D-Day beaches and Normandy American Cemetery

On 6 June 1944, Allied forces landed on five beaches along this coast in the largest seaborne invasion in history. The Normandy American Cemetery, on the bluff above Omaha Beach, holds nearly 9,400 white marble graves and has a moving visitor centre; it's free. Nearby, Pointe du Hoc keeps its bomb craters and German bunkers, and at Arromanches you can still see the remains of the floating Mulberry harbour.

The Juno Beach Centre (Canadian) and the British Normandy Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer are also worth visiting. Guided tours from Bayeux are the easiest way to cover the sites without a car.