Day 1 — Arromanches on foot + Juno Beach Centre.
Day 2 — American sector: Pointe du Hoc, Omaha, American Cemetery.
Day 3 — Cotentin: Utah Beach, Sainte-Mère-Église, Cherbourg Cité de la Mer.
Day 4 — East sector: Longues battery, Sword Beach, Pegasus Bridge.
Day 5 — Bayeux + Norman countryside and food.
Day 1 — Arromanches on foot, then Juno
9:00 Walk the Mulberry B harbour at low tide — Phoenix caissons, Beetles, Whale sections. Free.
10:30 Arromanches D-Day Museum. Allow 1h30. €12.90 (2026).
12:00 Lunch in the village.
14:00 D-Day Boat Tour — 45 min guided cruise over the Mulberry, boarding at the slipway 200 m from Villa Bellevue.
15:30 Drive to Juno Beach Centre (Courseulles), 20 min east. Canadian D-Day museum. Allow 2h. ~€12.
18:00 Optional: Bernières-sur-Mer "Canada House" (5 min further) — first house liberated by the Canadian forces.
19:30 Back to Arromanches for sunset over the Mulberry harbour.
Day 2 — The American sector (Colleville to Pointe du Hoc)
The emotional heart of a US pilgrimage. Start with the site that touches you most.
9:00 Drive west to Normandy American Cemetery (Colleville-sur-Mer), 30 min. 9,388 graves. Visitor centre, Wall of the Missing. Free. Allow 2h30 — the visitor centre alone is worth 1h.
12:00 Lunch at a Colleville/Vierville roadside cafe.
13:30 Omaha Beach — walk the sand from Saint-Laurent to Vierville. Les Braves memorial. Allow 1h30.
15:30 Drive 15 min west to Pointe du Hoc. Ranger cliff assault. Craters and bunkers. Free. Allow 1h30.
17:30 Back to Arromanches (45 min). Quiet evening.
Day 3 — Cotentin: Utah, Sainte-Mère, Cherbourg
Longest driving day of the week. Start early.
8:30 Drive to Utah Beach Museum, 1h15. Built on a blockhouse, includes a restored B-26. Allow 1h30. ~€10.
11:30 Drive 15 min south to Sainte-Mère-Église. Village of paratrooper John Steele and the church spire. Airborne Museum next door. Allow 2h + lunch in the village. ~€10.
14:30 Drive 45 min west to Cherbourg.
15:30 Cité de la Mer — deepest aquarium in Europe, plus the Redoutable nuclear submarine (open to visit) and the Titanic exhibit (Cherbourg was the Titanic's last port of call). Family-friendly. Allow 3h. ~€22 adult / €16 child. This is the mid-week "different" activity that resets the mood after two heavy days.
18:30 Drive back to Arromanches (1h30). Long day — dinner at the villa.
Day 4 — East sector: Longues, Sword, Pegasus
Lighter driving, more coastal atmosphere.
9:30 Longues-sur-Mer battery, 10 min west of Arromanches. Best-preserved German coastal battery, guns still in casemates. Free. Allow 1h.
11:00 Drive east 45 min to Ouistreham and Sword Beach. Visit the Grand Bunker Museum — a preserved 17 m German command bunker, five floors of period rooms. Allow 1h30. ~€8.
13:30 Lunch in Ouistreham.
15:00 Pegasus Bridge and Café Gondrée — the first house liberated in France on June 6, 1944 at 00:16. Pegasus Memorial Museum (Bénouville) — original bridge preserved outside. Allow 1h30. ~€9.
17:00 Return via the coast road (D514), stopping at any beach that catches your eye. Back to Arromanches by 18:30.
Day 5 — Bayeux and Norman countryside
Slower pace to close the trip.
9:30 Drive to Bayeux, 15 min.
10:00 Bayeux War Cemetery — 4,144 Commonwealth graves, largest in France. Free. Allow 1h.
11:00 Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum. Allow 1h30. Bayeux 2-Museum Pass ~€14.
13:00 Lunch in the medieval historic centre.
14:30 Bayeux Cathedral (1077, Norman Gothic). Wander the water mill, the cobbled lanes.
16:00 Drive 30 min south into the Pré-Bocage countryside — cider farms (many welcome visitors), calvados producers, camembert dairies. Tasting stops. This is the Norman "food and drink" part of the trip.
18:30 Back to Arromanches. Farewell dinner at the villa or at a seafront restaurant.
Note: the Bayeux Tapestry is on loan to the British Museum in London (Sep 10, 2026 - Jul 11, 2027); the Bayeux Museum in Normandy reopens in 2027.
Variations
Add Mont-Saint-Michel (extend to 6-7 days)
Mont-Saint-Michel is 2h30 west of Arromanches. Add: Day 6 drive to Mont-Saint-Michel, overnight there. Day 7 abbey visit + return via Bayeux. Do not attempt as a day trip from Arromanches — 5 hours round-trip driving ruins the visit.
Add the Alabaster Coast (Étretat)
Étretat's white cliffs are 2h north-east. Add a day trip with an early start; back for dinner. Best done as Day 4 (swapping Sword/Pegasus to Day 5 or 6).
With teenagers or history-obsessed travellers
Add: the Falaise pocket sites (Mémorial de Montormel), the Merville battery, the Maisy battery. Fits into a 7-day itinerary.
Quick Q&A — 5-day D-Day trip
Is 5 days enough?
Ideal duration for a first serious D-Day trip. Covers everything essential plus Cherbourg and a lighter countryside day.
Split my base?
No — stay in one place. Splitting wastes half a day in logistics.
Add Mont-Saint-Michel?
Only if you extend to 6-7 days with an overnight near the Mont. Never as a day trip from Arromanches (2h30 each way).
Best day for kids?
Day 3 — Cherbourg Cité de la Mer resets the mood after heavy history days.
Book museums in advance?
Peak season: yes, especially Cité de la Mer, Juno Beach Centre, Utah Beach Museum, D-Day Boat Tour.
Villa Bellevue — the 5-day plan base
One house, one week, ten guests. Walking distance to Day 1's sites, central to all other days. Sea view, 1857 house.
Check availability →Prefer a private guided tour?
Our local partner Mathilde Legoupil — bilingual licensed tour guide (Immersive Normandy Tours) — runs private half-day and full-day tours of the D-Day beaches, Bayeux, the Longues-sur-Mer battery, Mont-Saint-Michel and Giverny. Ideal for American, British, Canadian and Australian visitors who want context and depth without driving themselves. See her profile on our partners page.