Pegasus Memorial Museum (Pegasus Bridge)
The basics
The historic bridge over the Caen Canal has been replaced by modern construction, steps away from the nearby memorial and museum. Among the finest war museums in Normandy, the small site features an impressive collection whose highlights include a tank and a reproduction Horsa glider. This is a featured stop on many Normandy history tours, Second World War tours, and tours exploring D-Day battlefields.
Things to know before you go
- Come prepared for outside weather, as many of the museum’s exhibits are displayed in a park-like exterior.
- Bring your smartphone to the museum. QR codes throughout the property link to information in 10 languages.
- The museum is wheelchair accessible.
How to get there
The Pegasus Memorial Museum is located on Avenue du Major Howard in Ranville, between Caen and Ouistreham. It’s possible to reach Ranville from Caen using bus lines 20 and 120. Both make regular departures from the main Caen bus station, dropping passengers in the center of Ranville 18 minutes later.
Trip ideas
When to get there
The museum is open daily, with 1.5-hour guided tours of the site offered in French and English. (Call the museum for updated tour schedules.) The busiest period stretches from late May through early June, when the region commemorates D-Day and French liberation with parades, memorials, and other events.
Visiting Café Gondrée
The first French house liberated in the Normandy campaign—then occupied by members of the French Resistance—is located a few steps from the Pegasus Memorial Museum. Called Café Gondrée, the family-owned coffeehouse is adorned with military artifacts, and veterans are treated to Champagne on the anniversary of the Allied invasion. While the landmark is now somewhat more commercial, it remains a key stop on D-Day tours of the region.
- Ranville War Cemetery
- Merville Battery (Batterie de Merville)
- Abbaye aux Dames
- Caen Museum of Fine Arts (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen)
- Normandy Museum (Musée de Normandie)
- Caen Castle (Château de Caen)
- Caen Memorial Museum (Mémorial de Caen)
- La Colline aux Oiseaux Park (Parc de La Colline aux Oiseaux)
- Abbaye aux Hommes
- Beuvron-en-Auge
- Arromanches-les-Bains
- Mulberry Harbour
- Deauville
- Trouville (Trouville-sur-Mer)
- Pays d'Auge