Mémorial de Caen

About the museum

The Mémorial de Caen was the work of Jean-Marie Girault, mayor of Caen and senator, who witnessed the destruction of the city in 1944. In 1981 he founded, with others, the Association des Amis du Musée Mémorial, which collected testimonies and prepared the future museum.

Construction began in 1986 under the direction of Caen architect Jacques Millet. The building, of Caen stone, was inaugurated on June 6, 1988 by President François Mitterrand. Its white façade, split by a symbolic crack, bears a line by Caen poet Paul Dorey on pain and freedom.

The museum covers 14,000 m² across three levels, including 5,600 m² of permanent exhibitions. The route covers the origins of the war, France under the Occupation, the world war, the Holocaust, the Normandy landings and the Battle of Normandy, and finally the Cold War. It also includes General Richter’s underground bunker, former German command posts, military vehicles, films and memorial gardens.

The Mémorial is run by a local mixed-economy company (société d’économie mixte) in which the City of Caen is the majority shareholder. It also offers a library, archives, temporary exhibitions, a pleading competition (concours de plaidoiries) and guided tours of the Normandy landing beaches.

Highlights

• Chronological route through the Second World War and France under the Occupation
• Section on the landings and the Battle of Normandy, with a film about the battle
• General Richter’s underground bunker, a former German command post
• Cold War section with wreckage of the U2 aircraft shot down in 1962
• 360° film “L’Europe, notre histoire” and military vehicles on display

Permanent exhibitions

• La Seconde Guerre mondiale – A route from interwar Germany through the Second World War, covering France under the Occupation, the Holocaust, the Normandy landings and the Battle of Normandy.
• La guerre froide – The two blocs, the crises, the arms race and Berlin, with wreckage of the U2 aircraft from 1962.
• Le bunker souterrain du général Richter – Former German command post beneath the museum, presented in a new scenography on occupation and resistance.

Founded

1988

Operated by

Mémorial de Caen (société d’économie mixte locale, Ville de Caen actionnaire majoritaire)

Director

Laurent Ronis-Le Moal

Admission & discounts

2026 prices, valid until December 31, 2026; reduced rates with proof. Free admission is granted in particular to job seekers, RSA beneficiaries, war veterans, journalists, Pupilles de la Nation, ICOM members and Friends of the Mémorial.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is accessible to visitors with reduced mobility; the lecture halls have reserved seating.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops

Family guided tours with archive objects during the holidays (children from age 8), a summer programme with children’s workshops and storytelling, Pass famille, children’s menus at the Bistrot.

Getting there & parking

By car: A13 motorway from Paris or A84 from Rennes, exit 7 on the northern Périphérique.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Restaurant
• Museum shop

Café “Le Bistrot du Mémorial”, open every day and accessible without a ticket; Restaurant Liberté for groups (180 seats); bookshop, accessible without a ticket, with more than 5,000 titles; Jean Moulin library, open access.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Corporate events

Up to 340 guests.

Seminars, lectures and cocktails: Germaine Tillion auditorium (340 seats), Marc Bloch auditorium (166 seats), foyer (300 people), meeting room (30 seats) and Restaurant Liberté (180 seated, 250 standing). A technician is on site.

Plan your visit