Lionheart's command, Château Gaillard was built with unbelievable dispatch between 1196 and 1198, securing the western border of English…
Le Havre
Near the waterfront, this luminous and tranquil space houses a fabulous collection of vivid impressionist works – the finest in France outside Paris – by…
Normandy
Cherbourg’s art-deco Gare Maritime Transatlantique (Transatlantic Ferry Terminal), built from 1928 to 1933, was designed so travellers could walk from…
Rouen
For an introduction to the great 15th-century heroine and the events that earned her fame – and shortly thereafter condemnation – don't miss this…
D-Day Beaches
These mammoth German artillery pieces remain in their colossal concrete emplacements – the only in-situ large-calibre weapons in Normandy. The first…
Rouen
This largely empty 14th-century abbey is a gloriously sublime and quite stunning example of the Rayonnant Gothic style, with a colossal interior dappled…
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Musée d’Art et d’Histoire Baron Gérard
Bayeux
Make sure you drop by this museum – one of France’s most gorgeously presented provincial museums – where exhibitions cover everything from Gallo-Roman…
Normandy American Cemetery & Memorial
D-Day Beaches
White marble crosses and Stars of David stretch off in seemingly endless rows at the Normandy American Cemetery, situated on a now-serene bluff…
Caen
Looming above the centre of the city, Caen’s magnificent castle walls – massive battlements overlooking a now dry moat – were established by William the…
Bayeux
Most of Bayeux’ spectacular Norman Gothic cathedral dates from the 13th century, though the crypt (take the stairs on the north side of the choir), the…
Rouen
Rouen’s stunning Gothic cathedral, built between the late 12th and 16th centuries, was famously the subject of a series of canvases painted by Monet at…
Normandy
Built from 1175 to 1220 by Richard the Lionheart, towering Abbatiale de la Ste-Trinité was the most important pilgrimage site in Normandy until the…
Rouen
In a large, circular column on the waterfront, Panorama XXL is a massive 360-degree exhibition offering in-depth exploring of one astonishing landscape,…
Le Havre
Perret’s masterful, 107m-high Église St-Joseph, visible from all over town, was built using bare concrete from 1951 to 1959. Some 13,000 panels of…
Honfleur
This museum features superb 19th- and 20th-century paintings of Normandy’s towns and coast, including works by Dubourg, Dufy and Monet. One room is…
Étretat
To your right and along off to the northwest as you walk onto the beach, the cliff of Falaise d’Amont is dotted with reclining or tottering figures taking…
D-Day Beaches
This excellent museum has an astonishing collection of restored WWII military equipment from both sides; the human dimension of the war is brought…
Rouen
Housed in a very grand structure flung up in 1870, Rouen’s simply outstanding fine-arts museum features canvases by Rubens, Modigliani, Pissarro, Renoir,…
Le Havre
The Jardins Suspendus (Hanging Gardens) is an old hilltop fortress transformed into a beautiful set of gardens, whose greenhouses and outdoor spaces…
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Normandy
With its ghostly white-stone ruins glowing against bright green grass and dark green trees, the Abbaye de Jumièges is one of Normandy’s most evocative…
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Rouen
This supreme example of the Flamboyant Gothic–style church was built between 1437 and 1521, but much of the decoration dates from the Renaissance. The…
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Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin
Normandy
Inland from Utah Beach, to the south and southwest, is the 1480-sq-km Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin, a vast expanse of…
Le Havre
Le Havre’s most conspicuous landmark, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1982, is also the city’s premier cultural venue. One…
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D-Day Beaches
At 7.10am on 6 June 1944, 225 US Army Rangers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder scaled the impossibly steep, 30m-high cliffs of…
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Caen
Caen’s most important medieval site is the Men’s Abbey – now city hall – and, right next door, the magnificent, multi-turreted Église St-Étienne (St…
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Honfleur
Initially intended as a temporary structure, this extraordinary wooden church was built by local shipwrights during the late 15th and early 16th centuries…
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Mont St-Michel
The buildings on the northern side of the Mont are known as ‘The Marvel’. The famous cloître (cloister) is surrounded by a double row of delicately carved…
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Rouen
The ornately Gothic Law Courts, little more than a shell at the end of WWII, have been restored to their early-16th-century glory. On rue Jeanne d'Arc,…
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Honfleur
The old harbour, with its bobbing pleasure boats, is Honfleur’s focal point. On the west side, quai Ste-Catherine is lined with tall, taper-thin houses –…
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Normandy
This museum commemorates the Dieppe Raid of 1942, in which a mostly Canadian force of over 6000 men, backed up by 300 ships and 800 aircraft, landed on…
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Normandy
This new, highly informative and timely (for the 75th anniversary of D-Day) museum in the town of Falaise, 41km southeast of Caen, gets you under the skin…
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D-Day Beaches
Juno Beach’s only specifically Canadian museum, the nonprofit Juno Beach Centre, has multimedia exhibits on Canada’s role in the war effort and the…
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D-Day Beaches
Down in Arromanches itself and right on the beach, the Musée du Débarquement makes for a very informative stop before visiting the beaches. Dioramas,…
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Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances
Normandy
The interior of the splendid twin-towered Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances includes several 13th-century windows, a 14th-century fresco of St…
