Juno Beach and Port-en-Bessin from Arromanches

Arromanches-les-Bains has another asset besides the remains of its Mulberry harbour: its position, at the exact centre of the Bessin coastline. To the east, the coast runs towards Courseulles-sur-Mer and the Canadian sector of Juno Beach; to the west, it dips down to Port-en-Bessin, Normandy's scallop capital. Two short hops of a dozen kilometres at most, two very different moods — history and remembrance on one side, the great theatre of fishing on the other. Here is how to make the most of these two half-days from your Arromanches base.

Heading east: what is there to do in Courseulles-sur-Mer?

Twelve kilometres from Arromanches along the coast road — a drive that skirts Gold Beach, Ver-sur-Mer and the dunes of Graye-sur-Mer — Courseulles-sur-Mer is a proper little seaside resort, with its marina, its oyster beds, its market and its beach huts. On 6 June 1944, its beach went by another name: Juno Beach, the sector entrusted to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division.

The unmissable visit is the Juno Beach Centre, opened in 2003 facing the sea: it is the only D-Day beaches museum dedicated to Canada. Its strength is that it does not stop at 6 June — the displays tell the story of a whole country's war effort and the commitment of its volunteers, before opening out onto contemporary Canada. Families appreciate the child-friendly trails and, from March to November, the guided tours of the beach and the bunkers of the Atlantic Wall, led by young Canadian guides.

A few practical notes: allow €9 for adult entry (€7 reduced, free for accompanied under-8s), €13.50 with the bunker tour, and good-value family tickets. The centre is open every day, from 9.30am to 7pm in high season (May to August). In 2026, a temporary exhibition shown from February explores the everyday lives of Norman and Canadian children during the war — a moving angle from both sides of the Atlantic. Up-to-date times and programme on the official Juno Beach Centre website.

After the museum, carry on with a stroll along the jetty and around the Cross of Lorraine, planted in the dunes where General de Gaulle set foot on French soil once more on 14 June 1944. And if hunger strikes, the Courseulles oysters are best enjoyed facing the harbour.

On the way: why stop at Ver-sur-Mer?

Between Arromanches and Courseulles, don't drive through Ver-sur-Mer without stopping. It was here, on Gold Beach, that British troops landed on 6 June 1944 — the same beach that stretches all the way to the caissons of Arromanches, whose story we tell in our article on the Mulberry artificial harbour at Gold Beach.

On the heights above the village stands the British Normandy Memorial, unveiled in 2021: an open-air memorial, free to visit, where the names of more than 22,000 men and women who fell under British command during the summer of 1944 are engraved. The sculpture of three soldiers charging forward, the pale stone columns facing the sea, the view sweeping across the whole bay as far as Arromanches: the place is deeply understated and leaves a lasting impression. Visitor information on the official memorial website.

Heading west: what is there to see in Port-en-Bessin?

A complete change of scene 9 km west of Arromanches. Hemmed in between two high cliffs, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain — "Port" to the regulars — is Normandy's leading small-scale fishing harbour. Here, everything revolves around fish: the colourful trawlers moored in the basins, the fish auction, the quayside fishmongers and the restaurants that cook the day's catch.

The local star is the Normandy scallop (coquille Saint-Jacques de Normandie), holder of a Label Rouge quality mark and fished from autumn to spring. In season, it is everywhere: on the stalls, on restaurant menus, simply seared in butter or served raw as a carpaccio. Each autumn the town devotes a great popular festival to it, "Le Goût du Large", with tastings, direct sales straight off the boat, sea shanties and entertainment along the quays — the 2025 edition was held in early November; for the 2026 dates, see the Port-en-Bessin-Huppain town hall website.

Outside the festivities, Port-en-Bessin is best savoured on foot: walk around the outer harbour to the 17th-century Vauban tower that watches over the entrance to the channel, climb up onto the cliffs for the panorama, and linger as the boats come in. On Sunday mornings, the market on the quays is one of the most authentic in the Bessin.

On the way between Arromanches and Port-en-Bessin, a detour to the German battery at Longues-sur-Mer is a must — the only coastal battery to have kept its original guns, and it lies quite literally on your route.

How do you plan these two trips from Arromanches?

The simplest approach is to give each one half a day:

• Morning to the west: the Longues-sur-Mer battery as it opens, then Port-en-Bessin for the market or the returning boats, and a lunch of scallops in season on the harbour.
• Afternoon to the east: the Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer, a bunker tour at low tide, and a stop at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer on the way back, in the evening light.

Both routes are less than a 15-minute drive from Arromanches; cyclists will enjoy the coast road to Courseulles, which is fairly easy going. And in between, keep some time for Arromanches itself — the circular cinema Arromanches 360 and its viewpoint offer a view that links Gold Beach and the bay in a single glance.

Make Arromanches your base camp

Courseulles to the east, Port-en-Bessin to the west, Bayeux inland: from Arromanches, the whole Bessin radiates out like the spokes of a wheel, without ever retracing the same road twice. Our studio in Arromanches, a stone's throw from the beach and the shops, is the ideal starting point for these Norman escapades. Check availability and put together your itinerary — the sea will do the rest.

Cover photo: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, via Wikimedia Commons.