Normandy, France · Europe
Caen is worth a stop: 10 minutes from Louvigny, 26km from D-Day Beaches Coastal Road (D514).
Caen is in Normandy, France, with about 110,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Louvigny, about 4 km away.
Caen ( or ; French: [kɑ̃] ; Norman: Kaem) is a city and commune 15 km (9.3 mi) inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (as of 2018), while its functional urban area has 470,000, making Caen the second largest urban areaRead more
in Normandy and the 19th largest in France. It is also the third largest commune in all of Normandy after Le Havre and Rouen.
Caen is located 200 km (120 mi) northwest of Paris, connected to the South of England by the Caen (Ouistreham) to Portsmouth ferry route through the English Channel. Situated a few kilometres from the coast, the landing beaches, the bustling resorts of Deauville and Cabourg, as well as Norman Switzerland and the Pays d'Auge, Caen is often considered the archetype of Normandy.
Caen is known for its historical buildings built during the reign of William the Conqueror, who was buried there, and for the Battle for Caen, heavy fighting that took place in and around Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, destroying much of the city. The city has now preserved the memory by erecting a memorial and a museum dedicated to peace, the Mémorial de Caen.
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Within an hour or so of Caen: D-Day Beaches Coastal Road (D514) (26 km), Bayeux Tapestry Museum (27 km), Bayeux Cathedral (27 km), Suisse Normande (32 km).
The nearest famous roads are D-Day Beaches Coastal Road (D514) and Rouen-Les-Essarts.
Caen is in Normandy, France, about 4 km from Louvigny.
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Places within a drive of Caen. Keep the ones you like and add them to your trip.
Essential numbers in France
Carrying a warning triangle and hi-vis vest in your vehicle is mandatory. Motorway emergency phones connect to official breakdown services only.
Full driving guide for France8 notable places within an hour's drive.
coastal drive
The coast road threading the five 1944 landing beaches from Utah to Sword, past Arromanches' Mulberry harbour remains, gun batteries and memorials: Normandy's essential remembrance drive.
26 km · about 30 min drive
museum
Home to the extraordinary 70-meter-long medieval embroidery depicting the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
27 km · about 30 min drive
cathedral
A soaring Norman-Gothic cathedral in the first town liberated in 1944, home town of the famous tapestry.
27 km · about 30 min drive
scenic viewpoint
A miniature Alps of green gorges and rocky bluffs along the River Orne, beloved by drivers and climbers.
32 km · about 35 min drive
beach
Glamorous Belle Époque seaside resort with parasol-dotted sands and the famous wooden boardwalk.
37 km · about 40 min drive
landmark
Rows of white marble crosses above Omaha Beach honour the fallen of the 1944 Normandy landings.
41 km · about 45 min drive
landmark
The most fiercely contested D-Day landing beach of June 6, 1944, now a solemn memorial site overlooking the English Channel.
42 km · about 50 min drive
film location
The D-Day beach whose assault opens Saving Private Ryan; the film shot in Ireland but the real site and its memorials are the destination.
43 km · about 50 min drive
April to October
Other places to explore near Caen.
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