Booking choice: The Omaha Beach day trip from Paris, from $142 per person. Check dates Compare the options below
From west to east, Utah and Omaha were American, Gold British, Juno Canadian and Sword British. About 7,000 vessels and 12,000 aircraft supported the landings, and over 10,300 Allied troops were killed, wounded or missing on the day.
The beaches are spread along about 80 km of coast, and no single day covers all five well. Here is what each one is, what to see there and which tours on this site go where.
The quick answer
Americans usually head for Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc and the American Cemetery, plus Utah Beach and Sainte-Mère-Église if time allows. Canadians go to Juno Beach and its Centre; British visitors to Gold, Arromanches and Sword. The American sector fills one day; the British and Canadian beaches need a second.
What are the five D-Day beaches?
From west to east: Utah (US), Omaha (US), Gold (British), Juno (Canadian) and Sword (British).
| Beach | Who landed | What to see | Tours on this site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | US 4th Infantry Division, over 23,000 men | Utah Beach Landing Museum, the dunes; Sainte-Mère-Église inland | Paris coach, Bayeux full day |
| Omaha | US 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions, about 34,000 men | Les Braves, bunkers, the American Cemetery; Pointe du Hoc to the west | Every Paris tour, the American-sector tours from Bayeux, Caen and Le Havre |
| Gold | British 50th Division, nearly 25,000 men | Arromanches and the Mulberry harbour, the British Normandy Memorial; Longues-sur-Mer battery at its western end | budget coach, sidecar, minivan (Longues) |
| Juno | 3rd Canadian Division, about 21,400 men | Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer, bunkers | Juno Beach tour; 15 min on the budget coach if time allows |
| Sword | British 3rd Infantry Division | Ouistreham; Pegasus Bridge inland | None on this site |
Utah and Omaha in one day from Paris, lunch included: check dates.
Check dates for the Omaha Beach day trip from ParisWhich D-Day beach should Americans visit?
Omaha, with Pointe du Hoc and the American Cemetery on the same stretch of coast; add Utah Beach and Sainte-Mère-Église for the paratroopers.
Almost every tour on this site is built around that American core. Read the Omaha Beach guide and the American Cemetery guide before you go.
What is there to see at Utah Beach?
The Utah Beach Landing Museum at Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, the dunes and the memorials, on the beach where the landing went best: about 200 casualties.
The museum is €10 for adults and €6.50 for children 6 to 15, open 10 AM to 6 PM from October to April and 9:30 AM to 7 PM from May to September; ticket sales end an hour before closing. Utah is the furthest west of the beaches, so it is only on the longer days: the most booked Paris tour and the Bayeux full day both include the museum ticket.
Utah, Omaha and Sainte-Mère-Église in one day: the Bayeux tour gives about an hour at each.
Explore the full day from BayeuxWhy is Sainte-Mère-Église famous?
It was one of the first towns liberated, by paratroopers of the US 82nd Airborne, and a paratrooper figure still hangs from the church steeple in memory of John Steele.
It sits inland from Utah Beach. Of the tours on this site, only the Bayeux full day stops there, for about an hour.
What is at Gold Beach and Arromanches?
Arromanches holds the remains of the Mulberry artificial harbour; nearby are the Longues-sur-Mer gun battery and the British Normandy Memorial on a hillside above Gold Beach.
The British Normandy Memorial records the names of 22,540 servicemen and women under British command who fell on D-Day and in the Battle of Normandy. The budget coach from Paris gives 90 minutes in Arromanches, the sidecar tour an hour there and an hour at Longues, and the minivan day 45 minutes at Longues.
See Arromanches, Longues and Omaha from a sidecar, one or two guests per bike.
Check dates for the sidecar tourWhat should Canadians see at Juno Beach?
The Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer, the Canadian museum on the beach, plus the Canadian war cemetery and battlefields inland.
About 21,400 men of the 3rd Canadian Division landed at Juno on D-Day. The Centre charges €9 for adults and closes in January. The Juno Beach tour from Bayeux includes the ticket and continues to the Abbaye d'Ardenne, Carpiquet, the Canadian War Cemetery and Hill 67, returning around 6 PM; it needs 6 days' notice to cancel free.
Canadian or already done Omaha? The Juno tour covers the Canadian beach and battlefields, ticket included.
Explore the Juno Beach tourWhat about Sword Beach and Pegasus Bridge?
Sword, the easternmost beach near Ouistreham, was the British 3rd Infantry Division's; Pegasus Bridge inland was taken by British airborne troops in the first hours of D-Day.
To be straight: none of the tours on this site covers Sword or Pegasus Bridge. The closest is the Mémorial de Caen tour, whose museum tells the whole story before the afternoon in the American sector.
Can you see all five beaches in one day?
Not properly: the coast runs about 80 km, and a day that tries to cover all five becomes a string of photo stops.
A better plan: one day for the American sector (Omaha, Pointe du Hoc, the cemetery, Utah), a second for Arromanches and Juno or the Mémorial de Caen. That is far easier from a base in Bayeux; see Paris or Bayeux.
Base yourself in Bayeux and take the American sector at a walking pace.
Check dates for the full day from BayeuxFrequently asked questions
Which D-Day beach is the most famous?
Omaha, the bloodiest of the five: about 2,400 Americans were killed, wounded or missing there on June 6, 1944.
Which beach did the Canadians land on?
Juno, between Gold and Sword. The Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer is the Canadian museum there.
Which tour covers the most beaches?
From Paris, the budget coach touches Omaha, Arromanches on Gold and, time allowing, Juno, but with short stops. The most booked tour covers Utah and Omaha with longer visits.
Are the D-Day beaches open to the public?
Yes. They are public beaches and free to walk, as are the American Cemetery and Pointe du Hoc.
Ready to book
Choose your D-Day tour
Free cancellation on every option (24 hours ahead on most tours, 6 days on a few; see each listing). Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches Tour including Omaha Beach
- English-speaking guide and air-conditioned coach from Paris
- Utah Beach Landing Museum entry, Utah Beach and Pointe du Hoc
- Free time on Omaha Beach (about 30 minutes) and the American Cemetery (1 hr 15)
American D-Day Beaches Full-Day Tour from Bayeux
- Pickup and drop-off at your Bayeux hotel
- Guide and air-conditioned minivan, eight guests maximum
- Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, American Cemetery (about an hour each)
Canadian Battlefields and Juno Beach Centre Tour
Canadian visitors and anyone who has done Omaha
