Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
left in front of the tram, and walk 25 feet up Rue de Bernières until you see the bus shelter
for #2. For transit maps, see
www.twisto.fr
.
Returning from the museum by bus and tram is a snap (taxi there and bus/tram back
is a good compromise). Bus #2 waits across from the museum on the street's right side
(the museum has the schedule). Buy your ticket from the driver and validate it. The bus
whisks you to the Quatrans stop in downtown Caen (follow the stop diagram in the bus as
you go), where you'll transfer to the tram right next to the bus stop—validate your ticket
again when you board. Either line A or line B will take you to the station—get off at the
Gare SNCF stop.
Services:
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for children under 10 (for whom exhibits may be too graphic). There's a large gift shop
with plenty of books in English, an excellent and reasonable all-day sandwich shop/café
above the entry area, and a restaurant with a garden-side terrace (lunch only, located in the
Cold War wing). Picnicking in the gardens is also an option.
Minivan Tours:
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along the D-Day beaches. Two identical half-day tours leave the museum: one at 9:00
(€64/person) and one at 13:00 or 14:00—depending on the season (€80/person); both in-
clude entry to the museum. The all-day “D-Day Tour” package (€114, includes English
information book) is designed for day-trippers and includes pick-up from the Caen train
station (with frequent service from Paris), a tour of the Caen Memorial Museum followed
by lunch, then a five-hour tour in English of the American sector. Your day ends with a
drop-off at the Caen train station in time to catch a train back to Paris or elsewhere. Ca-
nadians have a similar €114 tour option that will take them to Juno Beach. Contact the
museum for details, reservations, and advance payment.
Planning Your Museum Time:
Allow a minimum of 2.5 hours for your visit, in-
cluding 50 minutes for the movies. You could easily spend all day here; in fact, tickets
purchased after 13:00 are valid for 24 hours, so you can return the next day. The museum
is divided into two major wings: the “World Before 1945” (the lead-up to World War II
and the battles and related events of the war), and the “World After 1945” (Cold War, the
Berlin Wall, cartoonists on world peace, and so on). Though each wing provides stellar
exhibits and great learning, I'd spend most of my time on the “World Before 1945.”
The museum is amazing, but it overwhelms some with its many interesting exhibits
(all well-described in English). Limit your visit to the WWII sections and be sure to read
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and choose which displays to focus on. The audioguide provides similar context to the ex-
hibits.
