Calvados: what to see and do
42 sites listed in the département. Normandy at its most typical, the Calvados combines D-Day beaches full of history, smart seaside resorts such as Deauville and bocage countryside where Norman cows graze. Bayeux and its thousand-year-old tapestry complete a rich heritage between sea and history.
Honfleur
A historic port on the Seine estuary, with its Vieux Bassin lined with tall half-timbered houses, a source of inspiration for the Impressionist painters.
Pointe du Hoc
A steep rocky promontory stormed by the American Rangers on 6 June 1944, whose ground, shattered by craters, and blockhouses still bear witness to the fighting.
La Brèche du Diable
9 km north of Falaise, near Soumont-Saint-Quentin, the Laizon river has forced a passage through the hills of Armorican sandstone.
Les Falaises des Vaches Noires
The Vaches Noires in Normandy (Calvados, France) are cliffs made mainly of clays and glauconitic chalk.
Aquavire
Arromanches 360
Overlooking the Arromanches site, the circular cinema "Arromanches 360°" projects on 9 screens the film "The Price of Freedom".
Beuvron-en-Auge
A little jewel of Norman architecture, dominated by half-timbering, Beuvron-en-Auge is classified as a "most beautiful village of France".
Blangy-le-Château
A village of the Pays d'Auge, in the heart of a Norman bocage, ranked among the Most Beautiful Villages of France.
Centre Juno Beach
A place of remembrance in homage to Canadians and a cultural centre, the Juno Beach Centre, which opened its doors at Courseulles-sur-Mer on 6 June 2003, presents the civil and military war effort of the whole population of Canada and different faces of contemporary Canadian society.
Chemin de fer miniature
One of the largest miniature railway installations in Europe in HO scale (1/87).
Château de Caen
Founded in the eleventh century by William the Conqueror, Caen castle has known many vicissitudes during its very long history.
Château de Canon et ses jardins
The château de Canon is a château in the commune of Mézidon-Canon, in the French Calvados département, in Normandy.
Château de Colombières
This fourteenth-century castle is a quadrilateral surrounded by water-filled moats and imposing towers. It is built in a calm and enchanting site that cannot leave you indifferent.
Château de Crèvecoeur
Château de Guillaume-le-Conquérant (Falaise)
Set on a rocky spur between the valleys of the Ante and the Marescot, formerly surrounded by marshes, the William the Conqueror castle of Falaise overlooks the town of which it is the emblem.
Château de Vendeuvre - Musée du mobilier
The château de Vendeuvre is in the commune of Vendeuvre, between Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives and Falaise, in Normandy.
Cimetière Américain de Normandie
With an area of seventy hectares, the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer is one of the fourteen American cemeteries of the Second World War.
Demoiselles de Fontenailles
The three limestone pinnacles stood like monuments facing the sea that sculpted them. The best way to reach the chaos is to walk the beach at low tide.
FORMEO Complexe Aquatique du Pays de Falaise
Festyland
Gorges de la Vire
In the south-west of the département, the Bocage Virois, crossed by the rivers Vire and Souleuvre, lies in a landscape of great variety: granite plateaus alternate with valleys carved by schist, offering a contrasting succession of wooded hills, sheer faces…
La cathédrale de Bayeux
Bayeux's Notre-Dame cathedral, dedicated in 1077 in the presence of William, was one of the most important Romanesque monuments.
Le Cerza
Created in 1986 by the brothers Patrick and Thierry Jardin in the Pays d'Auge, the Cerza zoological park extends over several tens of hectares and hosts about 1,500 animals belonging to more than 120 species from around the world.
Le Mémorial de Caen
Visit the Caen Memorial, the first museum devoted to the history of the twentieth century.
Musée Mémorial d'Omaha
Presentation of a collection of military vehicles, weapons, costumes and insignia used by American and German soldiers during the Second World War.
Musée de Normandie
The Musée de Normandie is a municipal museum of the city of Caen, in the Calvados département, region of Basse-Normandie.
Musée de la Percée du Bocage
Through 8 museum spaces and a sound-and-light show presented with a diorama, the guided visit lets you discover the adventure of the fighters in the bocage.
Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux
The Bayeux Tapestry (Calvados) is a 70-metre-long embroidery made in the eleventh century.
Musée du Débarquement
Tells the story of the artificial harbour built in the wake of the landings. Guided visit (in 7 languages). 4 parts: presentation of animated models, slide show, free visit, archive film.
Musée et sites archéologiques de Vieux-la-Romaine
A cultural building, of original museographic design, entirely devoted to history.
Musée mémorial de la Bataille de Normandie
The Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum is entirely devoted to those few weeks of our contemporary history.
Méandre de Hom
The Hom loop, near Thury-Harcourt-le-Hom, is one of the emblematic sites of Suisse Normande: the Orne describes there a wide meander enclosed between rocky cliffs and green meadows, forming a peninsula called the Hom.
Mémorial Pegasus
At dawn on 6 June 1944, the first Allied liberators landed at Ranville – Bénouville.
Naturospace
In the largest tropical butterfly greenhouse in France, kept at 28°C, the most extraordinary species rival in shape and colour the most exotic flowers.
Pain de sucre
In the commune of Saint-Omer, in the Calvados, the Route des Crêtes overlooks the Orne valley in the heart of the Suisse Normande.
Paléospace l'Odyssée
A museum for the whole family to discover palaeontology. The evolution of the earth, fossils, dinosaurs...
Parc animalier de la Dame Blanche
Discover the Dame Blanche wildlife park.
Plage de Deauville
An elegant beach on the Côte Fleurie, known for its Planches, colourful parasols and cabins bearing the names of stars.
Souterroscope des Ardoisières
Discovery of the underground world, a "fossilised" underground slate quarry dug by human hand in the heart of the Norman Bocage.
Zoo de Jurques
Destination Jurques for a day as close as possible to wildlife. Rub shoulders with more than 500 animals from all over the planet. 15 hectares of wooded park for 3 kilometres of free visit. Extremely rare! White lions: 32 in the world, 3 at Jurques.
Abbaye aux Hommes
A Romanesque abbey founded around 1060 by William the Conqueror, whose twin-towered church of Saint-Étienne dominates the centre of Caen.
Deauville
A chic seaside resort of the Côte Fleurie, famous for its wooden Planches along the beach, its cabins bearing star names and its American film festival.