# Caen

Caen is the capital and largest city of the Calvados department in Normandy. Situated a few miles from the coast, the landing beaches, the bustling resorts of Deauville and Cabourg, as well as Norman Switzerland and the Pays d'Auge, Caen is often considered the archetype of Normandy. Of its population of 108,000 (2022), about one third are students at the University of Caen, the school of fine arts, or the business school.

## Understand

Caen is a modern city; four-fifths of it was demolished in 1944 and rebuilt in the 1950s and 1960s. However, some old buildings remain, especially churches.
In summer, tourists (mainly British and German) gather in Normandy for Second World War memorials and the Memorial for Peace. Caen is an excellent base for visits to the D-Day beaches.
There was intense fighting in Caen and the surrounding area starting shortly after the D-Day landings] on June 6, 1944. The village of Carpiquet, which is a bit west of Caen near the ring road and the E46 highway, has the Caen airport so it was strategically important and also saw heavy fighting.

## Get in
### By car

From Paris, by A13 (toll). From Cherbourg by N13. From Rouen, by A13 or N175 (toll). From Rennes, by A84. From Tours and Le Mans, by N138, via N158, at Sées.

### By train

Trains leave about every 2 hr from Paris Saint-Lazare station to Caen and Cherbourg. The trip takes about 2 hr and costs €33.30. If you book early, you can get tickets as cheap as €15. Out of rush hours, tickets cost €22.40 for people under 25.
The train posting in Paris St-Lazare can be confusing to the first-time traveller. The train line number ("la voie") is not posted until 15-20 min before the departure, so do not panic if you arrive earlier than that (notice that the train will be at a line number near the office "Grandes Lignes"). Look for the train heading to Cherbourg. Caen will not be the listed destination, as it is a stop along the way. Do not forget to punch ("composter") your ticket in one of the yellow machines before boarding to validate your ticket.
Caen's train station is a 15-20 minute walk from the centre of the city, and is served by public transport frequently.

### By ferry

Ferries cross the Channel from Portsmouth (UK) to Ouistreham, 15 km north of Caen with buses from the ferry terminal to Caen train station.

### By plane

* 49.173333-0.451 Caen Airport (CFR ), Route de Caumont, Carpiquet (near the village of Carpiquet, a few kilometres west of the city), ☏ +33 2 31 712010, aeroport.caen@caen.cci.fr. There are flights from Lyon, Nice and Paris. (updated Dec 2020)

## Get around

The bus verts will get you around Normandy easily. Within Caen and its close suburbs, use the bus and tramway network, called twisto. The tram system consist of 3 lines, two of which pass the SNCF railway station. The tourist information centre in central Caen provides timetables and excellent maps of the city's public transport network.

## See

* 49.19729-0.390691 Memorial for peace (Mémorial de Caen), Esplanade Général Eisenhower, ☏ +33 2 31 06 06 45, contact@memorial-caen.fr. 09:00-18:00. A modern museum focusing on Second World War and the Cold War. €19.50, 65+ and 10-18 €17.50, under 10 free. (updated Jul 2024)
* 49.181667-0.3727782 Abbey of Saint-Étienne (L'abbaye aux Hommes - Men's abbey), abbayeauxhommes@caen.fr. A wonderful example of Romanesque architecture. (updated Dec 2020)
* 49.186389-0.3527783 Abbey of Sainte-Trinité (l'abbaye aux Dames - women's abbey), Place Reine Mathilde, ☏ +33 2 31 06 98 45, +33 6 48 37 99 80, abbayeauxdames@normandie.fr. A wonderful example of Romanesque architecture. (updated Dec 2020)
* 49.1861-0.3614874 Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen. Fine arts museum.
* 49.1856-0.3634945 Museum of Normandy (Musée de Normandie) (In the Castle.).
* 49.186389-0.3627786 Caen Castle (Château ducal de Caen). William the Conqueror's castle, one of the largest medieval castles in Europe.
* 49.184167-0.3608337 Saint-Pierre church (Église Saint-Pierre).
* 49.1839-0.3750658 Saint-Nicolas church and cemetery (Église Saint-Nicolas de Caen). (updated Nov 2019)
* 49.1836-0.3613699 Escoville mansion (Hôtel d'Escoville).
* 49.1806-0.35772110 Saint-Jean church (Église Saint-Jean de Caen).
* 49.18574-0.3593211 Vaugueux district. (updated Mar 2024)
* La rue Froide and 49.18314-0.3648212 Saint-Sauveur church.

## Do

* D-Day beaches. Caen is close enough to the D-Day sites to act as a base from which to explore the D-Day sites. It is a short train ride from Caen to Bayeux. From Bayeux train station, you can catch a bus to some of the D-Day beaches but services are infrequent; if you want to see more than one of the beaches you should rent a car or join a guided tour. On the bus website$^{[deadlink]}$ there is a map of the bus route to the D-Day beaches. Bus No. 70 takes you to Omaha beach, the American cemetery, and to Pointe Du Hoc. Bus No. 74 takes you to Arromanches beach, the location of the Mulberry harbours. Buses are few and far between. Many companies offer guided tours to the battle sites from Caen or Bayeux, and the Memorial for Peace runs half-day tours of the landing beaches.
* 49.182778-0.4230561 Parc Festyland, Carpiquet (Near the ring road around Caen and the E46 highway which runs from Caen to Bayeux.). Theme park.
* Football: SM Caen play soccer in Ligue 2, the second tier in France. Their home ground 49.17948-0.396722 Stade Michel d'Ornano (capacity 20,300) is 3 km west of city centre.
* Caen Student Carnival : Europe's biggest student festival. It usually takes place in March or April. Created in 1894, it attracts around 35,000 students every year. For the occasion, carnival-goers dress up and gather on the Esplanade de la Paix on Campus 1 before parading through the city's most emblematic sites. The carnival culminates in a concert organised by the national radio station NRJ.

## Buy

* 49.18404-0.35691 Sunday morning market. The market in Caen on a Sunday morning, around the Port de Plaisance is the 5th largest in France and is a great place to wander and buy some fantastic local produce. (updated Mar 2024)
* Shopping centres: Les Rives de l'Orne (a shopping centre next to the train station), Mondeville 2 and Mondevillage in Mondeville (a neighbouring town accessible by bus), and Carrefour Mall in Hérouville Saint Clair (a neighbouring town accessible by tram and bus).

## Eat

Caen's local delicacy is called tripes à la mode de Caen - tripe and vegetables stewed in cider - and is nicer than it sounds. The official recipe, closely guarded by a guild of tripe butchers, is written in the form of a poem.
The Vaugueux is full of restaurants.

### Budget

* 49.182268-0.3730721 Le Diplomate, 28 Rue Guillaume le Conquérant. Brasserie (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.182132-0.3749812 Au Double Blanc, 7 Rue Caponière. Down home cooking (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.182373-0.3592463 La Ficelle, 47 Rue de Bernières. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.18319-0.3593784 La Brioche Chaude, 25 Rue Neuve Saint-Jean. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.184546-0.3566025 Bar Brasserie L'Azur, 27 Rue Prairies Saint-Gilles. Brasserie (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.178553-0.3572216 Restaurant Les Quatre Bouchons, 10 Rue Gaston Lavalley. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.184522-0.3629567 Le Vesuvio, 12 Pl. Jean Letellier. Italian (updated Feb 2023)

### Mid-range

* 49.184967-0.3596068 Le Bouchon du Vaugueux, 12 Rue Graindorge, ☏ +33 2 31 44 26 26. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.185731-0.3600659 Restaurant L'Avenue 21, 21 Rue du Vaugueux, ☏ +33 2 31 94 54 20. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.175422-0.35432410 Le Bistrot Saint Michel, 6 Rue Saint-Michel. French cuisine. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.182302-0.36479411 Greedy Guts, Au fond de l’impasse, 15 Rue de Bras. Vegan (updated Feb 2023)

### Splurge

* 49.18438-0.35449412 Stéphane Carbone Restaurant, 14 Rue de Courtonne. Haute French restaurant (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.184376-0.36563513 A Contre Sens, 8-10 Rue des Croisiers. (updated Feb 2023)
* 49.185476-0.35970214 L'Accolade, 18 Rue Prte au Berger. (updated Feb 2023)

## Drink

The Rue Ecuyère, near to the Rue Saint Pierre is famous for its bars. If you are looking for a pub, you will find some at the harbour located Quai Vendeuve.
* 49.18208-0.367271 Le Vertigo, 14 Rue Ecuyère, ☏ +33 2 31 85 43 12. Open M–Sa: 11:30–01:30. (updated Oct 2017)
* 49.17749-0.356422 L'Orient Express, 24 Rue du 11 Novembre, ☏ +33 2 31 72 81 64. M&ndashW: 18:00–03:00; Th, F: 18:00–05:00; Sa, Su: 16:30–05:00. (updated Oct 2017)

## Go next

* The little 17th-century harbor of Honfleur (65 km north-east)
* The Pays d'Auge, typical landscapes and villages, horse farms (Le Haras du Pin is the most famous one), cheeses, cider, roman churches and half-timbered houses
* Deauville, the century-old-sea resort for the upper-class
* The world-famous Mont-Saint-Michel, at the frontier between Normandy and Brittany
* The Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey)
* The little sea resort of Granville
* The fabulous landscapes of the Cotentin area
* Caen is 15 km (9.3 mi) away from the D-Day beaches