Arromanches-les-Bains is a seaside village in the Calvados department in the Normandy region of north-western France.
The city stretches along the coastal region called Gold Beach, codename put during the landing of D-Day by Allied forces during World War II. Arromanches was selected as one of the sites for the construction of two Mulberry ports ,encoded as A and B.
Nowadays Arromanches is mainly a tourist city. It is located at a good point to visit all the sites where there were battles and war cemeteries. There is also a museum with information about the Overlord operation and in particular with the Mulberry ports.
Access : Coordinates: 49.34, -0.6211 / The nearest airport is Caen-Carpiquet, which is 30.2 km away -33 minutes./ Arromanches-les-Bains is served by bus line N ° 74 of the green buses of the Calvados Intercity Network, from the Bayeux railway station, station of the French National Railway Company (SNCF), served by Intercites Normandie and TER Basse-Normandie trains, from the Mantes-la-Jolie line to Cherbourg.
/ By car : by the D 514: from Asnelles to the east at 3,6 km,from Bayeux in the south-west to 11 km via the D 516. Arromanches-les-Bains is also accessible from Meuvaines, 4.7 km from the D 65.
Highlights :
- St. Peter’s Church.: It is dedicated to Saint Peter, patron saint of fishermen. It was built between 1857 and 1870 in the neo-Romanesque style. It replaces the parish church of the thirteenth century, which has become too small with the development of the seaside resort.
- Arromanches-les-Bains D-Day Museum : This is the first museum built to commemorate June 6, 1944 and the Battle of Normandy.This museum was built on the very spot where the artificial harbor was located, whose remains can still be seen a few hundred meters from the shore.
- The landing at Gold Beach : When British troops landed in Gold Beach on June 6, 1944 in the morning, they caused no damage to the town of Arromanches-les-Bains. Its objective was to take this area without damaging the installation of the artificial port planned by the Allies. About 25,000 men of the 50th British infantry division launched an amphibious attack on the Gold Beach sector, located between Asnelles and Ver-sur-Mer. Arromanches-les-Bains is located west of the landing zone. The Allies took the city on June 6 in the afternoon and installed an artificial port there. The goal of the landing at Gold Beach was to take control of the area between Bayeux and Caen.
- Mulberry Harbor : The Mulberry port is an artificial port installed on the beach of Arromanches, which aimed to supply allied troops with everything necessary to fight the battle of Normandy. It was decided to install this port after the failure of the Canadian incursion in Dieppe in 1942.
Currently, the port of Mulberry is one of the most visited places on the coast of Calvados, famous for the ingenuity of its construction and for the role it played in the battle of Normandy. - Les Falaises d’Arromanches- The Cliffs of Arromanches : From these cliffs you have a panoramic view of the beaches and what remains of the Mulberry Harbour., which were the temporary portable harbours used by the Allies during WWII.
Activities : sightseeing / photo opportunities / discover the D-Day landing beaches. / D-Day’s nordic walking tour / Scenic Driving- Auto Touring / swimming
Go next : Longues-sur mer battery / neighboring cities are Port-en-Bessin and Courseulles-sur-Mer./ Bayeux is a small town (population 16,000) in northern France within Lower Normandy / D-Day beaches
