Arromanches

Visit Arromanches, Normandy

More correctly known as Arromanches-les-Bains, this coastal town is found in the Calvados department of Lower Normandy.

Arromanches is a pleasant seaside town which is famous for the part it played in the D-day landings on June 6 1944. Arromanches was in the forefront of the landings as its beach, designated Gold Beach during the operations, was one of the beaches selected to receive the man-made landing harbours, known as the Mulberry Harbours.

(Historical note: the other beach was Omaha Beach near St Laurent sur Mer). The harbours were designed such that they could be floated across the English Channel to act as a temporary harbour for the D-Day Landings.

Explore Arromanches

Remains of the Mulberry Harbour can still be seen at Arromanches with a couple of the concrete harbours sat on the beach and a line of them to be seen in the sea. It sounds a bit grim but really it is quite evocative and eerie.

The beach is a lovely long stretch of golden sand and the town has a pleasant, lively atmosphere and there are plenty of bars, hotels and restaurants to make this a good holiday base. But the landings remain one of the key attractions to this area.

There is a museum in Arromanches with information about Operation Overlord and the Mulberry Harbour and there is a lot of WWII weaponry in the museum and scattered around the town. There is also a 360°, 9 screen cinema showing the film « Le Prix de la Liberté ». The film contains archive footage of the D-Day landings.

Nearby to Arromanches les Bains are the Normandy landing beaches of Omaha, Juno and Utah as well as a number of Allied war memorials and cemeteries. Arromanches is also close to Bayeux and its famous tapestry.

Photos of Arromanches (click any picture to start the gallery)

Suggested places to visit near Arromanches, France

Distances shown are direct, driving distances will be greater.

More suggestions: Cabourg 37km; Dives-sur-Mer 38km; Houlgate 40km; Villers-sur-Mer 45km; Beuvron 45km; Deauville 50km; Trouville 51km; Cambremer 53km; Le Havre 55km; Villerville 55km; Falaise 59km; Vire 59km; Barfleur 59km;

See these places and more on a map at places near Arromanches

Arromanches tourism: sights and attractions nearby

Jardins du château de Brécy - remarkable garden (8km) : Prieuré de Saint Gabriel Brécy (Saint-Gabriel-Brecy) - religious monument (8km) : Cathédrale Notre Dame (Bayeux) - religious monument (9km) : Prieuré (Saint-Gabriel-Brecy) - religious monument (10km) : Eglise de Saint Pierre (Rucqueville) - religious monument (10km) : Plantbessin - remarkable garden (20km) : Abbaye de Caen (Caen) - religious monument (26km) : Abbaye de Cerisy-la-Forêt (Cerisy-la-Foret) - religious monument (28km) :

French version: see Arromanches (Francais)