Visiting the D-Day Beaches in a Day

Seeing all five D-Day beaches in a single day is ambitious but rewarding. The landing sector stretches some eighty kilometres along the Calvados and Manche coast, so an early start and a car are essential.

Begin in the west at Utah Beach, the most isolated of the five, where the US 4th Infantry Division came ashore. The excellent landing museum sits right on the dunes and makes a good first stop.

Drive east to Omaha Beach, the bloodiest of the landings, pausing at the Normandy American Cemetery on the bluff above. Allow the most time here - the scale of the sacrifice takes a while to absorb.

Continue to Gold Beach at Arromanches, where the remains of the Mulberry harbour still ring the bay, then on to the Canadian sector at Juno Beach. Finish at Sword Beach near Ouistreham as the light fades over the Orne estuary.

If you only have a day, prioritise Omaha and Arromanches; both tell the story vividly and lie close together at the centre of the line.

See how these places sit in relation to each other on the interactive map.