Mémorial de Caen

Wow - what a glorious museum and memorial complex. A dramatic building and an impressive lobby area. The exhibition had a really good logical flow and some tremendous detail and artifacts. The additional (optional) Life under the Red White & Blue exhibit was also really interesting. Good food in the restaurant and one of the best gift shops seen at any museum. A must-visit museum.

It was very moving. I traveled with the Viking Explorers. I am really happy that we traveled all the way from Florida to see this museum. I truly believe everyone needs to come and visit and learn about the greatest generation that ever lived.

Prepare yourself for this museum- maybe take a few deep breaths when you arrive in the parking lot. While the building is very plain & basic, the emotions elicited by this museum are anything but... In the span of 4 hours, which was hardly enough time, I went from confusion to disappointment, horror to despair, and finally relief to hope. In this building the lessons of WW2 never end and this should impact us all. While leaving, I walked behind a hobbling 90 year old man when a teenage boy skipped by him with such a light heart. Who learned what lesson? For me, my heart was picked clean until all that was left was bone. I was lucky to stand in the sun with a breeze on my face.

We had a tour of the museum and of the DDAY beaches conducted by Lena from the museum who was exceptional, her know was superb, her English faultless but her knowledge was better than excellent. We can thoroughly recommend Lena.

This is a very large Museum that spans all of World War II through to the fall of the Berlin wall. If you want to see everything plan on spending at least half a day here. Everything is extremely well done and they really use a lot of multimedia on top of written text.

Best and most comprehensive museum you'll ever find on WW2. You could spend the entire day there, the audio guide is really exhaustive.

Great museum with a couple of different aspects. WW2 museum with a German bunker complex and various commemorative gardens to the allies Only criticism is I thought it was expensive for what it was. Would have preferred more access to the bunker but that's a minor criticism. Something for everyone and lots to absorb. A small part in my 9 day DDay 80th anniversary visit

I liked this museum for it’s explanation about the whole D-day operation and some in depth stories about the way of living in France during the war. But, I missed a lot of props and machinery. The museum is very big but only one tank, one airplaine and one jeep are shown. I would have expected lots more equipment like the WWII museum in Limburg, The Netherlands which is filled with gigantic machinery. A bit disappointing though. Must do: buy tickets in advance, we were there in August, very crowded. You get time frames to enter. Buy tickets at the original website, other ones are more expensive.

There are many WWII museums in the Normandy area and this is one of the good ones with lots of WWII information. They also cover other historical topics. There are several movies available. We watched one that was in French but had English subtitles. It was very interesting as. it showed scenes and places we had never seen before about the war. The downside was that we happened to be there at the same time as numerous school tours. I don't know how you could avoid this. The school groups made it a little harder to see all the information as the students had assignments to collect various information and they blocked the areas where they were working.

I really enjoyed this museum. I spent about 4 hours there, and only got through half (though I am slow going through museums compared to many others). It is organized chronologically -- you start with WW1 and the leadup to the war, then the rise of facism and Hilter, then the war, genocide, the normandy invasion/D-Day (of course!), and eventually you get to a section on rebuilding Europe and the cold war. Throughout, there is high quality audio guides (splurge for it -- just an extra 5 EUR, and they were very good), as well as several videos you can stop to watch and sit down to take a break (as well as a 20-minute video in the middle). I thought the narrative was very informative and helped me understand some of the dynamics of the war I didn't really understand previously. It certainly did not glorify war, and made clear just what a humanitarian disaster it was. Of course the section on D-Day and the Normandy invasion was particularly strong, and it was fun to see the history of the landings play out in the area where we had been a tourist in recent days.

Remarkably well organized and educational. This is the best way to start the journey through the history of D Day. A "not to miss" experience.

If you are interested in WWII history and artifacts , this HAS to be in your to-see list. We spent 3 hours there and still did not see it all.

Visiting the World War II beaches has always been on my husband's bucket list, and we were very, very excited to go to Normandy for the visit in September. The Memorial is a great 1st stop, as it really covers the entire region's battles and fighting. The smaller museums deal with their particular areas, so obviously, having this overview is a great "first lesson" to start. The facility itself is very, very large and spread out, so although we noted several large groups, we never felt crowded, nor did we have to wait long in line. The memorial museum covers lots of different topics - from the years leading up to WWII, to each country's entry/contribution/losses/casualties, to the trials and tragedies experienced by the local Normandy population. There were a couple of films, and just as a personal preference, I am not a great fan of the 360 degree films, since you need to be constantly turning for fear of missing interesting shots or action that is being projected on opposing walls or screens. The Memorial also offers tours of the landing beaches, and we thought we'd have to split up and be put in different groups in order to be accommodated the next morning, but the staff were nice enough to juggle things around due to cancellations the day of our tour, so we were able to experience the tour together. The tour guide did a great job with us, too, and we visited the bunker at Pont-du-Hoc, Omaha Beach, Gold Beach, and Utah Beach, and of course, the American Cemetery. There is also a different tour which includes the Juno and Sword Beaches (Canadian, British and French forces) but being U.S. citizens we opted for the former. At the Cemetery, we were amazed at how beautiful and peaceful it is, at the shore of the Norman beach. But, seeing the monuments, and the tombstones, rows and rows of tombstones (Crosses, Stars of David, etc.) we really felt the significance of the site. The beaches, were also treated, you could tell, with great respect for the acts that had taken place there so many years before. Although a few areas are now summer resort towns, we didn't see the commercialization that one might expect. On the contrary, the sacrifice made by the soldiers there 75 years ago is treated daily with the utmost respect by the residence of the Normandy area. We happened to visit on September 11, which is a significant date for us as U.S. citizens, and the flags at half mast in the various sites was something special to see and reminded us of how precious life is.

A good place to visit before you go to the D-Day beaches. It starts in 1919 with the peace treaty that ended World War I. How Germany was mistreated at the conference and lead to Hitler rise in Germany. It shows the start of World War II with invasion of Poland. Talks about France's surrender and the Nazis occupation of France. The D-Day part of the museum was small but it also shows what the French civilians went thru during the bombings and the long battle of Normandy.

If you are driving to Normandy from Paris, this museum is an ideal first stop. We visited on a Sunday afternoon. They have a large parking lot and an expansive facility. The museum is built atop a former German bunker/command center for the area (which is now part of the museum). It also incorporates what is apparently a medieval quarry as part of the memorial gardens and park. You enter and see a fighter plane suspended from the ceiling. Though we did not visit, they apparently do have a cafeteria and a restaurant on site. The guides advised us that a family package would be our cheapest entry, so we got that (51 Euros). You can descend into the main exhibit area, which employs a literal downward spiral as your entrance into the history of WWII. The exhibits are mostly done well, with the emphasis on France (unsurprisingly). They cover many aspects of the war, and there are one or two rooms for short films as well. The galleries are extensive. Depending on your level of prior familiarity with this period, you could take a while in this area. Once you complete the initial galleries, you can either watch a short film (less than 25 minutes) that plays frequently just off the main lobby, or take in the gardens. They have a memorial garden for the U.S. and for Canada. There are also some grassy meadows in between (part of the much-older quarry). It was not quite dinner time, or we might have also checked out the restaurant. I was glad we stopped here; recommended.

From first impressions of the lobby, one wouldn't think there was too much to see here. However, the museum is built into the side of a large hill so as you enter the galleries and slowly descend, the galleries and artifacts slowly unwind into a labyrinth of history, personal sacrifice and courage. In addition to the galleries you can explore a preserved German bunker and catch the onsite film which features footage not commonly shown.

While expensive at $20 Euro this is worth it, especially if wet or cold outside. Includes several movies and exhibits. I didn't use the restaurants but there were several. I visited during the week in November and was almost empty except for some school groups. Easy way to spend 3-4 hours.

This was my first stop on a full day tour of Normandy and WWII sites. It was one of the best museums I've ever been to. I think my favorite thing about this place was it's incredible ability to show perspective. They managed to show the Allied point of view while fairly discussing German motivations for war, and France's collaboration with the Nazis, and the Holocaust, all in one museum. To do that well, without resorting to propaganda or simplification was very impressive. The museum functions as a timeline, starting with WWI and all the things that happened before and after. As you work your way through the many winding hallways, you progress through the many geopolitical events through the 30s and 40s. In addition to the terrific educational content, there are all kinds of artifacts. This expansive collection is not limited to battlefield items - they even have playing cards and consumer products from each era to give you a sense of what life was like. This is a hike if you're coming to France to see Paris, but I couldn't recommend this museum (and a Normandy tour) more.

I really enjoyed my visit here today and learned a lot from the different displays just before WWII began. Very sad how The city of Caen was near wiped off the map. It's a lovely city now, lovely people and wonderful museum theta a must see. Enjoy your visit.

My husband is a history teacher, and he wanted to see the beaches of D-Day. We were staying in Brussels, Belgium with a friend and attempted to book a quick two day trip. We used Memorial de Caen's website to set up everything. I said what star hotel I would like, if I wanted dinner booked for us, if I wanted a full day or half day tour, and the language that I wanted to tour to be in. They booked everything for us. We had no concerns, which was wonderful as we were venturing throughout Europe for three weeks with little contact to the outside world. We were able to take two trains to get to Caen, and our hotel was within walking distance. The hotel was aware of why we were there, and they made our dinner reservation. They were able to provide us with maps, directions for the transit system (so easy to use!), and recommendations for other sights to see since we arrived a day before our tour. Our dinner was included in our booking price, and it was quite affordable. It was in a cute restaurant around the corner from the hotel. The food was fantastic. On the day of our tour, it was horrible weather (high 40's, rainy, and windy) so I recommend being prepared for any type of weather. It had been beautiful and 70 the day before. The guide and driver picked us up in front of the museum. Our guide was fantastic. He was French with a little bit of an accent. He was well prepared. At this point, my husband and I had been on a ridiculous amount of tours, and we were a little bored. Our guide was excellent. He had pictures, graphics, and historical anecdotes for every aspect of the tour. This will not disappoint anyone from young children to older adults. Following the tour, we went to the museum. It was extremely friendly for all nationalities. It included a variety of videos, artifacts, and readings. All families should come to this museum.

I've meant to write a review for the Caen Museum and Memorial for the past seven months and am only now getting around to it. Unfortunately I didn't get to spend nearly as much time as I'd preferred in the museum proper, but it's truly a beautiful, well-laid out museum (from what I saw). I visited Caen during my Bayeux stopover amidst a whirlwind tour of France this past December, hoping that the Memorial may offer a D-Day Beach tour on Christmas Eve, as all earlier tours in the week from all other tourist companies appeared sold out and I'd presumed the Museum simply wouldn't be open on Christmas Eve. To my surprise, they were indeed giving a tour that day. I felt a little embarrassed, presuming I'd be the only person in the group that day, but three guys also showed up. The guide was fluent in English and gave us a bilingual tour (two of the other three guys were French) of the Beaches, Memorial, and Pointe Du Hoc. She was very energetic and knowledgeable and made the entire experience worthwhile. I completely forgot we were touring on Christmas Eve, instead enthralled by the narrative unfolding before my eyes. Granted, the tour is a little pricey--if I remember, it's about $100 or 80 euros--but it's worth it. You get to visit all the important Normandy Invasion sights carefree of travel needs, are accompanied by a guide with extensive knowledge on the subject, and leave with a greater understanding of the war effort. Highly recommended.

BF and I visited here on vacation. We are both interested in all things WWII related, as well as military stuff. We bought our tickets, €19 each. We skipped the video they play because we just wanted to get to seeing stuff. We weren't totally sure what "audio tour" meant, so we skipped that too. Once we figured it out, well, we definitely probably would've, but that's ok. It was a very long museum, I had no idea. But I really enjoyed it. It was really moving, very sad, as any WWII museum is. Took us about 2 hours to get through it all. If you're at all interested in stuff like this, I would go.

It's put together very well in a timeline format. If you've been to this type of layout you know what to expect. Lots of artifacts, explanations in various languages and multimedia from the day. You can either breeze through quickly or take your time and absorb the details. Definitely recommended.

Stopped here on the way back to Paris after spending a few days in Normandy. Parking was ample, and this place is fairly busy with school groups. We spend about 5 hours here looking through everything and could of easily spend another 5 hours. This museum has a wonderful collection of WWII stuff as well as other things. The only complaint I had was the numerous kids running around. Brats are brats no matter what country you're in I guess!