Part of a formidable chain of German Coastal Defenses known as the Atlantic Wall, the Longues-sur-Mer battery began construction in September 1943 and was completed in April 1944. The Germans used it as a strategic outpost to heavily shell beaches during the D-Day landings. Just outside Bayeux, it sits between the landing beaches of Gold and Omaha. Visitors may recognize it from the screen; it's the same battery featured in the 1962 film The Longest Day, a film about the D-Day landings. Tours typically combine the site with visits to the landing beaches, wartime cemeteries, and remains of Mulberry harbors.
Public transport is limited; book a tour.
Allow an hour or two for your visit.
Guided visits last an hour and are available in French or English.
Entry to the Longues-sur-Mer Battery is free of charge.
Somewhat of a black hole for public transport, the most practical way to combine the Longues-sur-Mer Battery with other D-Day sites is to book a tour or arrive with your own car. The closest town is Bayeux (10 minutes by road), but many day trips, which include the Longues-sur-Mer Battery, can be organized from Rouen and Bayeux and even as far afield as Paris.
The Longues-sur-Mer Battery is open daily all year round and is free to visit. Guided visits available in French or English (€6 for adults) can be booked through the Tourism Office. If you plan on visiting the D-Day landing beaches, visit during the summer months for the best weather. Since the battery is always open, it’s a good stop early or late in the afternoon when other sites are generally closed.
Public transport is limited along the Normandy coast, so to see the best of the D-Day landing sites (the beaches, the German defenses, and the remains of mulberry harbors, a car, a bike, or an authentic wartime jeep is recommended! Traveling in a World War II jeep is a humbling and immersive way to replicate the journeys made by Allied soldiers, and it really brings history to life.
