In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The landing sites are spread along the Normandy coast, several miles apart, so let a tour do the driving. From Paris the guided day trips take 12 to 14 hours: the D-Day sites day trip with lunchad (from £104.66, 4.8 stars from 1,512 reviews) covers Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. On your own, take the train from Paris Saint-Lazare to Bayeux (about 2½ to 3 hours) and join a tour there, from £102.95 for a half day. Two things have changed in 2026: on 29 September the burial plots at the Normandy American Cemetery were temporarily closed to visitors (the memorial, chapel and visitor centre stayed open), and Pointe du Hoc is under restoration until mid-2027, with only the west pathway open.
Getting there on your own
The train is the easy part:
- Paris Saint-Lazare to Bayeux: about 2½ to 3 hours (bayeux-bessin-tourisme.com, abmc.gov, 29 September 2026). Bayeux station is in the town centre. Book on SNCF Connect.
- From Bayeux to the beaches: the Normandy American Cemetery is at Colleville-sur-Mer, above Omaha Beach, and Pointe du Hoc is about eight miles (13 km) further west. The ABMC points visitors arriving by train to taxis and tour buses in Bayeux; a Bayeux tour (below) is the simplest way to link the sites.
Going this way costs a train fare on top of a Bayeux tour from £102.95; the day trip from Paris is from £104.66 with the coach included.
Tours from Paris
The guided day trip with lunch
From £104.66 · 4.8 stars from 1,512 reviews · 14 hours
Paris: Normandy D-Day Sites Guided Day Trip with Lunchad goes by coach with an English-speaking guide to the Utah Beach Museum (entry included), Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, where you get free time on the sand, and the American Cemetery. A two-course lunch with a glass of cider is included, at a restaurant on the port at Grandcamp-Maisy. It meets at the Église Notre-Dame de Compassion, place du Général Kœnig, in the 17th.
The small-group landing beaches tour
From £227.34 · 4.9 stars from 781 reviews · 12 hours · at most 8 people
From Paris: Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches Full-Day Tourad goes by minibus to Omaha Beach, German bunkers, the Overlord Museum, Pointe du Hoc and the American Cemetery, and is back in Paris at about 20:00. Food and tips are not included.
Tours from Bayeux
Both meet at Place de Québec in Bayeux, run in English for up to 19 people, and need at least two to run. Children under four are not taken.
The half-day American sites tour
From £102.95 · 4.9 stars from 801 reviews · 4 hours
From Bayeux: American D-Day Sites in Normandy Half-Day Tourad covers Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. If Pointe du Hoc is closed for the works on the day, the operator swaps in the German battery at Longues-sur-Mer.
The full-day American sites tour
From £163 · 4.9 stars from 606 reviews · 8 hours
From Bayeux: American D-Day Sites in Normandy Full-Day Tourad adds Sainte-Mère-Église, in the US 82nd Airborne’s drop zone, and Utah Beach, by minivan with a driver-guide. Entrance fees and food are extra.
The tours above concentrate on the American beaches. The Bayeux tourist office also points visitors to Gold Beach, the artificial harbour at Arromanches and the German gun battery at Longues-sur-Mer.
The sites
Normandy American Cemetery
Free · daily 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30 · closed 25 December and 1 January
On the cliff above Omaha Beach at Colleville-sur-Mer: 172.5 acres, the graves of 9,389 American service members, most of whom died in the landings and the fighting that followed, and 1,557 names on the Walls of the Missing (abmc.gov, 29 September 2026).
- Plots closed on 29 September 2026: because of a drought water restriction, all burial plots were temporarily closed to visitors. The visitor centre, memorial, chapel and Garden of the Missing stayed open, and staff still ran daily guided tours. Relatives who want to visit a grave should contact the cemetery in advance or ask staff on arrival.
- No path to the beach: the path from the cemetery down to Omaha Beach has been closed since 2016; the beach can be reached nearby.
- Photos are allowed, but the ABMC asks that they are commemorative; no wedding, promotional or social-media shoots.
The Normandy American Cemetery, Colleville-sur-Mer. Photo: Gzzz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Pointe du Hoc
Free · daily 9:00–17:00 · under restoration until mid-2027
The 100-foot cliffs that US Army Rangers climbed on 6 June 1944 to reach the German artillery; the site has changed little since, and the bomb craters are still there. The ABMC began a restoration of more than 18 months in February 2026 (abmc.gov, 29 September 2026):
- The visitor centre has been closed since 9 March 2026; staff are at a welcome point by the temporary car park.
- Since mid-May 2026 parts of the site, including pathways and bunkers, are closed. Access is along the west pathway only.
- Parking is limited, and the paths are rough and steep in places.
Craters and gun emplacements at Pointe du Hoc. Photo: Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Omaha and Utah beaches
Omaha Beach, below the cemetery, is where the US 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions landed; the US 4th Infantry Division came ashore at Utah Beach to the west. The Paris day trip above includes entry to the Utah Beach Museum.
Omaha Beach. Photo: Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Combining it with somewhere else
Mont-Saint-Michel is also in Normandy, and one tour does both: the D-Day and Mont-Saint-Michel tourad (from £136.58, 4.5 stars from 157 reviews) is a 15-hour day. On its own, the Mont-Saint-Michel day trip is another 14 hours.
For the shorter trips out of Paris, see day trips from Paris; for the city itself, what to book before you go.
Common questions
Can you visit the D-Day beaches in a day from Paris?
Yes, on a tour. The guided day trips from Paris on GetYourGuide take 12 to 14 hours and cover Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc and the Normandy American Cemetery. The alternative is the train from Paris Saint-Lazare to Bayeux, about 2½ to 3 hours, and a half-day or full-day tour from there.
Is the Normandy American Cemetery open?
Yes, daily from 9:00 to 17:00 except 25 December and 1 January, with last entry 30 minutes before closing, and it is free. On 29 September 2026 the burial plots were temporarily closed to visitors because of a drought water restriction; the visitor centre, memorial, chapel and Garden of the Missing stayed open, and relatives can ask staff for access to a grave.
Is Pointe du Hoc open in 2026?
Yes, 9:00 to 17:00 daily, but it is under restoration until mid-2027. The visitor centre closed on 9 March 2026, and from mid-May 2026 parts of the site, including pathways and bunkers, are closed, with access along the west pathway only.
