Utah Beach Landing Museum in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, France (aka Musée du Débarquement Utah Beach) is a must visit for those in the Normandy area, it is the best museum in the D-Day area and is on the Utah Beach. I think it may be often overlooked because it’s a bit further from the Omaha beach area but it really shouldn’t be missed.
I’ll be posting our Normandy area itinerary soon but we started Day 2 at the Utah Beach Landing Museum then made the 15 drive to Sainte-Mère-Église, France, which is now known as the town where the 101st Airborne paratrooper got caught on the steeple. Then off to Mont Saint Michel.
There is a large parking area, the parking is free and its about a 2 min walk to the building and beach access area.
We went on Labor Day weekend and were there when it opened at 10 am, we pretty much had the place to ourselves with only a handful of other people!
We walked out to the beach using the access to the left of the building when we first got there. We strolled along the beach for a bit trying to picture what it must’ve looked like back on June 6th, 1944 but it’s so serene that it’s hard to imagine that there once was bodies littering the beaches.
Utah Beach September 2016
We also got to watch a couple racing their horses up and down the beach in this getup, even had a pony following along with them. That provided some unique entertainment.
It was €25,50 for our family of 4 to visit the museum. We were there just over an hour and if you wanted to read every single sign you could easily be there longer. Make sure to check out the movie, which has theater style seating, it plays every 40 mins in English and is worth the viewing.
You can also see an original B26 Bomber, it’s one of only six left in the world!
There are some great video demos throughout the museum as well, you can watch one on mines, and the water buffalo.
While it was neat to see those items it was even better to get to watch video of them in action!
All signs were in English & French so it was easy to read the information at the exhibits.
Close up of one of the exhibits.
Just across from the museum and beach is a little café and gift shop.
On the side of the building you’ll find some distance markers – 887 miles to Berlin & 3078 miles to New York.
This was hands down the best museum we visited in the D-Day area and I’m so glad we didn’t skip it because it was a bit further out. So if your visiting the area I highly recommend you take the time to squeeze this sight into your itinerary!
Know Before You Go
What: Utah Beach Landing Museum in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, France
How To Get There: It’s about 6 hours 35 mins from Spangdahlem, and 6 hours 45 mins from Ramstein. GPS addy: La Madeleine, 50480 Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, France
Parking: There is a large parking area that is about a 2 min walk from the museum & beach access, parking is free.
Cost: €8 adults, €4 kids 7-14, Free for kids under 7 years old and WWII Vets.
Traveling with little kids: Museum was large enough to accommodate a stroller if needed, especially during low crowds seasons. May be a bit harder when there are lots of people there. Beach access is on the sand so plan to carry them if you head out to the beach.
How long: Plan on at least 1 hour for the museum, more if you want to check out the beach area. There is also a little cafe and gift shop just across from the museum as well.
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