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of war. The extensive displays range from wartime plastic jewelry to scale models of battleships, with scholarly sections on how the Nazis tracked down radios used by the French Resistance and on the development of the atomic bomb. A room commemorating the Holocaust, with flickering candles and twinkling overhead lights, sounds a jarring, somewhat tacky note. The D-Day landings are evoked by a tabletop Allied map of the theater of war and by a spectacular split-screen presentation of the D-Day invasion from both the Allied and Nazi standpoints. Softening the effect of the modern 1988 museum structure are tranquil gardens; the newest is the British Garden, inaugurated by Prince Charles in 2004. The museum itself is fittingly set 10 minutes away from the Pegasus Bridge and 15 minutes from the D-Day beaches. Readers rave about the museum’s four-hour minibus tours of the D-Day beaches, run daily April to September. You can even make a day trip from Paris for this by catching the 8:40 AM train out of Gare St-Lazare to Caen and returning on the 7:55 PM train. Besides the tour, this €100 trip includes pickup at the station and lunch. | Esplanade Dwight-D.-Eisenhower | 14000 | 02–31–06–06–44 | www.memorial.fr | €16 | Mid-Feb.–Oct., daily 9–7; Nov., Dec., and late Jan.–mid-Feb., Tues.–Sun. 9:30–6.

WHERE TO EAT AND STAY IN CAEN

Le P’tit B.

$$$ | FRENCH | On one of Caen’s oldest pedestrian streets near the castle, this typically Norman, half-timber 17th-century dining room—stone walls, beam ceilings, and large fireplace—showcases the good-value regional cuisine of David Schiebold. The three-course €28 menu is a good value, and highlights include the grilled duck, cannelloni with goat cheese, king-prawn risotto, and, to finish, red berries in flaky pastry with coconut milk. | 15 rue de Vaugueux | 14000 | 02–31–93–50–76 | Reservations essential | AE, MC, V.

Best Western Dauphin.

$–$$ | Despite being in the heart of the city, this hotel, in a heavily restored 12th-century priory, is surprisingly quiet. Some of the smallish guest rooms have exposed beams; those overlooking the street are soundproof; the ones in back look out on the courtyard. Service is friendly and efficient in the hotel and in the excellent though expensive restaurant. Pros: quiet; historic building. Cons: small rooms; overpriced restaurant. | 29 rue Gémare | 14000 | 02–31–86–22–26 | www.le-dauphin-normandie.com | 32 rooms, 5 suites | In-room: no a/c, refrigerator. In-hotel: restaurant, bar, gym, Wi-Fi hotspot | AE, DC, MC, V | MAP.

SHOPPING IN CAEN

A marché aux puces (flea market) is held on Friday morning on Place St-Saveur and on Sunday morning on Place Courtonne. In June collectors and dealers flock to Caen’s bric-a-brac and antiques fair.

THE OUTDOORS IN CAEN

Take a barge trip along the canal that leads from Caen to the sea on the Boëdic (Quai Vendeuvre | 14000 | 02–31–43–86–12); there is a daily departure at 3 PM, except on Saturday and Monday, from April 15–October 15.

EN ROUTE: Early on June 6, 1944, the British 6th Airborne Division landed by glider and captured Pegasus Bridge (named for the division’s emblem, showing Bellerophon astride his winged horse, Pegasus). This proved the first step toward the liberation of France from Nazi occupation. To see this symbol of the Allied invasion, from Caen take D514 north and turn right at Bénouville. The original bridge—erected in 1935—has been replaced by a similar but slightly wider bridge; but the actual original can still be seen at the adjacent Mémorial Pegasus visitor center (€6 | Feb.–Nov., daily). Café Gondrée by the bridge—the first building recaptured on French soil—is still standing, still serving coffee, and houses a small museum. A 40-minute son-et-lumière show lights up the bridge and the café at nightfall between June and September.

BAYEUX

28 km (17 mi) northwest of Caen.

Bayeux, the first town to be liberated during the Battle of Normandy, was already steeped in history—as home to a Norman Gothic cathedral and the world’s most celebrated piece of needlework: the Bayeux Tapestry. Bayeux’s