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Key stage 4 (14-17)

Plan your visit

Find here all the resources you need to prepare your visit to the Memorial Museum with your students.

Guided visits

The educational team at the Caen Memorial Museum offers guided visits adapted to the level of your students. The children are equipped with headsets. They listen to the mediator and answer questions on the various objects and documents encountered during the visit.

Duration: 1 hour 15

Ask your students to bring their own wired headphones if they have them.

World War II

From the origins of the Second World War to its end, the first exhibition recounts and explains the first half of the 20th century.

  • 1918-1939, from one war to another: the disaster

From the catastrophic outcome of the First World War to 1939. How the idea of peace after the «war to end all wars» gradually disintegrated.

  • France in the dark years

What was daily life like for French people? In this section, a wartime newsreel presents the Battle of Britain, a country which “would never surrender”.

  • World war, Total war

In a war that becomes «total», aggressors devote all their human resources and equipment on achieving final victory.

  • D-Day and the Battle of Normandy

For the first time ever, this exhibition space deals exclusively with the Invasion of Normandy, a key episode in the liberation of Europe.

MIG-21

The Cold War

From the end of World War II to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the second half of the 20th century is decrypted in this space.

  • Berlin at the heart of the Cold war

Divided into four zones of occupation in 1945, the city became a major issue for the Americans and the Soviets during the Cold War. Berlin has become a symbol of the Cold War, an emblem of East-West antagonism.

  • The Balance of Terror

During the Cold War, the two powers waged an unbridled arms race. A genuine Soviet Mig-21 and a French missile from the plateau d’Albion are real-life examples of the frantic nature of the arms race in general and, more particularly, of the nuclear arms race.

Guided tour

American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer

The D-Day landing beaches

How the site visits are organised:

  • The guide meets you at the Caen Mémorial museum, in your coach (which must be fitted with a microphone).
  • During the outbound trip, the guide gives an introduction which sets the D-Day landings against the general background of the Second World War. They explain why Normandy was chosen to reconquer Europe, and the stakes involved in the D-Day landings.
  • At the end of the circuit, return to the museum to drop the guide off.

Duration: 3 hours 30

Ressources

German Battery
Located in the heart of the Allied landing zone, between Omaha Beach and Gold Beach, the German battery at Longues-sur-mer is one of the batteries of the Atlantic Wall. In 1944, it comprised four casemates, each housing a 150mm gun, a fire direction post built into the cliff edge and various concrete installations used as shelters or ammunition bunkers.

American Cemetery
The Colleville-sur-Mer military cemetery is one of two American cemeteries in Normandy. Overlooking Omaha Beach, it contains 9,386 graves of American soldiers who fell during D-Day and the ensuing battle. With its impressive array of white crosses, this place of remembrance pays tribute to the sacrifice of American youth in the liberation of Europe.

Omaha Beach
Omaha is the code name for one of the five landing sectors. Closed in by a small cliff giving the defenders the upper hand, this 6 km long beach quickly became a hellish place for the GIs who landed at dawn on June 6. The loss of life was so great that the beach earned the nickname "Bloody Omaha".

German Cemetery
With 21,222 graves, the La Cambe cemetery is the largest German necropolis in Normandy. Its grey granite crosses and ground stelae give it a very austere appearance. In the center, a tumulus contains the bodies of unidentified combatants. A peace garden with over a thousand trees has been laid out nearby. Each tree represents a signatory to the petition of the Volksbund, an association for peace and against violence in the world.

American Cemetery
The Colleville-sur-Mer military cemetery is one of two American cemeteries in Normandy. Overlooking Omaha Beach, it contains 9,386 graves of American soldiers who fell during D-Day and the ensuing battle. With its impressive array of white crosses, this place of remembrance pays tribute to the sacrifice of American youth in the liberation of Europe.

Omaha Beach
Omaha is the code name for one of the five landing sectors. Closed in by a small cliff giving the defenders the upper hand, this 6 km long beach quickly became a hellish place for the GIs who landed at dawn on June 6. The loss of life was so great that the beach earned the nickname "Bloody Omaha".

Booking service

+33 (0)2 31 06 06 45
Monday to Friday, except public holidays.

Mémorial de Caen

Don't forget

  • To help your students relax and enable our teams to present the site, you are advised to arrive 1/4 hour prior to the scheduled time.
  • For safety reasons, bags are not allowed in the museum and students must leave them in the coach.
  • The students remain under the authority of the accompanying adults. They will not be able to access the visit without supervision.
  • The Caen Memorial Museum has a free coach park for 22 vehicles and a cleaning station.

They lived
the experience

Google reviews

4,6

23 149 avis

The tour was so touching

We visited the museum and took the Normandy beaches tour with Andrea. The tour was so touching, interesting, and also surreal. Andrea’s knowledge and great personality helped make this experience unforgettable. I would highly recommend this tour and tour guide to anyone wishing to learn more about WWII.

We visited as a school group

We visited as a school group and had a guided tour by Oliver. He was masterful in walking us through the museum and teaching our group about WWII. If you can, get a guided tour by Oliver – he made the museum the best it could be.

Booked a full day tour of Normandy - Cemetery - St Mere

Booked a full day tour of Normandy – Cemetery – St Mere. Oliver our tour guide was excellent. He was informative, knowledgeable, and enthusiastic. As an avid reader of WW2 military history I cannot imagine trying to navigate the Normandy area without going on a tour. I am sure all of the tour guides are great, however, Oliver was outstanding – highly recommend. The format of the tour was well planned – Cemetery and landings, lunch at a nice local bistro, then further sites. Oliver was able to identify through just reading books. The Caen Memorial Museum was very good as well.

It was a trip far more than expected

It was a trip far more than expected. A good chance to gaze upon the bravery of American soldiers on D-Day on those particular historic spots. I was super lucky to travel by myself along with the tour guide Mario and our driver Alain. Mario is a super enthusiastic guide prepared detailed history facts about the landing day, and always ready to any possible questions – also a patient teacher to a non-French-speaking tourist like me. Driver Alain, humorous as well, guaranteed a smooth landing along the shore for the whole day, and was willing to slow down at any interesting spot. As I mentioned, this guided tour is especially suitable for those traveling without cars or who want to witness most of the prestigious spots in a single day. It provides the best initial impression to those looking for WW2 history in Normandy.

It was a very special day - Legacy Roads

Oliver did a outstanding job. An unplanned incident where a little girl ran up to us in the middle of the beach, asked if I was a veteran and presented me with a veterans medal, left all of us in tears. Later, Oliver asked if I could be part of the Taps lowering of the flag, the request was granted on this Memorial Day. It was a very special day for this US Army veteran. I’m glad I followed my American Legion Commander’s advice and wore my Legion hat. The beach and cemetery tour was sobering, reflective and meaningful. Thank you.

wonderful D-Day tour - Legacy Roads

I had a wonderful D-Day tour with Andrea and Allan. They were friendly, knowledgeable, prompt and accommodating. Great full day tour of all the main D-Day sites. And the Memorial the next day was really good as well.