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Department of France
Photo: Vincent van Zeijst, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Calvados is a department of Normandy famous for its apple liqueur. Calvados is one of the most visited areas in France because of its seaside resorts which are among the most prestigious in France with their luxurious hotels, casinos, green countryside, manors, castles, the quiet, the chalk cliffs, the typical Norman houses, the history of William the Conqueror, Caen, Bayeux, and Lisieux. This part of France saw intense fighting during the Second World War; the D-Day beaches, where the Allies landed in June 1944, are along the coast in Calvados, and there numerous museums about the Second World War.
By ferry
Calvados, via the port of Ouistreham, is an entrance to the continent from Britain. The ferry-port in Ouistreham has ferries to Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries.
By train
SNCF rail service is the most commonly used public transport in France for inter-regional travel. It is cheap, fast and reliable. Check out reductions for under-26, over-25 and group travellers.
By car
The main motorway is the A13 to Caen from Paris (225 km/139 miles). It then continues to Cherbourg (although it is not always a motorway). Some of it is toll, but quite cheap.
Choose an airport to see hotels, stations, taxi ranks and car rental desks around it.
Caen · Regional · CFR
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the capital is an excellent base for visits to the D-Day beaches
a good base for exploring D-Day beaches
old town with the famous Bayeux Tapestry
sea-side resorts famous for their casinos, film festivals, expensive houses and horse-racing
with the castle where William the Conqueror was born
on the Seine estuary, whose old port was a favourite of many painters
pilgrimage town with a world-famous basilica
has a nice beach, and ferries to the UK
almost everybody who stops here is there to see the bay or the preserved 1930s hotel
a fishing village and modest seaside resort
the main city of the south-west of Calvados, famous for its andouillette
The D-Day Beaches are in the Calvados and Manche departments of Normandy, France. They were the landing places for the Allied invasion of western Europe during World War II. In 2026 the beaches were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ouistreham is in Calvados department on the coast of Normandy at the eastern end of the area of the D-Day beaches.
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