France - Lower Normandy

Arromanches

Recenter Map To This Location

Arromanches is a lively seaside town whose broad crescent of golden sand was one of the D-Day landing beaches dominated by the British troops. In June, 1944 a huge floating harbor was erected in a gigantic U in the bay. Designed by British engineers, the harbor was comprised of massive concrete blocks, floating pier-heads, and 10 kilometers of floating pier “roads.” It was towed across the Channel and erected here, enabling the Allies to unload half-a-million tons of materials in a three-month period. After nearly 60 years of Atlantic storms much of the harbor is still in place and you can get an up-close look at several enormous sections marooned on the beach. Beside the beach is the D-Day Museum with its displays of models, photographs, and films of the military operations of June, 1944. (Closed Jan, tel: 02.31.22.34.31.) On the hillside above town is Arromanches 360, where an 18-minute production, The Price of Freedom, is dramatically shown on nine screens of this theater in the round. (Closed Jan, tel: 02.31.22.30.30.)