Museums · Cricqueville-en-Bessin
1 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.
View full page →What to see in Calvados in 3 days
Calvados brings together the D-Day beaches, towns of art and history, abbeys, castles and the Pays d'Auge. Bayeux, Caen and the Côte Fleurie each have their own identity.
This itinerary spreads the best-rated sites in the catalogue over three days.
Our day-by-day itinerary
The map shows the numbered stops in visiting order, with one colour per day. The line follows the roads where available; otherwise it joins the stops as the crow flies. Distances and times are approximate (by car, without traffic).
Day 1 — Pointe du Hoc to Château de Caen
This day brings together 3 sites close to each other: castles and museums. It passes through Cricqueville-en-Bessin. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Castles · Calvados
2 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.
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Castles · Calvados
3 Château de Caen
Founded in the eleventh century by William the Conqueror, Caen castle has known many vicissitudes during its very long history.
View full page →Day 2 — La Brèche du Diable to Honfleur
This day brings together 5 sites close to each other: natural wonders, castles and villages. It passes through Honfleur. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Natural wonders · Calvados
4 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.
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Castles · Calvados
5 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.
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Villages · Calvados
6 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".
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Natural wonders · Calvados
7 Les Falaises des Vaches Noires
The Vaches Noires in Normandy (Calvados, France) are cliffs made mainly of clays and glauconitic chalk.
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Towns & cities · Honfleur
8 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.
View full page →Day 3 — Gorges de la Vire to Méandre de Hom
This day brings together 4 sites close to each other: waterfalls, theme parks and museums. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Waterfalls · Calvados
9 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…
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Theme parks · Calvados
10 Souterroscope des Ardoisières
Discovery of the underground world, a "fossilised" underground slate quarry dug by human hand in the heart of the Norman Bocage.
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Museums · Calvados
11 Musée mémorial de la Bataille de Normandie
The Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum is entirely devoted to those few weeks of our contemporary history.
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Natural wonders · Calvados
12 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.
View full page →When to go
From May to September the days are long and the weather milder. Spring and autumn are calmer. The weather can change quickly: pack a waterproof layer.
Getting around
A car is practical for linking the beaches and the hinterland. Caen and Bayeux are explored on foot. In summer, the coast is very busy.
Our tips
- Book museums and D-Day sites in advance.
- Pack a waterproof layer.
- Taste Norman products: cider, Calvados, Camembert.
- Respect places of remembrance.
If you have more time
Museums · Calvados
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.
Museums · Calvados
Mémorial Pegasus
At dawn on 6 June 1944, the first Allied liberators landed at Ranville – Bénouville.
Castles · Calvados
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.
Museums · Calvados
Paléospace l'Odyssée
A museum for the whole family to discover palaeontology. The evolution of the earth, fossils, dinosaurs...
Museums · Calvados
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.
Museums · Calvados
Arromanches 360
Overlooking the Arromanches site, the circular cinema "Arromanches 360°" projects on 9 screens the film "The Price of Freedom".
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