6 June 1944
D-Day in Normandy
The largest amphibious operation in history unfolded across five beaches. Explore the landing sites, the memorials, the museums and the routes that tell the story of the Battle of Normandy.
The five landing beaches
Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword: eighty kilometres of coastline where Allied troops landed at dawn.
BeachOmaha Beach
American Sector • Colleville-sur-Mer
The deadliest landing beach, now overlooked by the American Cemetery.
BeachUtah Beach
American Sector • Sainte-Marie-du-Mont
The westernmost landing, the launchpad toward Cherbourg's liberation.
BeachJuno Beach
Canadian Sector • Courseulles-sur-Mer
The Canadian sector: the courage and heavy toll of the 3rd Infantry Division.
BeachSword Beach
British Sector • Ouistreham
The easternmost beach, assaulted by British troops and Free French commandos.
BeachGold Beach
British Sector • Ver-sur-Mer
The central British sector, key to the junction with Canadian forces.
Memorials, museums and batteries
CemeteryNormandy American Cemetery
American Sector • Colleville-sur-Mer
9,388 white headstones overlooking Omaha Beach — an essential place of remembrance.
MuseumCaen Memorial Museum
British Sector • Caen
The major museum dedicated to war, peace and 20th-century history.
BunkerPointe du Hoc
American Sector • Cricqueville-en-Bessin
The cliff stormed by Colonel Rudder's Rangers.
MuseumAirborne Museum
Airborne Sector • Sainte-Mère-Église
Europe's largest museum dedicated to the US airborne troops.
MemorialArromanches – Mulberry Harbour
British Sector • Arromanches-les-Bains
Remains of the British artificial harbour — a logistical feat of the Landings.
MuseumUtah Beach Landing Museum
American Sector • Sainte-Marie-du-Mont
A B-26 Marauder bomber at the heart of a museum built into a German bunker.
D-Day itineraries
The Road to Liberty — Airborne Sector
In the footsteps of the American paratroopers.
The American Sector
Omaha, the cemetery, and the Rangers' cliff.
British & Canadian Sector
From Sword to Juno, by way of Pegasus Bridge.
Memorials & Major Museums
Understanding the Battle of Normandy.
Atlantic Wall Batteries
Concrete, guns and casemates, from Azeville to Ouistreham.
Cemeteries & the Memory of Nations
Five cemeteries, five ways of honouring the dead.
The Bocage & the End of the Battle
From Hill 112 to the Falaise Pocket.
The Essential Museums
Six collections to understand 6 June.
Lesser-Known Sites of the Cotentin
Where history is told in a quieter voice.