Footsteps of WWII · Normandy
Juno Beach Centre, Courseulles-sur-Mer
Museum · 6 Jun 1944
The story
Juno was Canada's beach. On 6 June 1944 about 14,000 Canadian troops of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade landed here between Gold and Sword. Rough seas delayed the assault, so many landing craft hit mined obstacles in the rising tide, and the first waves met strongpoints the bombardment had missed. By evening the Canadians had pushed further inland than any other Allied force that day. The Juno Beach Centre, built on the beach at Courseulles, was opened on 6 June 2003 by veterans led by Garth Webb, and tells the story of Canada's whole war.
What to look for
A low titanium-clad building shaped like a stylised maple leaf stands behind the dunes. Outside, guided tours enter German bunkers of the Courseulles strongpoint. A Sherman DD tank recovered from the sea stands in the town nearby.
Plan your visit
Closed in January and on 25 December; open daily the rest of the year (Nov–Dec 10:00–17:00). Adult €9; museum plus bunker tour €13.50 (bunker tours April–October). An extension, the Concordia Project, was announced in September 2026. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Arromanches: Mulberry harbour and D-Day Museum · 11 km
- Sword Beach and the Grand Bunker, Ouistreham · 16 km
- Caen Memorial (Mémorial de Caen) · 16 km
- Longues-sur-Mer battery · 17 km
- Pegasus Bridge and Memorial Pegasus · 17 km
- Museum of the Battle of Normandy, Bayeux · 19 km
All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →
Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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