Arromanches and the Remains of the Artificial Harbour

What it is

Off Arromanches, in the Gold Beach sector, the great concrete caissons of the artificial harbour that the Allies assembled after the landings are still in the sea. It was Mulberry B, renamed Port Winston: floating piers that rose and fell with the tide, joined to the beach by steel roads on pontoons, and protected by breakwaters of Phoenix caissons deliberately sunk. The pieces were made in England, mostly between October 1943 and May 1944, and crossed the Channel under tow from 7 June. It was operating from 14 June 1944. Its twin at Omaha, Mulberry A, was wrecked by the storm of 19 to 21 June; the Arromanches one held.

The visit has two parts: the Musée du Débarquement, on the village promenade, which explains how it worked, and the beach with the remains of the harbour, which can be seen for free.

The museum

It starts with a background film and continues on the first floor: a projection on the five landing beaches, the animated historical models of the harbour and a video mapping on a 25 m² model that shows what the harbour was used for in the Battle of Normandy. The audio guide is included in the ticket and the visit is adapted for children. The average visit lasts an hour and a half.

Hours

• February: from 10:00 to 17:00.
• March and October: from 9:30 to 17:30.
• April and September: from 9:00 to 18:00.
• May to August: from 9:00 to 19:00.
• November and December: from 10:00 to 17:00.

On Sundays it opens at 10:00, except in June, July and August. It is closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January, and has an annual closure in January (in 2026, from the 5th to the 27th). The ticket office closes 45 minutes before the museum.

Prices

2026 rates, only at the museum ticket office:

• Adults: €12.90.
• Children aged 6 to 18 and students: €8.30.
• Family (2 adults and 2 children aged 6 to 18): €37, and €4 for each additional child.
• People with disabilities: free.

If you keep your adult ticket from the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Église, you get €1 off here, and vice versa. The museum also applies discounts from the Explore Normandy Pass.

The beach and the remains of the harbour

From the promenade and the beach you see the Phoenix caissons lined up in the sea, and in the village pontoons from the floating roads are displayed. At low tide the beach opens up and the remains are better seen; at high tide the water reaches almost the promenade.

Getting there and parking

Arromanches is on the coast north of Bayeux. In summer arrive early if you are driving: the village is small and fills up. If you are in a motorhome, there is the Arromanches area. Without a car, the minibus tours from Bayeux usually include Arromanches.

Combine it

A little to the west, along the coast, is the Longues-sur-Mer battery, with its guns still in the casemates. Together they fill a morning.