82 years after what Winston Churchill called “the most complicated and difficult” military operation in world history, Normandy’s D-Day Landing Beaches finally achieved long overdue recognition of their place in the world as we know it today – plus the protection needed to ensure their lessons live on for future generations. 

LEARN MORE IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: Normandy Landing Beaches Designated UNESCO World Heritage Site after 82 years. 

The surprise landing of over 150,000 Allied soldiers – from the UK, USA, Canada, France and more - on the shores of France in 1944 somehow overcame dreadful odds, weather, miscalculations, intense Nazi fortifications and thousands dead to create a foothold to begin to retake Europe back after 5 long years of war and occupation.

The sheer scope and audacity of the Landings, as well as the extraordinary feats of human spirit and international cooperation, make a visit to the Landing Beaches an essential trip for us all to this day. 

Walking on the hallowed beaches in the footsteps of Allied soldiers is extraordinarily illuminating and moving. 

Commemorating via Cruise

From a cruise lover’s perspective, you have a number of cruising options to make your own pilgrimage to this sacred ground for Americans, Canadians, and British people. 

Seine River Cruises to Normandy and the D-Day Landing Beaches

 The Seine flows north from the Paris area, emptying into the English Channel.

River cruises begin and end in Paris.  That round trip from Paris is doubly convenient: you can fly into and out of the same city, plus you can, of course, bookend your river cruise with a pre- or post-cruise extension in Paris or its surrounding regions. 

At the northern end of the cruise itinerary at the coast, all the major river cruise lines offer shore excursions to the Normandy Landing Beaches, including:

•           Scenic

•           Viking

•           AmaWaterways

•           Avalon Waterways

•           Uniworld Boutique River Cruises

•           Tauck: in addition to other Seine itineraries, Tauck offers a family-focused Seine river cruise; perfect for a memory-filled multi-generational trip to the historic beaches.

 

D-Day Landing Beaches Shore Excursion Tip: 

Check the details of the shore excursion to the Landing Beaches to make sure you will see the places of most meaning to you. There are 5 Landing Beaches: 

•           2 American (Omaha and Utah),

•           1 British / Commonwealth (Gold),

•           1 British and French (Sword), and

•           1 Canadian (Juno) 

as well as monuments, cemeteries and landmarks meaningful to WW2 and families of Allied veterans. No single excursion can encompass every sight. 

Ocean Cruises to Normandy

River cruises aren’t the only way by water to see Normandy.  The D-Day landings, of course, happened from the sea, and visitors in these peaceful times can also arrive in Normandy on ocean cruises. 

The usual ocean port of call for Normandy is Le Havre, France. And while some cruise lines offer shore excursions from Le Havre all the way to Paris, that is a) a long way to go, and much too little time in Paris to do the City of Light justice, and b) you miss Normandy and the D-Day beaches. 

I recommend taking the ship’s D-Day beaches shore excursion instead, while you are right there in Normandy, so you don’t regret missing walking in the very footsteps of one of the most impactful and heroic moments of our collective history. You can always take a post-cruise extension to Paris afterward.

 

START YOUR D-DAY COMMEMORATIVE TRIP!

By: Lynn Elmhirst, Cruise/ Travel Journalist and Expert

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