Caen

Small Group Guided D-Day Tour and Mémorial de Caen Museum

Caen, France

From $195.19

Select Date and Travelers

Free cancellation
Up to 7 days in advance.
Nearby
  • 9 hours
  • Mobile ticket
  • Offered in: English

Overview

Tour the historic locations of World War II on this tour of D-Day sites and the Mémorial de Caen museum. See Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc and other important D-Day sites, as well as a guided tour of Mémorial de Caen. This day trip starts at Caen train station which is more than 2 hours by train from Paris).
  • Enjoy a guided tour of the Mémorial de Caen museum
  • Learn the stories behind the statistics of D-Day and World War II from the knowledgeable and passionate guide
  • Savor a 2-course lunch following the museum tour at Les Pommiers Restaurant at the Caen Memorial Museum
  • A small-group tour means a more intimate experience

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

This tour starts at Caen Train Station and ends at Bayeux Train Station, making it an ideal choice for day-trippers.

What's Included

  • Guided tour of the museum
  • Lunch
  • 5-hour guided tour of D-Day sites in English and French
  • Transport by air-conditioned minivan
  • Train tickets
  • Food and drinks, unless specified
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

  • Gare de Caen
    14000 Caen, France

    In Caen, you will be picked up by your guide at the mainline railway station. Your guide will be waiting in the main hall. Follow the signs ‘SORTIE Place de la Gare’ to go to the main hall. Your guide will be near the ‘Point de Rencontre’ sign and will have a board marked Memorial de Caen.

Start time

09:00 AM

End point

  • Gare
    14400 Bayeux, France

    Bayeux Railway Station

What To Expect

Meet your guide at the train station in Caen—this location makes it easy for day-trippers from Paris to catch a train over (own expense) in time for the tour.

Begin with a tour of the Mémorial de Caen museum, the exhibits of which spans the period from the end of World War I through the fall of the Berlin Wall. With the assistance of your guide (trained specifically by historians at the museum), gain a deeper understanding of the lead-up to D-Day on both sides of the war, and just how important D-Day was to the eventual end of World War II.

After your museum visit, enjoy a midday lunch break. The lunch is the restaurant in the Memorial de Caen museum called Les Pommiers. The lunch also includes coffee or tea.

You're welcome to ask questions of your guide as you dine.

At the conclusion of the meal, climb into a climate-controlled minivan to begin a guided visit to many of the area's most significant D-Day sites that you learned about earlier at the museum. 

See Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and the American Military Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer. 

With either tour, the stories shared by your guide will help bring some of the history back to life and add a human touch to enormous events like D-Day and World War II as a whole. By the time your tour concludes, you should have a greater understanding of exactly how crucial D-Day was to the Allied war effort, and perhaps a deeper appreciation for the young people who gave their lives in the war. The cemeteries are the perfect places to pay your respects.

The tour ends at Bayeux train station, making it easy for you to hop on a train back into Paris if you need to (own expense).

Memorial de Caen

3 hours Admission Ticket Included

Pointe du Hoc

45 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Omaha Beach

40 minutesAdmission Ticket Free

Cimetiere Americain de Colleville-sur-Mer

1 hour Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

  • Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
  • The tour is not suitable for children under 3 years old
  • Not wheelchair accessible
  • If you are taking the train from Paris, you will need to make your own travel arrangements and buy your own train ticket. You should aim to arrive in Caen by 9am
  • Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 7 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 7 days in advance of the experience for a full refund.

  • For a full refund, you must cancel at least 7 full days before the experience’s start time.
  • Any changes made less than 6 full days before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • For a 50% refund, you must cancel 3–6 full days before the experience’s start time.
  • If you cancel less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
  • Any changes made less than 2 full days before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
  • Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.

Traveler Photos

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Traveler Tips


a cooler with water, and hearing assist would have been good, the guide was very good the van was comfortable
A full day with very good value and would recommend this to all of my friends,

Reviews

5.0
222 reviews
Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews
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Showing 1-10 of 222 reviews
Some things heal.
Linda_N, Jul 2023
Mariline, our guide was charming, kind, and impressively knowledgeable about the geography and history that brings people to the Normandy beaches. The Memoriale de Caen is one of the best museums I’ve ever seen. It chronicles the events leading to D-Day from the treaty of Versailles in 1919. Egocentric as most, it hadn’t occurred to me the devastation German occupation delivered on Normandy, especially Caen. I was most moved by Omaha beach today. It’s a lovely strip of shore where children play, teens splash, families stroll, and dogs gleefully run away from their people. Things heal.
Great tour!
Ian_L, Jun 2023
This was a great tour to be able to see all of the big Normandy sites in a day. I commuted from Paris just for a day trip and felt it was well worth it. Our guide, Mario, was engaging, funny, and incredibly knowledgeable. Highly recommend this tour!
A day very well spent.. we learned so much more than what we learned in school. The Caen Museum tour was invaluable.
Danny_H, Jun 2023
The American cemetery is such a great tribute to the soldiers that gave their lives in fight against fascism. So sad that so many young men and women had to die to stop Nazi's but there really was no alternative. The fight would have continued for many more years.
Great Overview of DDAY
Latrice_B, Mar 2020
We toured March 2020 and our tour guide (Laura) was fantastic. We definitely recommend this tour for a nice overview.
Excellent and moving experience
Christopher_J, Nov 2019
I had been to the Normandy landing beaches and the American Cemetery at Normandy before, but wanted to learn and see more, so I decided to take this tour. I absolutely loved it. Out guide Rosie was incredibly knowledgeable and personable. She was very flexible and adapted to everyone's needs and interests, and ensured I received a dairy-free lunch at the museum restaurant. The museum itself was impressive; I only wish we had more time to spend there. With a tour such as this, they are trying to ensure you get a taste of all of it, and you could easily spend several days touring the area and visiting the museum's, and they really did put together an excellent one-day itinerary. The 360-degree film at Arromanches is a great way to end the tour, and was very impressive. I would not hesitate to book another tour with this company. Thank you so much!
D-Day tour
riddelljed, Oct 2019
Guide was extremely knowledgeable and presented material very effectively. Would certainly recommend to others.
A full and emotional day
bankheadk, Oct 2019
Our guide was fantastic. Wish we could have spent a little bit more time in the museum...it was a little bit rushed. It was nice to get an overview of everything building up to the war. Having lunch included was easy and the food was okay. Driving to and spending time in the different spots, again getting information from our guide, was really great. The only problem was having to wait at the train station for an hour upon arrival for other members in our group that had missed transferring to another train after our first train had broken down.
The best tour we’ve taken!
630jennie, Oct 2019
Our guide, Lora, made the entire day perfect! The knowledge and understanding she brought to the events of D-Day truly left us in awe. We appreciate so much her professionalism and the way she brought the events of this time to life.
See the most with your time
sammiejo2019, Oct 2019
This was an amazing day. Taking the train from Paris allowed us to see all the best of Normandy in one day. We had a friendly and knowledgeable tour guide. There were only 6 people total in our tour so it felt like a very personal experience. The museum, beaches and cemetery all in one day.
Great Experience!!
John1953USA, Sep 2019
We had Marino and Frederick as tour guides and they were both knowledgeable and personable. We rented a car, but I am glad we took the D- Day tour instead. It was a very emotional trip and the tour was extremely informative as well as entertaining. Both guides were experts on the events of D-Day and everyone we met from Normandy was grateful and respectful of America’s role in the liberation France. I also came away with a better understanding of the sacrifices our allies and the French made during WW2 and on the Beaches of Normandy. We also had a delicious lunch (order the duck) at the Caen Museum. I can’t thank Viator enough for the entire experience. John P., Florida
Educational ,Enjoyable and Memorable
David_S, Sep 2019
Our guide Rosie was excellent, an experienced and professional guide who works for the Caen Museum. From the initial greeting at the Train station to the end good byes 8 hours later she was entertaining and wonderfully educational. The Museum was more than I expected, very big and filled with amazing visuals. It was very interesting to hear the French side of the war and the divisions within the country as well as the Europe events leading into and out of the war. The highlight was walking through the bunker. A very nice lunch was provided and then we were driven in a nice 8 person van to the first site Point du Hoc the area where the Rangers launched their landing, After an introduction by Rosie we were given ample free time to wander the area and explore the landscape and appreciate the task the rangers had in June 1944. The cliffs are huge! The 2nd stop was Omaha beach where a huge and impressive sandy beach remains. Again free time to wander and take in the views and flashback to the many war movies that showed the landing. Off on a nice beach road drive through the village to the American Cemetery - massive grave sight overlooking the Beach, with a memorial. Rosie provided some interesting facts and then we were given time to walk the area. From here were taken to the last stop where we watched an impressive 20 minute 9 movie screen in the round movie on D Day and the troop advances that finally made it to Paris. The visuals and the music was outstanding and again using film that I had never seen before. A full day with very good value and would recommend this to all of my friends,
A great day
James_C, Sep 2019
The tour provided a great overview of events leading up to the day, the day itself, and the events that followed. The guide was intelligent, well spoken, and had a great personality and sense of humor. Made our visit to Normandie a thoroughly enjoyable day.
well done
Mark W, Sep 2019
a cooler with water, and hearing assist would have been good, the guide was very good the van was comfortable
D-Day Tour
Susan_B, Sep 2019
I highly recommend this tour. I also took it two years ago and learned even more this time around. It's very moving and reinforces all the brave things our soldiers have done to protect us.
Reflecting
Fearless14496886579, Sep 2019
The tour was wonderful. Our tour guide, Cynthia, was very knowledgeable and informative, and quite enthusiastic to share. She has a delightful ability to seem like you've known her for years. We truly enjoyed the experience.
D-Day Tour
Pcady J, Sep 2019
Our guide Max was excellent at explaining the whole D-Day experience. My only complaint was that we had no time to visit the Caen Memorial Museum due to waiting at the RR station for late arriving guests. Perhaps in the future all guests arriving on time should be transported to museum while another guide waits for those guests that arrive late.
D Day tour from Caen
Dsquaredx2, Aug 2019
An excellent tour!! Professional and well organized. Having a guide and driver to take all the effort out of traveling allowed us to fully enjoy the sites and their historical significance. Patricia was superb! Here command of English was excellent and her knowledge of the sites and the history of WWII and D Day was exhaustive. There is no way we could have learned and enjoyed so much on our own.I would highly recommend this tour. The lunch at the Museum was excellent as well.
An Unforgettable Experience
Greyson_H, Aug 2019
As a student of history with a passion for the World Wars in particular, I wanted to take a tour of the D-Day sites while I was in Normandy. I chose this specific tour because it included not only the beaches, but also Pointe du Hoc and the Memorial de Caen Museum. The guide did fantastic job, and she presented a rich account of the Battle of Normandy without overwhelming the group. She also allowed us some free time at each site, which was very nice. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and would highly recommend it to anyone who wishes to visit the D-Day areas.
D-Day Beaches
Bryan_T, Jul 2019
The tour was excellent! Our tour guide was very knowledgeable on the subject of the D-Day landings and the history that led up to them. The tour van was comfortable. The driver expertly maneuvered the van through numerous narrow streets and concentrations of traffic. We were there during the July heat spell so there were many people on the beaches sunbathing. I would advise a late spring or early fall visit to avoid some of the crowds and discomfort from the heat.
D-Day Tour
Noreen_G, Jun 2019
Since we visited on the busy weekend of the 75th anniversary, we unfortunately were unable to tour the Memorial de Caen Museum. The visits to the Landing Beaches were an extremely emotional experience. Overall the tour was worth every second and the lunch was delicious. Highly recommend this tour.
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Small Group Guided D-Day Tour and Mémorial de Caen Museum

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