Located in the Calvados and Manche departments, the D-Day Beaches stretch over 80 kilometers of coastline.
On June 6 1944, they were the scene of the biggest amphibious and airborne operation of all time.
Discover D-Day Beaches for disabled persons can be done. This article is designed to help you prepare for your visit.
Credit : image de couverture Marie-Anaïs-THIERRY
Every year, thousands of visitors flock to the 5 sectors: Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah.
So why don’t you?
Which major D-Day sites are accessible to people with disabilities?
Please find in our article, find out which sites and places to visit during the D-Day landings are accessible to disabled persons. Actually, most of the outdoor sites linked to the D-Day landings remain partially accessible, but require the presence of a guide for disabled visitors.
Howhever most museums are accessible because they’re perfectly equipped.
Military cemeteries, batteries and other outdoor sites don’t have simplified French materials, nor digital content including audiodescription or videos in LSF.
However, the DDAY APP provides a combination of text and audio guide, allowing you to learn about the history and symbolism of these iconic sites.
Here are a few suggestions of World War II sites and museums you can visit without unpleasant surprises.
Accessibility, mediation tools and human support are just some of the solutions put in place to guarantee you the best possible welcome.
This list is not exhaustive. Please contact our team of advisors for a complete list of accessible sites.
The Canadian sector of Juno Beach
Centre Juno Beach, Courseulles-sur-Mer
The only museum in the Canadian sector, the Juno Beach Centre is both a museum and a cultural center, paying tribute to the 45,000 Canadians who lost their lives during the Second World War, including 5,500 during the Battle of Normandy and 359 on D-Day.
Here you can discover the civil and military war effort of the entire population of Canada and the various fronts during the Second World War.
Films, sound archives and interactive terminals complete your visit.
Accessibility extras :
- An audible beacon and a guide strip lead you from the parking lot to the museum entrance,
- The site is all on one level.
- There are rest areas throughout the permanent exhibition and in the hall,
- Guided tours of the bunkers are not available. However, virtual tours of the bunkers can be booked from behind your computer,
- The walk in Juno Park is accessible to all,
- In addition, wheelchairs, folding canes, magnifying and illuminating magnifiers, a thermo-inflated map and FALC booklets are available free of charge for the visually impaired.
Accompanied discovery of the Canadian sector with Corine.
Let Corine tell you the story of our Canadian allies.
Corine is a tour guide. She is trained to welcome disabled visitors and has set up guided tours adapted to their needs, using a range of mediation tools.
Her sensory tours allow as many people as possible to experience history at their fingertips. She also offers other themed tours, which are also accessible.
Practical information:
Heading east towards Sword Beach, in the Franco-British sector
Museum n°4 Commando, Ouistreham
Crédit : les Conteurs
Created by veterans, this museum preserves the memory of the Premier Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos created by Commandant Kieffer.
Part of No. 4 British Commando, it was the only French unit to land on June 6, 1944.
The museum tells the story of the 177 French Green Berets who, thanks to the tenacity of Commandant Philippe Kieffer, were able to join the British-trained commandos and take part in various actions alongside them.
Accessibility extras :
- The museum is fully accessible to people with reduced mobility (please note – as this is a small museum, there are no toilets for visitors),
- Although there are no guided tours or audioguides, human assistance is available for describing models and display cases.
Pegasus Bridge, Ranville
Credit : Thomas Le Floch
Between Caen and the sea, the Pegasus Memorial retraces the arrival of the 1st liberators of the British 6th Airborne Division on Normandy soil on the night of June 5-6, 1944, at 11:16 pm, to ensure passage across the Orne Canal for the troops landing on the beaches in the hours that followed.
A visit to the Pegasus Museum includes a stop at the famous Café Gondrée.
This café, located on the other side of the bridge and founded in 1935 by the Gondrée family, was the first liberated house in France.
This café-museum is packed with memorabilia, including photos and objects left by British veterans.
A real trip back in time!
Accessibility extras :
- Fully accessible to people with reduced mobility,
- A guide is essential for exploring the outdoors,
- The glider on site is not accessible,
- Braille documents available in English and French,
- A relief model of the Pegasus Bridge is available on request.
Westward to Gold Beach in the British sector
Landing Museum, Arromanches-les-Bains
Credit : Marie-Anaïs Thierry
An emblematic site on Gold Beach, the Musée du Débarquement d’Arromanches (D-Day Museum) explains how the famous artificial harbor worked.
Facing the beach at Arromanches, it tells the story of the Normandy Landings, the prefabricated ports and their role in the Battle of Normandy.
Animated and 3D models, archival photos and films, collectors’ items and a monumental projection are just a few of the mediation tools you’ll need for total immersion.
Accessibility extras :
- Magnetic loop and videoguide – integrated explanations in LSF,
- Podotactile signage and audioguide,
- Fully wheelchair-accessible. Elevators are available to access the 1st floor and the roof terrace.
Then Omaha Beach, in the American sector
Overlord Museum, Colleville-sur-Mer
Vehicle enthusiasts among you? This is the museum for you!
Located 500 meters from the Colleville-sur-Mer American cemetery, this museum features a unique collection of over 10,000 items, tracing the history of the Battle of Normandy right up to the liberation of Paris.
The 6 armies involved are brought to life in life-size re-enactments, combining personal effects with over 40 vehicles, tanks and cannons.
Accessibility extras :
- Museum on one level, fully accessible to people with reduced mobility,
- Although there are no materials in simplified French, or in sign language, the many human-scale reconstructions and the realistic, immersive scenography enable people with hearing and intellectual disabilities to understand this historical period.
Utah Beach, the last American sector
Airborne Museum, Sainte-Mère-l’Église
Credit : Thomas le Floch
Up close and personal with John Steele…
Located in the heart of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, opposite the bell tower from which paratrooper John Steele hung, this museum will take you through the D-Day landings alongside American paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne, as well as soldiers who arrived by glider.
Accessibility extras :
- Each of the museum’s pavilions, as well as the reception building, is either on one level or equipped with access ramps. There is, however, one area that is inaccessible to people with reduced mobility: the platform in pavilion C47,
- Headphones, which visitors can wear on guided tours to hear the guide better,
- All videos shown in the museum are subtitled, in English or French, depending on the language of the audio,
- A Histopad is given to each visitor at no extra cost. It can be used to flash kiosks around the buildings to access interactive augmented reality scenes.
Azeville Battery
This is one of the first constructions of the Atlantic Wall in France.
The complexity of this military space lies in its impressive network of concrete tunnels and covered trenches, over 800 metres long.
As a result, it provides shelter for men and ammunition.
Accessibility extras :
- The outdoor tour of this impressive D-Day site, the access to the video, the reception building and the sanitary facilities have all been adapted for disabled visitors with reduced mobility,
- However, it’s important to note that the underground passages include numerous staircases, uneven terrain and narrow corridors. An adapted route can be taken from the outside, but please let us know in advance,
- Magnetic loops adaptable to certain hearing aids are available,
- Paper booklets are also available in the 7 audioguide languages.
And just a few kilometers from the D-Day landing beaches, you’ll find other historical nuggets that are accessible to disabled persons.
Mémorial de Caen
Credit : François Monier
A journey through the terrible history of the 20th century...
Located and built on a former bunker that served as a German command post, the Caen Memorial invites visitors to discover all the conflicts, from the end of the First World War to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Accessibility extras :
- Another D-Day museum with level access for disabled persons,
- Wheelchairs available on request,
- Audioguides with audiodescription content,
- Subtitles for all video formats.orts vidéos.
Mémorial de Falaise – Civilians during the war
Credit : Lucie Deshcamps
Designed by the Mémorial de Caen, the scenography places emotion and the transmission of memory at the heart of the museum.
With 1000m2 of exhibition space and three different areas, one dedicated to the daily life of civilians under the Occupation, another to the Liberation and finally an immersive room plunging you into the hell of the bombings of the Second World War, come and discover the daily life of our grandparents during the war.
Accessibility extras :
- Fully accessible to all disabled visitors, this beautiful museum, linked to the D-Day landings on the civilian side, is an excellent choice for a visit (with external access ramp and elevator to access the two visiting floors),
- Audioguide with audio description,
- Magnetic buckle.
We recommend that you contact each museum to inform them of your requirements at the time of booking, so that they can guarantee a suitable welcome.
Tourism and disability section :
Visit our special “tourism and disability” page: accessible beaches, ideas for adapted walks, inclusive guided tours…
