WWII D-Day Landing Museums - England or France?

If he's really interesed in WWII, then a day trip to Normandy would be ideal. Take a tour of the landing sights and you will probably also stop at the Airborne musuem in St. Mere Eglise.

Better yet, plan to take an overnight trip to Bayeux and include the WWII museum there.

I can recommend Overlord Tours

The most comprehensive D-Day museum is located in Portsmouth and it includes an original landing craft impressively located outside the front of the museum. I haven't been to the one in Dorset so can't compare the two although it does appear to be aimed towards younger children. Portsmouth also benefits from the Historic Dockyard with plenty of naval history.

London to Portsmouth by train is simple. Direct trains (as long as there are no engineering works) from either Waterloo of Victoria and straight to Portsmouth Harbour which is adjacent to the Historic Dockyard. The D-Day museum can be reached via a walk along the seafront esplanade or by bus or taxi.

you can then take a ferry to Caen or Cherbourg and see it from the landings sites. The museum in Arromanches-les-Bains is very good and there is the remains of the Mulberry Harbour, and of course the sites, all along the coast are very impressive.

Either study so the history is down cold or -better - go for a guided tour. Guides personalize the tour so you go to specific places important to you. Overland Tours gets very good reviews.

I second Nigel’s recommendation! The little museum at Arromanches was more meaningful to me because of the still visible Mulberry harbor and the artifacts on display. Enjoyed it more than the museum in Caen.

If you have a car, visit the American Cemetery as well as Point du Hoc.

I haven’t visited the English D-Day sites, so I can’t compare the ease of travel there, but if you decide to visit the Normandy sites, there are a number of highly recommended tours listed on the France forum.

You can search “D Day” for more, but here are two recent posts that discuss several tours:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/d-day-tours-69a92515-1e44-499c-9a49-49978558fa94

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/chris-d-day-tours

If you decide to take the ferry to Caen, you can rent a car there, and tour the sites on your own. I found it pretty easy to navigate on my own, and you have the advantage of staying longer if you want at certain sites.

For example, I stayed longer at Arromanches than I had planned because it fascinated me and told a side that isn’t emphasized in most WW2 movies.

I stayed in Bayeux, which is a charming city with other attractions as well and makes a good base for exploring the Normandy beaches.

All the best,

Raymond

If you have the time, I would suggest going to Dorset from London to see the Bovington Tank Museum. Take the Tube to London Waterloo, then the train to Wool, taxis are right there to drive directly to the Museum, literally door to door service.

The Museum's exhibitions are massive, fascinating if your son is i keenly interested in armour and all that, ie, British, German, US, Soviet, French tanks. Be prepared to spend the entire afternoon there.

For myself, the thing about visiting D-Day sites is seeing the actual places they landed, where the Rangers battled for Point du Hoc and scrambled up the cliff face (for nothing), where the Mulberry Harbor still has some visibility at Arromanches which others recommended, where the gliders landed at Pegasus Bridge. These sights are outdoors and not seen in museums.

I'd vote for visiting Normandy and doing a day tour with one of the companies to get the outdoor story told to you and the grandson! AND Yea that he is interested in WWII!

BTW, he and you should watch The Longest Day before you go and then again after you get home. You will see it with different eyes.

It would be great if you could adjust your itinerary to spend a night or two in Bayeux, which is an easy train ride from Paris. Once in Bayeux, you can walk from the train station to many hotels.

Overlord has great 1-day tours of D-Day sites.

We're going to Portsmouth in September 2023, so I can't comment on its D Day museum. While in London, check out the Imperial War Museum and the Churchill War Rooms.

https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/churchill-war-rooms

https://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london

Thanks to all for your very helpful information. I love the idea of sleeping in Bayeux so we can see the tapestry.

"I love the idea of sleeping in Bayeux so we can see the tapestry."

This is a wonderful idea. If you can manage 2 nights there that will work the best. That gives you a full day for your DDay tour and then you can see the Bayeux Tapestry on the afternoon you arrive or before you head back to Paris.

The invasion museum in Bayeux has good coverage of the subject, is modern and is a manageable size. The cathedral is also worth a visit. As of 2017 the local tourist office offered a walking tour; it was very interesting.

Airborne musuem in St. Mere Eglise

The church across the street has a parachuting dummy where John Steele got hung up

remains of the Mulberry Harbour

Stayed in a hotel directly across the street from the beach and had a birdseye view of the harbor ... you can walk out to the ruins when the tide is low ... awesome

visit the American Cemetery as well as Point du Hoc

Both must sees ... cemetery is very moving, especially when they lower the flag at 4pm and play taps ... the German cemetery is also well worth a visit ... Point du Hoc still has some of the bunkers that housed the big guns (one is still there) and huge craters from the shelling