Footsteps of WWII · Normandy
Museum of the Battle of Normandy, Bayeux
Museum · Jun–Aug 1944
The story
Bayeux was freed by the British 50th (Northumbrian) Division on 7 June 1944, almost undamaged, and was the first sizeable French town liberated. On 14 June General de Gaulle came ashore and spoke here, a step towards establishing his authority over liberated France. The museum, on the ring road named after Fabian Ware, founder of the Imperial War Graves Commission, covers the whole Battle of Normandy from June to August. It explains the campaign as a sequence, from the landings through the battles for Caen and the bocage to the Falaise Pocket.
What to look for
Restored armoured vehicles, including a Sherman and a Churchill Crocodile, stand on the lawn outside. Inside are weapons, uniforms, vehicles, dioramas and an aviation room, with a film shown regularly. Bayeux War Cemetery is across the road.
Plan your visit
Open daily; 1 May–30 Sep 09:30–18:30, otherwise 10:00–12:30 and 14:00–18:00. Closes for about two weeks in January (5–18 January in 2026) and at Christmas and New Year. Adult €8.50. Check the website before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Bayeux War Cemetery and Memorial · under 1 km
- Longues-sur-Mer battery · 8 km
- Arromanches: Mulberry harbour and D-Day Museum · 10 km
- Overlord Museum, Colleville-sur-Mer · 13 km
- Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer · 14 km
- Omaha Beach: Les Braves, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer · 16 km
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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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