Utah Beach, France - September 9, 2016: Utah Beach was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. 690189786 b26, b26 marauder, marauder

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D-Day Beaches

Code-named ‘Operation Overlord’, the D-Day landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history. Early on the morning of 6 June 1944, swarms of landing craft – part of an armada of more than 6000 ships and boats – hit the beaches of northern Normandy and tens of thousands of Allied soldiers began pouring onto French soil.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • German defense battery at Longues sur Mer, Normandy, France.

    Longues-sur-Mer Battery

    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…

  • T8BJ49 France, Calvados, Colleville sur Mer, the Normandy Landings Beach, Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, Omaha Beach in the background

    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…

  • Sherman tank at the Overlord Museum.

    Overlord Museum

    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…

  • Pointe du Hoc Ranger Memorial

    Pointe du Hoc Ranger Memorial

    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…

  • Juno Beach Centre

    Juno Beach Centre

    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…

  • Musée du Débarquement

    Musée du Débarquement

    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,…

  • Arromanches 360° Circular Cinema

    Arromanches 360° Circular Cinema

    D-Day Beaches

    The best view of Port Winston and nearby Gold Beach is from the hill east of town, site of the popular Arromanches 360° Circular Cinema, which screens…

  • Mulberry Harbours Caissons

    Mulberry Harbours Caissons

    D-Day Beaches

    The harbour established at Omaha was completely destroyed by a ferocious gale (the worst storm to lash the Normandy coast in four decades) just two weeks…

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Looking down from a grassy clifftop over a huge golden D-Day landing beach, with the remains of a Mulberry Harbour (artificial port) at Arromanches-les-Bains visible in the distance

Beaches

D-Day: how to explore the Normandy beaches on the 75th anniversary

Jun 4, 2019 • 5 min read

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