Mémorial de Caen
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The Mémorial de Caen is a museum and war memorial in Caen, Normandy, France commemorating World War II and the Battle for Caen. More generally, the museum is dedicated to the history of the twentieth century, mainly focused on the fragility of peace.
attractions: Colline aux Oiseaux, Vallée des jardins, Aire de Camping Cars - Caen Memorial, Aire Camping-Car Park, restaurants: Restaurant La Boucherie, Le Kikalou, Restaurant l'Imprimerie, GreenHouse, Le Patio, Glob'express café, Brasserie Laurent, Restaurant Linette, LA FOLIE'S (boulangerie - pâtisserie - brasserie), La Fabrik à Salad Caen
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Description
The Mémorial de Caen is a museum and war memorial in Caen, Normandy, France commemorating World War II and the Battle for Caen. More generally, the museum is dedicated to the history of the twentieth century, mainly focused on the fragility of peace.
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This is one of the most detailed war museums I have ever visited, on par with the Imperial War Museum in London. There are several sections: World War Two, D-Day, the Cold War, General Richter's War Bunker and two cinemas showing short films about the Battle of Normandy and the history of Europe 1900-1991. The Second World War section is enormous, with lots of small display cases and plenty of information. I would say that this museum isn't filled with many actual objects. Mostly, there are photographs, films and extracts from books and letters complemented by the information on the walls. The information is in French, with around 60% translated into English and 40% into German. The WWII area is split into smaller sections, following the war chronologically. There is a very sobering Holocaust section. Some of the footage and information should have a content warning, and could be distressing for children too. The bunker is sparse but interesting and the two films worth watching. I didn't visit the Cold War section because I'd already been wandering around the other sections for four hours!
Siân CollinsSiân Collins
20
First, I am very grateful to the museum forward support of veterans providing veterans readmissions to facilities. Well the museum is fairly limited on static displays, it does have an interesting bunker underneath that is available for display to the public. Next, and the reason but the museum is receiving four instead of five stars, is that the temporary display in the Cold War appears heavily influenced by Marxist ideologies. We came to this museum for a lesson in history, not to receive us a subversive lecture in the curator’s political leanings. That disappointing facet of the museum seemed to be on display solely in the temporary Cold War exhibit and I did not see similar issues in the rest of the museum. Lunch was reasonably priced and conveniently available, which was appreciated as we spent four hours touring the indoor and outdoor exhibits. All in all, it was time well spent.
Stacy TaylorStacy Taylor
00
We arrived here with a day trip tour and barely had a enough time to see everything. A 2 hour walk through we did in 20 minutes. The movie was pretty cool. If you are not from Europe and plan on seeing this place, then bring a bag lunch or be happy with the limited choices for food there is. They "say" there are all these food choices, but there really isn't. The snack bar upstairs only has sandwiches. The other area is for groups and the La Terrase Restaurant doesn't open until after 12 noon of which all the servers sit down and eat before and they won't come to the door to explain even though the door is open. Suggestion. If you are not open, close the door. Looked possibly good, but I will never know. I did not get to see the bunker but I heard it was not a big deal. the souvenir shop has really cool things, but remember you have to figure out how to get that back home to the states and you probably could buy the items online
Trisha Trixie Hunter-MerrillTrisha Trixie Hunter-Merrill
20
We came here not sure what to expect. It was a fascinating museum, covered all aspects of the build up to the second world war through to the cold war. We spent about 4/5 hours here. The translations were good in both English and German. All the information on the walls was translated, only some of the info cards in exhibits were not. The food was also reasonably priced and of good quality. There is a bunker experience which was also interesting, although with young children who might be scared of the dark maybe a little intimidating. We took a 4 month old and it was well equipped, a good baby changing room as well as very buggy accessible (there were a few reviews saying your weren't allowed to bring a buggy, but that wasn't the case). I could come back and spend another 4/5 hours reading more, but I was aware of the audience I had brought with me so didn't push my luck.
Luke WoodwardLuke Woodward
00
Total bias and loads of significant events just ignored here. No mention of the Battle of Britain, the hunt for the Bismarck, invasion of Norway, Operation Catapult, a British plan to neutralise or destroy neutral French ships to prevent them from falling into German hands after the Allied defeat in the Battle of France, and the massive impact on the war such as Stalingrad…..and this place under estimates the massive sacrifices of the Russian people… See photo but this is a classic states that most of France was liberated by sept 1944 with or without allied help! What a joke without the allies Winn in g by then the Germans would have brutally crushed any French resistance as they did in the wars saw uprising…. A museum is supposed to educate and tell facts only good and bad…..go to the imperial war museum in London for a better complete representation of WW2….
Adam LexingtonAdam Lexington
10
The Hawker Typhoon in the entry hall is a spectucular sight. I tend to forget how big these things actually were. The Sherman of my picture is a bit hidden in a side-room. The focus here is on the story of war in the grand scheme. The museum is great and shows of the many facettes of war. I cannot state enough how big it is and how much time you need and should bring for a visit. I consider myself quite well-versed in history, but even I have seen artefacts here that were new and puzzling to me. It was an experience. The main exhibition is in the cellar and the entire time it is a very dark vibe because of it. The quote of Albert Camus at the end is very well chosen for that reason. I especially liked the special exhibition abouer America and movies in the interwar time.
André HübscherAndré Hübscher
00
Nearby Attractions Of Mémorial de Caen
Colline aux Oiseaux
Vallée des jardins
Aire de Camping Cars - Caen Memorial
Aire Camping-Car Park
Colline aux Oiseaux
4.6
(2.6K)Click for details
Vallée des jardins
4.5
(436)Click for details
Aire de Camping Cars - Caen Memorial
4.1
(119)Click for details
Aire Camping-Car Park
4.0
(51)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Mémorial de Caen
Restaurant La Boucherie
Le Kikalou
Restaurant l'Imprimerie
GreenHouse
Le Patio
Glob'express café
Brasserie Laurent
Restaurant Linette
LA FOLIE'S (boulangerie - pâtisserie - brasserie)
La Fabrik à Salad Caen
Restaurant La Boucherie
4.0
(884)Click for details
Le Kikalou
4.8
(152)Click for details
Restaurant l'Imprimerie
4.8
(144)Click for details
GreenHouse
4.3
(124)Click for details
Reviews
Overview
4.6
(8.2K reviews)
Phone
+33 2 31 06 06 45
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Website
memorial-caen.fr
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