This is part of our 10-day trip to the Normandy region of France in August 2020. You can find the overall itinerary and links to other stops on this trip in our Normandy post.
We biked the 17 km / 10.5 miles from Luc-sur-Mer to Caen, and it took about 1.5 hours (it should have been less…I blame Google Maps). The ride was really nice and felt safe the whole time. It took us on bike paths by fields and on back roads most of the way, with some bike paths running alongside the main road.
We visited a few sites during our day in Caen that are definitely worth seeing. They provided a good mix of history and activity to keep each member of our family happy.
1. Botanic Gardens
This was our first stop after a long bike ride. There is a playground at the northwest corner entrance with picnic tables, and another playground in the middle of the park. We went to the playground at the entrance so the kids could stretch their legs and eat lunch. There is also a place to access potable water and a small pond with flowers and a rainbow sculpture. The park also has a greenhouse, but we didn’t have time to visit it.
2. Château de Caen
The Château de Caen was built around 1060 by William the Conqueror. It includes two museums: the Normandy Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts. We visited the Normandy Museum which was understated but nice, and then wandered around the castle grounds. There are also great views of the city, including what remains of the old architecture that wasn’t destroyed during WWII, and of St. Peter’s Church across the street from the entrance. Unfortunately, we only had an hour at the castle before we needed to leave for our reservation at the Memorial de Caen. There was much more to see at the castle than we’d expected, so definitely plan for more time if possible.
3. The Memorial de Caen
We wanted to kick-off our WWII activities with a visit to the Memorial de Caen, which Rick Steves (our favorite travel guide!) said was the best WWII D-Day museum in France. The museum is so well done. It has fantastic displays with images, memorabilia and information interspersed with a variety of videos which are always the kids’ favorite part. It tells the story from what led to WWII through the Holocaust and Normandy invasion.
After going through the museum, you can tour an old German bunker located below the museum, which was fascinating and eerie to see. There is also the serene US Armed Forces Memorial Garden that features a rock/memorial from each US state. We spent around 2 hours at the museum in total, which was about our kids’ limit. But you could go through the museum at a slower pace and spend more time.
4. Parc de La Colline aux Oiseau
After we finished at the museum, we rode a couple minutes away to Parc de La Colline aux Oiseau. It was once the city landfill (Colline aux Oiseau means “hill of the birds” which is a reference to the mounds of garbage that attracted birds). It is now a gorgeous (if you ignore the cheesy amusement ride and food stands at the entrance) and quite large park. We wanted to give the kids a chance to run around after being in a museum for hours. We headed straight for the labyrinth, which they absolutely loved. On the way to the maze, we walked through the stunning rose garden. The park also features a petting zoo, playgrounds, miniature golf and more. It is a great place for kids to balance out the more historical aspects of a visit to Caen.
If you have more time in Caen, the L’Abbatiale de Saint Étienne at the Abbaye aux Hommes, which houses the tomb of William the Conqueror, had also been on our list but didn’t end up making the cut.