Mémorial de Caen and D-Day Sites Tour, Normandy

★★★★★ 4.8 (565 traveller reviews)

Caen: the Mémorial ticket deskMémorial de Caen ticketLive guideMax 7 people

Two things in one fare: a ticket for the war museum in Caen, visited at your own pace, and the museum's own guided afternoon on the American beaches. A van of seven leaves the ticket desk at one o'clock, spends about three hours at the sites, and brings you back five hours later. The museum can come before, after, or on another day.

Hours, prices and access verified by the Normandy Tours team — last checked 2026-09-28.

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The museum and the beaches, one fare

The museum ticket and the afternoon tour

This fare buys two separate things, and it helps to see them that way. The first is a ticket to the Mémorial de Caen, which you visit on your own. Its galleries cover the Second World War, the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy, a German general's underground bunker and the Cold War. Visitors spend a couple of hours on average, and you can take longer. On its own the ticket costs €20.80 for an adult aged 19 to 65 and €18.50 from 10 to 18, and children under 10 go free.

The second is a five-hour guided tour of the American sector, run by the museum and led by one of its guides, in English or in French. You book the language when you choose the date. A van of seven people at most leaves at 1 pm and comes back to the same door.

Three stops in the American sector

The drive west takes about 45 minutes. The first stop is Pointe du Hoc, for an hour: the clifftop where US Rangers climbed 100-foot cliffs on the morning of 6 June 1944 to reach German gun positions. It is under repair until mid-2027. The visitor center has been closed since March 2026, and since mid-May parts of the site are shut, with access by the west path only, so the guide works round the fences.

Fifteen minutes on, you spend 45 minutes on Omaha Beach, where American forces suffered over 4,000 casualties on D-Day. The last stop is the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, for an hour and a quarter: the memorial, the chapel and the rows of 9,389 graves above the sea. In July 2026 the cemetery closed its grave plots for a time because of drought, while the memorial, the chapel and the visitor center stayed open. Check the current notice before you go.

Museum before or after: planning the day

The museum and the tour can share one day or take two, and both work. Here is how to choose.

• Museum in the morning. Arrive when it opens, give it two or three hours, eat, and be at the ticket desk by 12:45. You reach the beaches knowing the whole story.
• Museum another day. If you are staying in Caen for two nights, keep the afternoon for the beaches and give the museum a fresh morning. It is a heavy visit after a heavy afternoon.
• Museum after the tour. Possible only if the museum is still open when you get back at about 6 pm, so check its hours for your date first.

Seven seats in the van

Seven is the smallest shared group we list for the beaches. It changes the day more than the number suggests: you hear every word at the cliff and you can ask questions between stops. One traveller noticed the guide always picked a spot away from the big groups. In summer, book early: seven seats do not last. Every other way to reach the American sector from Caen, Bayeux or Paris sits on the D-Day landing tours in Normandy page.

The afternoon, stop by stop

1. 12:45 pm, Caen. Be at the Mémorial de Caen ticket desk, 15 minutes before the 1 pm start.
2. West to the coast. About 45 minutes by van.
3. The Rangers' cliff. An hour at Pointe du Hoc, guided.
4. Omaha Beach. About 45 minutes on the beach, guided.
5. The cemetery. An hour and a quarter, guided, at the Normandy American Cemetery.
6. Back to Caen. About 45 minutes to the museum, five hours after the start.
7. The museum. Before or after, that day or another, at your own pace.

Who this suits, and who should book something else

What $170 covers, and what it leaves out

At the Mémorial's ticket desk, Esplanade Général Eisenhower

The tour starts inside the Mémorial de Caen, Esplanade Général Eisenhower, Caen. Go to the museum's ticket desk 15 minutes before the 1 pm departure, and the van brings you back to the museum at the end. There is no hotel pickup.

If you are also using the museum ticket that day, you are already in the right building. Where to stay weighs Caen against Bayeux as a base, and the map of the start points shows the museum against the Bayeux and Paris departures.

Know before you go

• The refund window is 48 hours. Cancel at least two days ahead for a full refund, not the usual 24 hours.
• Be early. Reach the ticket desk by 12:45; the van leaves at 1 pm.
• Food is not included. Eat before the start; the afternoon has no meal stop.
• Not for under-3s or wheelchair users. Give every child's age when you book.
• Wear comfortable shoes. The cliff is uneven ground and the cemetery is a long walk.
• Check the cemetery notice. The grave plots closed for a time in July 2026; the memorial and chapel stayed open.

What travellers said after the afternoon

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