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.
There are so many WWII museums, monuments and historical sites to visit around Omaha and Utah Beaches, the two locations where the U.S. troops landed on D-Day. With kids, we knew we needed to pick and choose where we spent our time or risk them getting bored and antsy by the end of the day. So while there were a lot of things we could have seen, here is what we prioritized.
1. Normandy American Cemetery & Memorial
The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer is home to the graves of more than 9,000 dead U.S. military members. Seeing it in person is exactly what you would expect – haunting, beautiful, overwhelming. Our 7-year-old kept saying “there are just so many of them” as we walked down the paths amongst the gravestones. It also has a viewing area overlooking Omaha Beach; note that you can no longer access the beach from the cemetery.
2. Omaha Beach
We drove toward Omaha Beach, accessing the beach by a monument to the 29th Division’s 116th Infantry Regimental Combat Team who landed on this section of beach on D-Day. The powerful statue shows a solider carrying his rifle while pulling another solider with him along the beach. We then walked along the beach a bit and out onto the pier, where we would see Pointe du Hoc to the west. It was strange to see people sunbathing and swimming in the water, knowing the sheer number of lives lost there…but also kind of nice to see the area being used and enjoyed today. If you go further down the beach, you can see the WWII Les Braves Memorial.
3. Sainte-Mère-Eglise
This was the first town in France liberated by the Allies. Paratroopers landed here during the Normandy invasion, including the famous parachutist John Steele who got caught up on the church’s steeple. The town keeps a dummy paratrooper hanging from the top of the church in his honor. It also includes a stained-glass window at the entrance for the paratroopers. The small town itself is cute, with a number of shops and restaurants, though very much catered to tourist crowds.
4. Airborne Museum
The Airborne Museum was the key D-Day museum for us to visit (my husband had been an aviator in the U.S. Marines) and the reason we went to Sainte-Mère-Eglise. The museum, located directly next to the Sainte-Mère-Eglise Church, is fantastic. It consists of a handful of buildings that provide different experiences; for example, the first building is dedicated to the WACO glider, and you get to learn about and go inside one. The museum provides tablets for an interactive experience at various points throughout the museum. This kept our kids entertained the whole time, allowing us to spend more time at each of the exhibits.
There are so many more museums and monuments to see along Omaha Beach (e.g., Overlord Museum, Omaha Beach Museum, Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument, Major Winters Memorial, Les Braves War Memorial) and Utah Beach (e.g., Utah Beach Landing Museum, D-Day Experience). Plenty to choose from if you want to immerse yourself in D-Day history.