The D-Day beaches of Normandy run along about 80 km of the Channel coast. Five beaches and one clifftop were stormed on 6 June 1944, and in 2026 UNESCO listed all six as World Heritage. Here is what happened at each, what you find there now, and which of the normandy beach tours reach it.
UNESCO added the Beaches of the D-Day Landings to its World Heritage List in 2026. The listing covers six places, west to east: Utah, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword. Pointe du Hoc counts as "the sixth amphibious assault site", because Rangers landed below its cliffs.
The listing also names what still stands along the coast. That means the remains of the Mulberry harbour at Arromanches, and pieces of the German Atlantic Wall: casemates, batteries and strongpoints. It names the memorial landscapes too, including the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer.
Operation Neptune, the landing phase of Operation Overlord, began on 6 June 1944. By UNESCO's count, seventeen Allied nations worked together on it. Before dawn, the U.S. 82nd and 101st and the British 6th Airborne Divisions dropped inland by parachute and glider. From 6:30 am, six U.S., British and Canadian divisions landed from the sea.
Utah Beach is the landing furthest west. The U.S. 4th Infantry Division landed here and pushed quickly inland. It heads UNESCO's list of the five beaches, going west to east.
The Utah Beach D-Day Museum stands on the site. An adult ticket costs €10, and a child of 6 to 15 pays €6.50. It opens every day, 9:30 am to 7 pm from May to September. Allow about an hour and a half to two hours if you go on your own.
If you book a coach day from Paris, the museum ticket is in the fare on the City Wonders days. The full days from Bayeux also stop on the beach itself. Some put the museum on the itinerary without naming a ticket, so ask when you book.
Pointe du Hoc is a headland about seven miles west of the Normandy American Cemetery. On 6 June, the U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion, under Lt. Col. James E. Rudder, climbed its 100-foot cliffs. The big guns had been moved inland, and the Rangers found and destroyed them. When they were relieved two days later, only about 90 Rangers still stood.
You walk among the craters the bombardment left, and past German bunkers. The naval shelling began at 5:50 am, and most Rangers were on top by 7:40. The site is free and needs no booking.
The site is being restored over 18 months from February 2026. The visitor center has been closed since 9 March 2026, with a welcome point by the temporary car park instead. Since mid-May, you reach the historic site by the west path only, and some paths and bunkers are shut. The granite monument and its "books" were lifted into storage on 17 June 2026, to return on a new memorial plaza.
Hours stay 9 am to 5 pm, daily. The site is not wheelchair accessible during the works, and parking is limited. If your guide finds it shut on the day, some Bayeux days swap in the Longues-sur-Mer battery instead.
Omaha Beach was the hardest landing of the five. The U.S. 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions came ashore under heavy German fire, with up to 200 yards of open sand to cross and steep bluffs beyond. American forces suffered over 4,000 casualties here.
The Normandy American Cemetery sits on the bluff above the beach at Colleville-sur-Mer. It began as the St. Laurent cemetery on 8 June 1944, the first American cemetery of the war on European soil. Today it holds 9,389 graves on 172.5 acres. The Walls of the Missing carry 1,557 names.
You will find a memorial colonnade, the bronze "Spirit of American Youth Rising from the Waves", a reflecting pool and a chapel. An orientation table looks out over the beach. The visitor center opened on 6 June 2007, about 100 m east of the Garden of the Missing.
The cemetery opens 9 am to 5 pm every day except 25 December and 1 January. Entry is free, with no booking, and admission ends 30 minutes before closing. The flag is lowered an hour before closing.
On 28 July 2026, the cemetery closed all its grave plots for now, because of drought water limits. The visitor center, the memorial, the chapel and the Garden of the Missing stay open. If you have a relative buried here, contact the staff before your visit or when you arrive. Check the cemetery's page before you go.
The path from the cemetery down to the beach has been closed since 2016. You reach the sand by the public access nearby. The Overlord Museum stands 500 m from the cemetery, and some Paris days put its ticket in the fare.
Compare the D-Day days that start in Normandy, with Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the cemetery on each.
Gold Beach was one of the British landings. On Gold, Juno and Sword, British and Canadian divisions forced their way inland. Within a week, the Allies had linked their beachheads.
Arromanches sits on this stretch of coast. Off its beach you can still see the remains of Mulberry B, the floating harbour towed across the Channel to land supplies. UNESCO names it as one of the listing's key remains.
The Musée du Débarquement in Arromanches opened in 1954 as the first museum of the landings. It moved to a new building in 2023. An adult ticket costs €12.90, and a visit takes about an hour and a half. It closes in January.
Juno Beach is where the Canadians came ashore, at Courseulles-sur-Mer. The Juno Beach Centre, Canada's Second World War museum, opened behind the beach in 2003. It remembers the 45,000 Canadians who died in the war, 5,500 of them in the Battle of Normandy and 381 on D-Day.
A museum ticket is €9 in 2026, or €13.50 with the guided tour of the bunkers. The centre closes in January. From May to August it opens 9:30 am to 7 pm.
If you want the Canadian story, the Canadian day from Paris spends its Normandy hours here. It adds the Canadian war cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer and the Abbaye d'Ardenne, with the entrance fees in the fare.
Sword Beach is the easternmost of the five landing beaches. British forces landed here, and it is the last of the six sites on the UNESCO listing as you go east.
Most D-Day days from Bayeux and Paris spend their time in the American sector further west, so Sword Beach is rarely a stop. If you want it, a private day lets you set your own route along the coast.
Use this table to match a beach to a kind of day. The last column comes from each tour's own itinerary.
| Site, west to east | Who landed on 6 June 1944 | What you find there today | Which days reach it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Beach | U.S. 4th Infantry Division | The Utah Beach Museum on the sand | Full days from Bayeux; the coach days from Paris, with the museum in the fare |
| Pointe du Hoc | U.S. 2nd Ranger Battalion, up 100-foot cliffs | Craters and bunkers; west path only during the 2026-27 works | Most American-sector days |
| Omaha Beach | U.S. 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions | The American Cemetery on the bluff above; the Overlord Museum 500 m from it | Almost every D-Day day |
| Gold Beach | British divisions | Arromanches and the remains of Mulberry B | The train day from Paris and the private VIP day |
| Juno Beach | Canadian divisions | The Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer | The Canadian day from Paris |
| Sword Beach | British divisions | The eastern end of the listed coast | Not a stop on the shared days |
If you want to see more than one sector, a private day gives you the widest choice. A shared day from Bayeux gives you the most time in the American sector.
The history, the numbers and the hours come from UNESCO, the American Battle Monuments Commission and each museum's own page, checked 28 September 2026. Which tour reaches which beach comes from each tour's own itinerary.
Eight and a half hours from Place du Québec through the American sector: the paratroopers' village, Utah Beach with a lunch stop, the Rangers' cliff, Omaha Beach and one last landing beach. Ten seats at most.
From $170 per person
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Thirteen hours from Paris to Canada's beach: its museum with entrance fees paid, the Canadian war cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer and the Abbaye d'Ardenne. Eight seats.
From $273 per person
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The train from Paris to Bayeux with the rail tickets in the fare, then short guided stops along the coast from Utah to Arromanches. Final sale; ages 14 and over.
From $480 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: find the museums on things to do in Normandy, see the Normandy map, or compare every tour on Normandy Tours.