Mémorial de Caen (Peace Museum), Caen
"Peace is not a gift from God to man, but a gift from man to himself".
--Elie Wiesel
Officially named Le Mémorial de Caen, un musée pour la paix - "The Caen Memorial, a Museum for Peace," the Caen Memorial is regarded as the best World War II museum in France. With over 6,000,000 visitors since it opened, it is the second most visited site in Normandy after Mont-St-Michel.
Established in 1988, the Caen Memorial focuses on the events leading up to and after D-Day (Jour J). Visitors walk through an excellent five-part presentation: the lead-up to World War II; the Battle of Normandy; two powerful video presentations; the Cold War; and the ongoing movement for peace.
The last section includes a Gallery of Nobel Peace Prizes, celebrating such figures as Andrei Sakharov, Elie Wiesel and Desmond Tutu.
The museum also includes exhibits on other failures and triumphs of peace, such as September 11 and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Caen Memorial is the only place outside of the U.S. (as of 2004) that displays remnants of the 9/11 attacks.
The museum also runs daily, eight-person minivan guided tours of the D-Day beaches, which begin at the museum or the Caen train station and cost about €60. Contact the museum at www.memorial-caen.fr/circuits or resa@memorial-caen.fr for more details and to make reservations.
Quick Facts
| Address: | Esplanade Dwight-Eisenhower, Caen, France |
| Phone: | 02-31-06-06-44 |
| Hours: | Daily 9am-7pm (until 8pm mid-July to mid-Aug) |
| Cost: | 16€ adults; 14€ students and children 10-18; free to World War II veterans, war disabled, war widows, and children under 10 |
Sources
- Mémorial de Caen - Official Website (French and English)
