D-Day - A Guide to Normandy's Historic Sites

Planning a visit to Normandy to explore the historic D-Day sites? This guide highlights the must-see destinations, from the landing beaches to museums, memorials, and key locations that played a crucial role in the liberation of Western Europe during World War II.

Use the chapter headings and timestamps provided to plan your itinerary and create an unforgettable D-Day experience in Normandy.
00:00 - Introduction - Overview of the D-Day landings and tour
02:55 - Cherbourg - Strategic port city
04:20 - Utah Beach - Westernmost landing beach
07:20 - Utah Beach Landing Museum - Exhibits and artifacts
08:05 - Iron Mike Memorial - U.S. 82nd Airborne tribute
09:29 - Sainte-Mère-Église - Historic church and paratroopers
10:05 - Airborne Museum - U.S. airborne divisions
11:32 - Easy Company - 101st Airborne Memorial - "Band of Brothers" raid
12:14 - Pointe du Hoc - Battle-scarred landscape
13:34 - Omaha Beach - Fierce fighting
15:58 - Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial - Tribute to fallen heroes
17:37 - La Cambe German War Cemetery - Human cost of war
19:44 - Port-en-Bessin - Charming fishing village
20:29 - Longues-sur-Mer Battery - German coastal defenses
21:46 - Arromanches - Gold Beach and the Mulberry Harbor
23:07 - D-Day Museum (Musée du Débarquement) - Planning and execution
23:54 - D-Day 75 Garden - Reflective memorial
24:31 - Bayeux - First liberated town
25:52 - Juno Beach - Canadian contribution
27:03 - Sword Beach - British easternmost landing site
28:05 - Musée Franco-Allemand du Radar - WWII technology and tactics
29:15 - Pegasus Bridge - First place liberated by British airborne forces on D-Day
30:41 - Conclusion - Reflection on D-Day and Normandy

In addition to my footage, I also used public domain footage:
D-Day Footage in Color
D-Day： Taps in Normandy American Cemetery
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's D-Day Message
D-Day Remembered
D-Day - 1944
INVASION OF NORMANDY, FRANCE, BY ALLIED FORCES
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NormandyInvasion
26-7-r2
NPC-10770
NPC-10687
NPC-10785
TF 1-3711 DZ Normandy - The Employment of Troop Carrier Forces
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Sea Waves - Sound Effect
Dark blue Ocean waves - Free 4K Footage
Foggy Time lapse at Sea in 4k
D-Day beaches - Juno Beach (Normandy) - 17th May 19
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[donnaogorman]

My tears flow when I see all of these clips.
I am Canadian...my Dad landed on Juno Beach st the age of 20.
He never talked about it... He came home
Worked hard and a good life. Lived to be 89 and would have turned 100 on March 30. Thank You Dad. Thank you for the strength you snd Mom raised us with.
Miss you both... Thank you Dad, Thank you

[ives]

“Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory! Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.” - General Dwight D. Eisenhower

[christopherwelch]

My father was a navigator on many missions over Germany. Including Dresden. It killed his spirit but he saved all of us from a fascist tyranny. Thank you James Arthur Welch.

[Gpacharlie]

My Dad was on Omaha Beach on Day 3. He fought through France and then in Germany. These were tough men, and the women of that era were also very tough.

[kevincerce]

My Father WWII 29th Army 8th armored Division Landed on Omaha Beach D-Day June 6, 1944. First town Sainte-Mère-Église, on to St Lo, in his words they got the shit kicked out of them in St Lo. He Fought in the Battle of The Bulge where he carried two wounded GI's under heavy fire to safety, he received the Medal of The Silver Star award May of 1945 for doing so. He told me the 82nd Airborne Division jumped into the wrong place, He passed away 12/2002. Forever my hero! `God Bless all that served.

[colindouglas]

My Uncle Charlie was in the Royal Signals during the Normandy campaign. He was meant to be landing on Gold Beach, but his unit was delayed by bad weather in the Channel and in the end, he landed three days later, not on Gold as expected, but on Utah Beach. His unit was seconded to the U.S. command because the Americans were having problems with their radio communications. My uncle had more up-to-date equipment with double the number of channels of the sets issued to the U.S., so he was sent over there to help train them up on how to use the new sets. He remembered the fighting in the Cotentin Peninsula all the way up to Cherbourg. Strangely enough, he found his Lieutenant's pips very useful in getting things done. They made him look like a 2-Star American General to anyone not looking too closely. As a typical old school British Army commissioned officer, he was not that impressed with the levels of discipline and attitude of the G.I.s to their superiors, but he never doubted their bravery in battle. "They fought with the courage of lions!" he would always tell my brother and I. My uncle was awarded the U.S. Bronze Star and his military service finally ended in 1946. I have a photograph of my uncle pictured in Hamburg, Germany standing alongside Kingsley Amis, the English author, who served in the same unit, on the day he was finally allowed to come home and return to Civvy Street.

We always looked at Uncle Charlie as a war hero, but he never accepted that sentiment. He always said that the real heroes were those brave men who didn't get to go home and that he just did his duty and was very lucky to survive. The most poignant aspect of the 80th Anniversary of the D-Day landings for me is that this is more than likely to be the last time the surviving veterans will be able to return to Normandy in person. With this in mind, I've had the beautiful song, "The Old Boys" by Runrig buzzing around my head in memory of those who didn't make it home! Never forget and always be thankful for the freedom their sacrifice gave us all! They gave their tomorrow for our today!

[ives]

"The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you." — Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's message to the troops before the invasion, 1944

[jimfesta]

I began reading about D Day in the early 1960s. Since then, I must have read every book in print about D Day. Hard to believe it's been 80 years.

[iantobanter]

Thanks for posting. My dad was a leading seaman on HMS Erebus alongside HMS Black Prince targeting installations and covering Utah Beach. A survivor of Narvik, the siege of Malta, the Russian convoys and operations Torch and Shingle where his previous ship, HMS Penelope fought alongside US warships before being sunk following the Anzio landings. I'll be keeping his memory alive at home in Glamorgan on Thursday with his great grandsons.

[donnazinkil]

Dad was in Pacific on B29. So many young men saved all of us from fascism. Normandy took such a toll of brave men and I thank them.

[geoffbocian]

80th anniversary. This was a trip to remember. The cemeteries are heartbreaking. Salute to the great generation. Best wishes from Western Canada...

[robertferguson]

80 years ago my 20 year old father was getting ready to drive a landing craft at Sword Beach for 72 hours straight

[Pyjamarama]

Thank you for giving your tomorrow so we could have our today

I hope I havent disappointed you

[timkellyDR]

It is always a pleasure to see comments from descendants of these heroes.

[Gpacharlie]

Our good friend, Burt Mann, a D-Day wounded US Army Infantry Soldier just passed in February, one week before his 101st birthday. He went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge after nearly dying from a deep shrapnel wound on Omaha Beach.

[Jeffrey-ldf]

Thursday, June 6, is the 80th anniversary of D-Day, the allied invasion of France to defeat Nazism. Very few veterans survive, but I was in Normandy for the 50th year observance, travelling with veteran paratroopers on D-Day Eve.
I was supposed to witness airborne veterans parachuting from a vintage aircraft into a VIP area, but I decided to leave my space to a veteran, so I walked into Ste Mere-Eglise, the first French town liberated by our paratroopers, to wait for the parade- the ceremonial re-enactment of the battle- to assemble in the church square where the carnival of American television- Bryant Gumbel and Joan Lunden- were all broadcasting to the US and the world.
As I moved through the mass of people to photograph the parade, I was overtaken by a surging throng screaming “Vivre Americain! Merci Americain!.” I kept saying, “Je ne suis pas une veteran!” but it didn’t matter. They wanted to physically embrace Americans today. I have photos of the parade.
A line of mounted Gendarmerie cleared the path. The 68-year-old airborne veterans who had jumped again raised beer cans and cheered. Then- future Chairman JCoS General Hugh Shelton led combat-ready detachments of contemporary American paratroopers, fresh from the fight against Iraq.
The victors of Desert Storm saluted the victors of Normandy with a triumph that would have paled Ceasar. The best light infantry of any army, anywhere, at any time in history, were feted by thousands of grateful, free people from around the world, their clamor to render all honors and glory to the airborne forces of the United States.

On June 6, 1994, I was travelling with the 101st Airborne Division veterans’ association when we drove into Carentan, encountering the Fallschirmjager Regiment Six 50-year reunion. Fans of the tv show, “Band of Brothers, ” will recall the battle to capture and defend Carentan.
We were looking for the turn from the Normandy highway to Les Moulins, Omaha Beach, for the international observance by the heads-of-state of 13 D-Day countries. We missed the turn, driving past the German cemetery at La Cambe, where a lot of people were gathered. We drove on to Carentan for refreshments, before turning back to Omaha.
As I stepped off the bus, I saw the green banner with gold Teutonic lettering, “Fallschirmjager Regiment Six.” I assumed they were at La Cambe, but when I opened the door to the restaurant, there they were. Elite German infantry, now 68 years, drinking and talking.
I held the door for a Screaming Eagle who walked with a cane, saying, “It looks like the Germans are having their reunion, too.”
“Just the ones we didn’t kill, ” he muttered, a reference to the large tumulus at La Cambe.
The sight of the Screaming Eagles patch on our veterans’ caps exploded like a hand grenade. Every German sprang to his feet and pulled tables and chairs out of the way with a cacophony of squeaking and scraping. Now I was wearing a trench coat, so I acted like a security officer, holding the Hun at bay. After 50 years, this band of brothers just didn’t want to speak with Germans.

[saltyroe]

Dad will be 99 this month and helped sink one of the breakwater ships at the the artificial harbor. He then crewed his own ship to deliver jeeps to the harbor

[Diluria]

Hell of a video, man.

Not only a comprehensive guide highlighting the museums, landmarks, and memorials at the various fighting sites, but you also managed to capture the sense of awe, somber reflection, and remembrance worthy of the events that took place there 80 years ago.

Perfect for anyone planning to visit Normandy in the future.

[derekgelber]

Driving to Normandy now for the ceremony on Sat 🫡🇺🇸

[sohulme]

Wonderful video. Thank you for creating and sharing. My father landed at Omaha on 6/7/44. He survived the war.
I am forever grateful and proud of him & ALL the Allied Forces who served during WWII.