# Normandy’s D-Day beaches

> 3-day road trip of about 142 km (88 mi) with 8 stops, from Caen to Barfleur. About 1 h 58 min of driving in total.

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b2-d-day-beaches/

**At a glance:** 3-day road trip of about 142 km (88 mi) with 8 stops, from Caen to Barfleur. About 1 h 58 min of driving in total. From Pegasus Bridge to Utah Beach along the coast of 6 June 1944, with the Bayeux Tapestry and a granite fishing port to finish.

| | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 142 km (88 mi) |
| Driving | 1 h 58 min |
| Suggested days | 3 |
| Stops | 8 |
| Route | Caen → Barfleur |
| Countries | France |
| Updated | September 5, 2026 |

## Route description

Start in Caen, where the Mémorial museum gives the best overview of the Battle of Normandy, then drive north to Pegasus Bridge at Bénouville. From Ouistreham the D514 follows the coast west past Sword, Juno and Gold beaches, through small resorts with memorials on almost every seafront.

At Arromanches the remains of the Mulberry harbour lie offshore; the clifftop viewpoint east of town shows them best at low tide. Turn inland for Bayeux, the first town liberated, to see the tapestry and the cathedral, and spend the night there.

Back on the coast, the American Cemetery at Colleville overlooks Omaha Beach, and Pointe du Hoc’s cratered headland is a few kilometres further. Continue across the marshes of the Cotentin to the Utah Beach museum at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.

End in Barfleur, a granite harbour on the tip of the peninsula, with the tall Gatteville lighthouse just north. Parking is easy outside July and August; Cherbourg and Ouistreham both have ferries to England if you are coming from the UK.

## Stop-by-stop itinerary

1. **Caen** (France)
2. **Pegasus Bridge** (Bénouville, France): The canal bridge seized by British glider troops in the first minutes of D-Day. The original span now stands in the Memorial Pegasus museum across the water at Ranville.
3. **Arromanches Mulberry harbour** (Arromanches-les-Bains, France): Concrete caissons of the artificial harbour towed across the Channel in 1944 still lie in an arc offshore. See them best from the clifftop viewpoint east of the town at low tide.
4. **Bayeux** (France)
5. **Normandy American Cemetery** (Colleville-sur-Mer, France): More than 9,000 white marble headstones on the bluff above Omaha Beach. A path leads down to the sand; the visitor centre explains the landings calmly and well.
6. **Pointe du Hoc** (Cricqueville-en-Bessin, France): A headland still pitted with bomb craters and shattered bunkers, where US Rangers climbed the cliffs on 6 June 1944. Stay on the marked paths, the cliff edge is eroding.
7. **Utah Beach Museum** (Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, France): A museum built on the dunes of the westernmost landing beach, with a B-26 bomber inside. The long, empty beach outside is good for a quiet walk afterwards.
8. **Barfleur** (France)