Arromanches

Arromanches is a quiet coastal town in Normandy that played a pivotal role in the D-Day landings. For this massive invasion in June 1944, the Allies needed a way to quickly unload troops, vehicles, and supplies onto the beaches of Normandy. The solution was the Mulberry Harbour, a portable, temporary harbour designed to be towed across the English Channel and assembled off the coast. While two harbours were actually built, Mulberry A (on Omaha Beach) and Mulberry B ( in Arromanches), the latter was the only one to survive the violent Channel storms in late June 1944. The harbour consisted of massive concrete caissons (Phoenix breakwaters), floating piers, and roadways, and allowed the Allies to unload thousands of tons of supplies daily, even before the capture of the port of Cherbourg. As such, Arromanches became the main supply hub for the Allied forces in the weeks following D-Day. Over 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies passed through the harbour by the end of the war.

Even now, some of the concrete caissons and remnants of the harbour are still visible in the water and on the beach, serving as a powerful reminder of the D-Day landings. The town is home to the Arromanches 360° Cinema, a circular cinema showing the archival film "The Price of Freedom", which immerses visitors in the events of D-Day using original footage. It also has a dedicated D-Day Museum (Musée du Débarquement) that explains the construction and operation of the Mulberry Harbour through models, artefacts, and interactive exhibits.