The Normandy American Cemetery at Omaha Beach, France

9,388 white marble crosses and Stars of David face the sea at Colleville-sur-Mer in Normandy, each marking one American service member who died in the Normandy campaign. The cemetery occupies 172 acres of bluff directly above Omaha Beach, where on June 6, 1944, the US First and Twenty-Ninth Infantry Divisions came ashore in the face of prepared German defenses in one of the bloodiest days of the Second World War. The view from the memorial down to the beach is the view the survivors had looking back after.

The cemetery is administered by the American Battle Monuments Commission, which also manages over 20 other US war cemeteries around the world. Entry is free. The visitor centre and the grounds are open daily from 9am to 5pm, closed New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

The Site

The Memorial and the Visitor Center at the west end of the cemetery provide context before you walk the graves. The Visitor Center’s permanent exhibition documents the D-Day operation and the Normandy campaign with photographs, equipment, and personal testimonies. Allow 45 minutes here before entering the cemetery.

The Walls of the Missing, two curved walls at the memorial, carry the inscribed names of 1,557 American service members whose remains were never recovered or identified. Rosettes are placed next to names of individuals subsequently identified. A daily retreat ceremony at 5pm, when the American flag is lowered, is worth timing your visit around.

The Beaches

The five D-Day landing beaches stretch across 80 km of the Normandy coast.

Pointe du Hoc, 6 km west of the cemetery, is the clifftop site where the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled 30-metre cliffs under fire to destroy a German artillery battery on June 6, 1944. The German bunkers, craters from the naval bombardment, and the observation post are preserved exactly as they were left. This is the most physically compelling of all the D-Day sites – you can stand in the shell craters and look at the same defensive positions the Rangers attacked. No charge; parking nearby.

Utah Beach to the west has a good museum. Sword Beach to the east (the British and Canadian landing sector) has museums at Arromanches covering the construction of the Mulberry Harbour artificial port.

Bayeux

Bayeux, 30 km inland, is the base town for Normandy D-Day tourism. It was the first French town liberated after D-Day (June 7, 1944) and has a working medieval centre, several good hotels, and access to all five beaches within a reasonable drive.

The Bayeux Tapestry at the museum on Rue de Nesmond is a 70-metre embroidered cloth from the 11th century depicting the Norman conquest of England in 1066 – chronologically the earlier invasion of the same coastline, in the opposite direction. It is one of the most significant surviving medieval artefacts in Europe and is genuinely worth the museum visit. Entry around EUR 10.

Good hotels in Bayeux include the Lion d’Or on Rue Saint-Jean (historic, good restaurant) and the Chateau de Sully nearby. For a meal, La Rapiere in the old town does solid Norman cooking – mussels, cheese, calvados-based sauces – at reasonable prices.

Practical Notes

Renting a car is the most practical way to cover multiple D-Day sites from Bayeux in a day. Guided tours from Bayeux and Caen are available and worth considering if you want a knowledgeable guide covering the tactical context; the military history is complex enough that a good guide adds significant value.