The D-Day landing beaches by bike

Your adventure alongside the D-Day landing beaches of Normandy begins at Sword Beach. This beach belonged to the Franco-British sector between Hermanville-sur-Mer and Colleville Montgomery, and was not originally part of the plan for the military operations, but Eisenhower and Montgomery decided otherwise.

After this first visit, go for lunch on the Côte de Nacre, at Oyat, and treat yourselves to a seafood platter with a superb view.

Get back on your bike and ride to Juno Beach. The Tourist Office organises an activity for the little ones to really make the most of their visit here. Make a booking for the guided tour the story of Juno Beach for children. After this activity dressed in period clothing, I recommend visiting Juno Beach visitor’s centre as a family to learn about the landings and Canadian culture.

Then cycle to Gold Beach and spend the night at the Villas d’Arromanches, a charming hotel that resembles a traditional house of Normandy. Relax in the heated swimming pool and grounds full of trees. 

In the morning, go for a stroll around Gold Beach in the British sector, and admire the man-made port that was built here on 14 June 1944. Then get back on your bike and cycle towards Longues-sur-Mer where you’ll see a German construction, a coastal defence battery which was a key part of the Atlantic Wall, with a command post and four bunkers.

Go for lunch in Port-en-Bessin, at L’Equipage, a brasserie with a family vibe on the seafront.

Then you'll be riding to Colleville-sur-Mer to visit the Overlord Museum. On the visitor’s tour in this immersive museum, you’ll get the chance to experience first-hand the events from the preparation of the landings to the liberation of Paris. 
Four kilometres later and you’ll arrive at Omaha Beach. The 9,387 graves in the American cemetery are proof of just how brave the soldiers were and the extent of the violence that took place here.

If you have time, and some strength left in your calf muscles, Saint-Laurent-Sur-Mer and the Omaha Beach Memorial Museum are just 3 km further on. In this 1,400 m2 exhibition space, there are collections of uniforms, weapons, vehicles and much more.

Spend the night at the Ferme du Loucel - 8 minutes by bike from Omaha Beach - a superb family-run bed & breakfast on a 17th-century farm in the countryside. 

Make sure you eat enough for breakfast because this last day of cycling alongside the landing beaches is set to be a tough one. Your first stop will be Grandcamp-Maisy, where there are no less than 2.5 km of trenches, tunnels and underground constructions. Not-to-mention the six 155 mm artillery platforms to visit.

Begin your ride to Utah Beach, stopping off for lunch on the way at Carentan-les-Marais.

From there, you'll have 20 km left before you arrive at the last of the five D-Day landing beaches. Visit the Airborne Museum for example, to find out about what happened to American paratroopers on D-Day, on a visitor’s tour designed around a C47 plane and realistic recreated scenes.
 

__Getting to :__
Visit la Normandie

__Further reading :__
Voyage durable sur les routes de Normandie
5 choses que vous ne savez (peut-être) pas sur les plages du Débarquement de Normandie