Best things to do in Cherbourg-Octeville

Cite de La Mare is a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects. You can explore an ocean diving area and a former French Army submarine. It is situated in the restored trans-Atlantic railway terminal in Cherbourg. The monument was built in 1933 and the museum was opened in 2002.

Normandy American Cemetery honors American soldiers who died in Europe during World War II. Most of the 9,387 graves contain the remains of American soldiers and military personnel who lost their lives during the D-Day landings and the operations that followed. East of the memorial, the semicircle garden has 1,557 names inscribed on the "Walls of the Missing,” with rosettes denoting the names of those who have since been identified. The semicircular colonnade has one loggia at each end containing narratives of military operations as well as huge maps. See the iconic bronze statue called the “Spirit of American Youth” in its center and, overlooking the beach, a tablet depicting the Normandy landings.

Musee de la Tapisserie de Bayeux displays a 70-m (230-ft) embroidered tapestry crafted in the 11th century. Stitched after the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066, to celebrate England's conquest by William the Conqueror, this remarkable linen canvas depicts Viking ships, a comet, Saxon and Norman cavalries, and a mysterious exchange between a cleric and an Anglo-Saxon woman. The museum provides English translations of the Tituli Latin scripts; a 16-minute video, also in English, presents the tapestry’s historical context. A free English audio guide helps you explore the interpretive room, the tapestry room, and the 13th-century seminary building. A junior audio guide, in English and French, makes this educational experience entertaining for older children. Younger kids can connect with the tapestry by coloring replica printouts using any hues they like.

Airborne Museum tells the story of D-Day in pictures and displays mementos of the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. See a Douglas C47 transport aircraft, a Waco glider, a Sherman tank, several artillery pieces, vehicles, equipment, many small arms, uniforms, and other historic objects. This is one of the best D-Day museums, offering an extensive collection of artifacts together with significant explanations and context.

For a taste of the outdoors and breathtaking landscaping, head over to Parc Emmanuel Liais. Covering a generous area in the busy city, this garden boasts a large collection of unique and exotic plants. You can have fun identifying each species while enjoying the beauty at the same time. Meanwhile, in the greenhouses, over 400 species of plants are on display.

The park and greenhouses were created by Emmanuel Liais in 1885. Many of the tree species are from South America, Australia, and China, and the environment is set off by magnificent ancient groups of azaleas, both Japanese and mollis, to great effect.

Pointe du Hoc, a rocky headland towering over the beach, has become a symbol of the courage of U.S. troops. Here, Germans had placed bunkers and artillery. The positions were bombed, shelled, and then attacked by 225 U.S. Rangers, who scaled the 35 m (115 ft) rock wall, besieged the bunkers, and finally took them, only to find there were no guns at all. They had been dismantled and hidden in an orchard. Only 90 rangers were still standing. Today, bomb and shell craters remain. A monument in memory of the 2nd Rangers Battalion is built on a control firing casemate at the site, where bodies of soldiers still lie under the ruins.

Overlooked by bluffs which rise to 46 m (150 ft) and command the beaches, Omaha Beach possesses naturally strong defensive positions. During World War II, the Germans skillfully fortified this area with concrete gun emplacements, anti-tank guns, and machine guns. Allied bombs left these largely undamaged, and since there was no cover on the sand, the tranquil strand became a killing field on D-Day, when the US 1st Infantry Division had the most difficult landing of the whole Allied assault.

The largest World War II cemetery of French commonwealth and English soldiers in France, Bayeux War Cemetery has more than 4,000 graves, mostly from the invasion of Normandy. Many of the gravestones and plaques have comments commemorating the lives of those who fought for freedom. The cemetery contains the Cross of Sacrifice, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, and the Bayeux Memorial, erected in white stone facing the cemetery.

Located in front of the actual vestiges of the Mulberries, Musee du Debarquement devotes its exhibits to the incredible feat of technology the British achieved in building the artificial harbor at this site. Watch the period newsreel in English and French. Impressive, dynamic scale models show how the floating docks rolled with the waves and tides. A 75-foot section of Mulberry floating bridge is on display outside. Military equipment is also on view, including an American half-track armored vehicle and a Higgins boat.

Cathedrale Notre-Dame towers over the entire town. First, circle around the exterior, where occasional informational signs on stone or wood blocks explain aspects of the church's construction and its architectural features. Then explore inside, where you’ll find excellent views of the architecture, statues, and murals. There are several empty crypts you can visit beneath the church.