Paléospace l’Odyssée

About the museum

Since 1917 the town of Villers-sur-Mer has gathered fossil collections from the Vaches Noires cliffs, donated by private collectors. The oldest comes from the photographer Ferdinand Postel and his friend Petit-Gillet, who bequeathed it to the town. After several moves, the question of how to showcase these holdings arose in 1996: the most representative pieces were then displayed in cases at the Villa Durenne, which houses the tourist office.

The Paléospace opened on April 20, 2011. Villers-sur-Mer thus became the first seaside resort on the Côte Fleurie to have a museum. The site also interprets three remarkable places in the town: the Vaches Noires cliffs, the Villers-Blonville marsh and the Greenwich Meridian, which reaches the European continent at this point.

In 2014 the permanent room “Dinosaures de Normandie” was created, and a planetarium was added in 2017 to the Greenwich Meridian room. All the collections come from donations or purchases by private individuals, which makes the museum a site museum devoted to the fauna and flora of the Normandy Jurassic. The museum presents itself as a Musée de France.

Highlights

• Jurassic gallery with fossils from the Vaches Noires cliffs
• Anna, skeleton of an Ophthalmosaurus ichthyosaur
• Dinosaurs of Normandy room, with discovery tunnel and virtual dig pit
• Mission Jurassique: virtual reality dive into the seas of 160 million years ago
• 360° planetarium and Greenwich Meridian room
• Monumental armchair inlaid with fossils, work by Ferdinand Postel

Permanent exhibitions

• Galerie jurassique – Rocks and fossils from the Vaches Noires cliffs, large skeletons, touch tanks and interactive terminals; here you meet Anna, the ichthyosaur.
• Salle des dinosaures de Normandie – Dinosaur remains discovered in Normandy, including Streptospondylus and Lexovisaurus, with activities such as a discovery tunnel and a virtual dig pit.
• Salle du méridien de Greenwich – Room explaining how the Greenwich Meridian reaches the European continent at Villers-sur-Mer, complemented by a planetarium.

Founded

2011

Visitors per year

approx. 64,595

Admission & discounts

Admission is charged every day, including the first Sunday of the month. The museum ticket is valid all day. Tickets are neither exchangeable nor refundable. The Pass Culture can be used by 15- to 21-year-olds. Online payment is recommended; on site, cash, Visa and Mastercard, cheques and paper ANCV holiday vouchers are accepted.

Accessibility

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

Access for visitors with reduced mobility; the museum can lend a wheelchair or seat canes. The films have French and English subtitles, and a visioguide is available for hard-of-hearing visitors. Adapted tours are possible for groups by reservation. Dogs are not allowed, except guide dogs for blind and visually impaired people.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

The Jurassic Quest tablet game trail (from age 7) and the Junior booklet (ages 4 to 6) are included in the self-guided visit. The rooms offer touch tanks, a discovery tunnel and a virtual dig pit. The museum welcomes leisure centers for 3- to 14-year-olds and runs workshops for 5- to 10-year-olds. A baby-changing table is in the women’s toilets, on the side for visitors with reduced mobility.

Getting there & parking

By car from Paris (1 hour 40 minutes): A13 motorway, then A132 towards Deauville and D513. From Caen: exit 29b, towards Dives-sur-Mer, then Houlgate.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Restaurant: not available
• Museum shop
• Coat check: not available
• Lockers: not available

No lounge area in the museum. The restaurant La Terrasse du Marais and the ice-cream parlor Aux Délices de Léna are nearby. A picnic area has been set up in the marsh, 200 m from the north car park. Bookshop and gift shop on site.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Private parties
• Corporate events

Up to 60 guests.

Deslongchamps room of 81 m² (60 people maximum) with screen, projector, tables, chairs and Wi-Fi access (public network); €350 per day, €200 per half day. The museum can also be hired for evening events; conditions on request.

Plan your visit