#1 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Universite de Caen
Caen
~0.19 miles from Caen city center
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The Université de Caen Basse-Normandie (or Caen University) is a university in Caen, in France.
The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector being a Cornishman, Michael Tregury, afterwards Archbishop of Dublin. It originally consisted of a faculty of Canon Law and a faculty of Law. By 1438, it already had five faculties. The foundation was confirmed by the King of France Charles VII the Victorious in 1452.
On July 7, 1944, the university was totally destroyed by aerial bombing. Reconstruction began in 1948, the new university was inaugurated on June 1 and 2, 1957. Its logo, the mythical Phoenix, symbolises this revival.
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#2 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Chateau de Caen
Caen
~0.22 miles from Caen city center
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The Château de Caen is a castle in the French town of Caen in the Calvados département (Basse-Normandie). It has been officially classed as a Monument historique since 1886.
The castle was built circa 1060 by William the Conqueror, who successfully conquered England in 1066. His son Henry I then built the Saint Georges church, a keep (1123) and a large hall for the Duke Court
At Christmas 1182 a royal court celebration for Christmas in the aula of Caen Castle brought together Henry II and his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland, receiving more than a thousand knights.
Caen Castle, along with all of Normandy, was handed over to the French Crown in 1204. Philip II reinforced the fortifications.
The castle saw several engagements during the Hundred Years' War (1346, 1417, 1450). The keep was pulled down in 1793 during the French Revolution, by order of the National Convention.
The castle, which was used as a barracks during World War II, was bombed in 1944 and seriously damaged.
In 1946, Michel de Boüard, an archeologist from Caen decided to start excavations in the area of the castle to bring to the light medieval traces. The musée des Beaux-Arts, which was installed in 1967, opened in 1971.
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#3 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Eglise de la Sainte Trinite
Caen
~0.41 miles from Caen city center
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The Église de la Sainte-Trinité is a Catholic church located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. The church is an edifice of the Second Empire period, built between 1861 and 1867 at a cost of almost 4 million francs.
La Trinité, as it is known, was designed by Théodore Ballu as part of the beautification and reorganization of Paris under Baron Haussmann. The church is accessible by the Métro (the nearby station, Trinité, is named after it) and is known internationally for its former organist and famous composer, Olivier Messiaen.
It was the site of Hector Berlioz's funeral, 11 March 1869.
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#4 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
City Centre Caen
Caen
~0.52 miles from Caen city center
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#5 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Abbaye aux Hommes
Caen
~0.81 miles from Caen city center
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The city of Caen first became important under the Norman dukes in the 10th and 11th centuries and was the capital of lower Normandy under William I. William I the Conqueror and his wife Matilda founded two monastic communities in Caen, the Abbaye-aux-Hommes (dedicated to St. Stephen) for men and the Abbaye-aux-Dames for women
http://abbaye-aux-hommes.cef.fr/
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#6 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Festyland
Calvados
~2.95 miles from Caen city center
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Parc Festyland is a relative small theme park situated within the Caen ringroad (A13/A84) in Lower Normandy, France. Sometimes referred to as residing in Carpiquet in terms of Greater Caen, the theme park receives approximately 110,000 visitors a year.
Parc Festyland, like a true theme park, has a prominent style that all of the park follows - from rides to restaurants to surroundings alike. The park is based around the 1066 era of time, but being a family theme park, it mainly concentrates on the architecture and stereotypes of the time. The Parc Festyland logo is depicted by a friendly, young faced dragon sporting a Viking hat and a large grin. Although there have been some arguments over whether this is a suitable logo, the decision was reached that this represents a family theme park very well.
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#7 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Sword Beach
Ouistreham
~8.11 miles from Caen city center
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Sword Beach was the code name of one of the five main landing beaches in Operation Neptune, which was the initial assault phase of Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944). Stretching 8 km from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer it was the farthest east of the landing points and around 15 km from Caen. The initial landings were achieved with low casualties, but the British forces ran into heavily defended areas behind the beachhead. The British landings were the only Allied sectors that faced attack by German Panzer Divisions on 6 June 1944.
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#8 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Juno Beach
Calvados
~11.07 miles from Caen city center
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Juno Beach was one of the five main landing sites of the Allied invasion of the coast of Normandy on D-Day during World War II. It was situated between Sword Beach and Gold Beach. It is also known as the Canadian beach, as it was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division. Juno Beach stretched from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer on the east to Courseulles-sur-Mer on the west. The 3rd Canadian Division was placed under the command of British I Corps for the initial phase of the invasion, and did not come under Canadian command again until July 1944 and the establishment of II Canadian Corps headquarters in Normandy. Despite being assigned to the Canadians, significant British forces were also present at Juno Beach. The naval component of the invasion force was known as Force J.
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#9 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
City Centre Cabourg
Cabourg
~13.14 miles from Caen city center
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#10 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Centre Guillaume le Conquerant
Bayeux
~16.45 miles from Caen city center
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#11 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
City Centre Bayeux
Bayeux
~16.48 miles from Caen city center
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#12 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Cathedrale Notre Dame Bayeux
Bayeux
~16.61 miles from Caen city center
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Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux) is a Norman-Romanesque cathedral, located in the town of Bayeux. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bayeux. It was the original home of the Bayeux Tapestry and is a national monument of France.
The site is an ancient one and was once occupied by Roman sanctuaries. The present cathedral was consecrated on 14 July 1077 in the presence of William, Duke of Normandy and King of England. It was here that William forced Harold Godwinson to take the oath, the breaking of which lead to the Norman conquest of England.
Bayeux Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux) is a Norman-Romanesque cathedral, located in the town of Bayeux. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bayeux. It was the original home of the Bayeux Tapestry and is a national monument of France.
The site is an ancient one and was once occupied by Roman sanctuaries. The present cathedral was consecrated on 14 July 1077 in the presence of William, Duke of Normandy and King of England. It was here that William forced Harold Godwinson to take the oath, the breaking of which lead to the Norman conquest of England.
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#13 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Musee de la Bataille Normande
Bayeux
~16.88 miles from Caen city center
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Situated in the largest city of the region, the war museum of Bayeux is one of the best of its kind, the "Musée Mémorial de la Bataille de Normandie" (Battle for Normandy Museum).
The impressive buildings are easy to be reached and there is a large parking lot available for both private cars and buses. This is a requirement as trips and excursions by groups are being organized the whole year round; from all over the world visitors arrive to see the museum in the first liberated large city in France. Various delegations of the “British War graves Pilgrimage” pay a visit annually and the museum hosts regularly groups of veterans.Not too far away from the museum various military cemeteries can be found.
In front of the entrance of the museum on the large surrounding grass lawn various well conserved tanks have been placed on pedestals, next to the monument memorizing the liberation of the city of Bayeux. A British Churchill Tank is proudly exposed on one corner of the lawn and in another corner an American Sherman Tank points its threatening barrel at the road.
A real eye catcher is the impressive American Tank Destroyer M-10, a reasonably rare appearance.
Also in front of the museum a German Hetzer Jagdpantzer (Tank destroyer) has been positioned in its dark yellow - reddish brown - dark green camouflaged livery. The British veterans still look at it with respect and awe.
Inside, after we passed the cashier, we enter the corridors with the glass exposition cases. Rows with fully armed and uniformed dummies look us in the face. A bit further on we find show cases with side arms, a whole wall decorated with American paratroopers, a separate showcase with an MG-34 on its tripod including spare barrels and ammunition cases, even more dressed up dummies, flags, standards, badges and decorations.
Through an adjoined corridor we enter the second part of the museum. Immediately your view is captured by the anti aircraft guns, armored vehicles, a Scouts car and a Flak 88. A large collection of transports are gathered together as if you were inside an army camp. You will see mortars in all sorts of sizes and calibers as well as a Goliath Tank (which is a remotely controlled little tank which could be charged with almost 100 kilograms of explosives). You will find German, English, French and American equipment.
The glass walls of the corridors are completely dressed with photographs and original documents, army maps printed on silk or cotton and pictures and pieces of equipment that have been donated by veterans to the museum, often mentioning their sources. Too many documents to go through in detail; you would need a week at least to read them all! Very moving are the personal effects of the soldiers that have perished during the actions in Normandy. On one of these walls you can see the picture of PFC Raymond J. Nellis. He served in the American 5th Infantry Division and was killed near St.Lo on 30 July, 1944. Except the photograph of the unworried, young soldier there is an ‘in Memory card’ as well as his soldiers’ pay book.
Above the picture a telegram, of Western Union, to the parents of Nellis has been placed; “The Secretary of War desires me to express his deep regret that your son Private J. Nellis was killed in action on thirty July in France. Letter follows. Aug 21 1944”. Next to the telegram a newspaper clipping has been pinned that tells the story of soldier who was killed at 20 years of age; that he joined the Service on March 1st, 1943, that he measured 6 ft tall, that he was the second to be killed of his village Lyons in the State of New York, that he had three brothers who all three served in the army: Corporal Robert Charles Nellis in Italy, sergeant William Nellis in France and Corporal Charles Nellis in England. The last just had sent him a pic of himself and his British wife. Behind the window of the Nellis family a flag had been exposed with four stars. One star for each son that served his country.
At that moment “Saving Private Ryan” was very close to me.
In some of the pathways in the museum vehicles have been parked. Jeeps, armored cars and half tracks. On the ceiling you will see numerous carefully deployed parachutes. Barrels of a Panther and a Tiger Tank are stretched out on the floor.
A diorama in scale 1: 32 and than, suddenly around a corner, a real life-size diorama: a section of a city, destroyed by fighting… soldiers that walk between the rubble. Bullet shells, lost pieces of equipment and grenades. It reminded me of similar dioramas in the Museum Hartenstein in Oosterbeek and the army museum in Diekirch.
You also will be able to see personal letters of, amongst others, Field Marshall Montgomery.
The last room has been dedicated to aviation. A crashed Spitfire has been transformed into a diorama in full size (including sods of turf). There are also many dioramas on scale 1:32 about actions like for example the boarding of the paratroopers in their C-47. In a corner a tailfin with a swastika has been exposed.
Every hour you may visit the movie show in the museum. The picture shows parts of the museum and also depicts in detail the invasion of Normandy and the following battles. The voice of Eisenhower addressing his troops: ”You are about to embark upon a Great Crusade”.
The museum in Bayeux is an absolute must for those that want to elaborate on the history of the war in Normandy.
For current visiting hours, please contact the museum.
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#14 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Deauville La Touques Racecourse
Calvados
~17.30 miles from Caen city center
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Hippodrome Deauville-La Touques is a race track for thoroughbred horse racing located in Deauville in the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région of France. Originally called Hippodrome de la Touques, it was named for the Touques River that separates the city of Deauville from Trouville-sur-Mer. It was constructed in 1862 by Charles Auguste Louis Joseph, duc de Morny, the half brother of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte.
The countryside around Deauville is the main horse breeding region in France and home to numerous stud farms.
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#15 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Plage Deauville
Calvados
~17.75 miles from Caen city center
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#16 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Olympic Pool
Deauville
~22.54 miles from Caen city center
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#17 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Deauville Casino
Deauville
~22.66 miles from Caen city center
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Deauville is a town and a commune in the Calvados département in the Basse-Normandie region of France. With its racecourse, harbour, international film festival, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the "queen of the Norman beaches". Since the 19th-century, the town of Deauville has been a fashionable holiday resort for the international upper class. Deauville is also a desired family resort.
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#18 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Tennis Club
Deauville
~22.75 miles from Caen city center
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#19 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
The Horse Races
Deauville
~22.84 miles from Caen city center
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The Prix du Calvados is a Group 3 flat horse race in France which is open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,400 metres (about 7 furlongs), and it is scheduled to take place each year in August.
The event is named after Calvados, the French department in which Deauville is located. It was established in 1970, and it was initially contested over 1,300 metres. This was extended to the present distance in 1977, and at the same time the race was promoted to Group 3 status. It is now the first Group race of the year in France which is exclusively reserved for two-year-old fillies.
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#20 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
City Centre Deauville
Deauville
~22.95 miles from Caen city center
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#21 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
City Centre Lisieux
Calvados
~26.70 miles from Caen city center
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#22 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
Omaha Beach
Calvados
~28.23 miles from Caen city center
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Omaha Beach is the code name for one of the main landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June, 1944, during World War II.
The beach was located on the coast of Normandy, France, facing the English Channel, and was 5 miles (8 km) long, from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to west of Vierville-sur-Mer on the right bank of the Douve River estuary. Landings here were necessary in order to link up the British landings to the east with the American landing to the west at Utah beach, thus providing a continuous lodgement on the Normandy coast of the Bay of the Seine. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops, with sea transport provided by the U.S. Navy and elements of the Royal Navy.
On D-Day, the untested 29th Infantry Division, joined by nine companies of U.S. Army Rangers redirected from Pointe du Hoc, were to assault the western half of the beach. The battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division was given the eastern half. The initial assault waves, consisting of tanks, infantry, and combat engineer forces, were carefully planned to reduce the coastal defences and allow the larger ships of the follow-up waves to land.
The primary objective at Omaha was to secure a beachhead of some five miles (eight kilometres) depth, between Port-en-Bessin and the Vire River, linking with the British landings at Gold Beach to the east, and reaching the area of Isigny to the west to link up with VII Corps landing at Utah Beach. Opposing the landings was the German 352nd Infantry Division, the majority of whom were teenagers, though they were supplemented by veterans who had fought on the Eastern Front. The 352nd had never had any battalion or regimental training. Of the 12,020 men of the division, only 6,800 were experienced combat troops, detailed to defend a 53 km front. The Germans were largely deployed in strongpoints along the coast — the German strategy was based on defeating any seaborne assault at the water line.
Very little went as planned during the landing at Omaha Beach. Difficulties in navigation caused the majority of landing craft to miss their targets throughout the day. The defenses were unexpectedly strong, and inflicted heavy casualties on landing US troops. Under heavy fire, the engineers struggled to clear the beach obstacles; later landings bunched up around the few channels that were cleared. Weakened by the casualties taken just in landing, the surviving assault troops could not clear the heavily defended exits off the beach. This caused further problems and consequent delays for later landings. Small penetrations were eventually achieved by groups of survivors making improvised assaults, scaling the bluffs between the most heavily defended points. By the end of the day, two small isolated footholds had been won which were subsequently exploited against weaker defenses further inland, achieving the original D-Day objectives over the following days.
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#23 of 23 Things To Do in Caen
City Centre Le Havre
Le Havre
~29.58 miles from Caen city center
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