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Sword Beach: Complete D-Day Visitor Guide for 2026

Sword Beach is the easternmost of the five D-Day landing beaches in Normandy, France — and the one with the most direct connection to the Portsmouth to Caen ferry. The Brittany Ferries terminal at Ouistreham sits at the eastern end of Sword Beach itself: when you step off the ship, you are standing where, at 07:25 on the morning of 6 June 1944, the British 3rd Infantry Division waded ashore under fire. The beach you pass as you drive out of the port gate is Sword Beach. No other ferry route from the UK puts you so immediately and literally in the landscape of D-Day.

Sword Beach, Normandy stretched approximately 8 kilometres along the Calvados coast — part of the Côte de Nacre (Mother-of-Pearl Coast) — from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer in the west to Ouistreham in the east. As part of Operation Neptune (the naval assault phase of Operation Overlord), it was assaulted by the British 3rd Infantry Division alongside Free French commandos, Royal Marine commandos, and the 1st Special Service Brigade under Lord Lovat, with the objective of breaking through the German coastal defences, driving 15 kilometres inland to capture Caen, and linking up with British paratroopers who had seized the bridges over the Caen Canal and the River Orne in the hours before dawn. By the end of D-Day, approximately 29,000 men had landed on Sword Beach at a cost of around 630 casualties. Caen was not captured that day — it would not fall until July — but a deep beachhead had been established and the bridges held.

This complete Sword Beach guide covers everything you need to plan your visit in 2026: the full story of what happened on D-Day at Sword Beach, who landed and with which regiments, the casualty figures and what they mean, every significant memorial and museum you can visit today — from Le Grand Bunker in Ouistreham to the Bill Millin statue at Colleville-Montgomery — practical guidance on getting there from Caen, and a sample day combining Sword Beach with Pegasus Bridge and the Mémorial de Caen.

Last updated: June 2026 | Historical facts verified from Imperial War Museum, CWGC, Britannica and primary sources. Visiting details verified 2026.

Sword beach day trip, British soldiers overlook the beach

No 5 Army Film & Photographic Unit, Mapham J (Sgt), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Sword Beach — Key Facts for 2026

15km from Caen · At the Ouistreham Ferry Port · Free entry to beach & memorials · H-Hour 07:25, 6 June 1944 · British 3rd Infantry Division · ~29,000 troops landed · ~630 casualties

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🇬🇧 Sword Beach at a Glance

At the port
Ouistreham ferry terminal is at Sword Beach’s eastern end
FREE
Beach, cemeteries & most memorials — no entry charge
07:25
H-Hour, 6 June 1944 — the moment the first troops hit the sand
29,000
Troops landed on Sword Beach by the end of 6 June 1944
  • âś…The Beach Itself — free, accessible public beach, still a beautiful stretch of the Calvados coast. The concrete remnants of German beach obstacles are visible at low tide at several points along the shoreline
  • âś…Le Grand Bunker — MusĂ©e du Mur de l’Atlantique — a 17-metre, six-level German naval command bunker right at the ferry terminal in Ouistreham. Completely preserved with original equipment. €8.50 adults, €6.50 children 6–12
  • âś…MusĂ©e No. 4 Commando, Ouistreham — dedicated to the 177 Free French commandos under Commandant Philippe Kieffer who landed on Sword Beach. Personal artefacts, photographs and accounts of the assault on the Ouistreham casino strongpoint
  • âś…Bill Millin Piper Statue, Colleville-Montgomery — bronze memorial to Lord Lovat’s personal piper, who played bagpipes as he waded ashore under fire on D-Day. Unveiled 2013, in the village renamed after Field Marshal Montgomery
  • âś…Hermanville War Cemetery — 1,003 Commonwealth graves, mostly men killed on D-Day and in the days following. Free entry. Immaculately maintained by the CWGC
  • âś…Nearby: Pegasus Bridge (9km) — the canal bridge seized by British paratroopers at 00:16 on D-Day — the first Allied action of the invasion. The MĂ©morial PĂ©gase museum is beside it (open March–August 2026)
  • ⚠️Car strongly recommended. While Sword Beach itself is right by the ferry terminal (no car needed), the wider D-Day sites and cemeteries spread along the coast are best reached by car. Public transport is limited outside Ouistreham and Caen

What Happened on Sword Beach on D-Day

At 07:25 on the morning of 6 June 1944, the first wave of the British 3rd Infantry Division hit Sword Beach — the easternmost of the five D-Day landing beaches, and the one closest to the strategic city of Caen. Here is what happened.

Before Dawn: Operation Tonga and the Airborne Assault

The assault on Sword Beach in this Second World War campaign was preceded by one of the most audacious operations in military history. The larger airborne plan was codenamed Operation Tonga — the deployment of the British 6th Airborne Division by parachute and glider across the eastern sector during the night of 5–6 June 1944. At 00:16 on 6 June — more than seven hours before H-Hour — Major John Howard and 180 men of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry landed by Horsa glider beside the canal bridge at Bénouville and captured both Pegasus Bridge (over the Caen Canal) and Horsa Bridge (over the River Orne) intact within ten minutes. This action was the first Allied military action of D-Day.

Elsewhere in Operation Tonga, the main body of the 6th Airborne Division dropped by parachute across the eastern sector, and the 9th Parachute Battalion assaulted and neutralised the Merville Battery — a German gun emplacement 8km east of Ouistreham whose guns threatened the entire Sword Beach landing. These paratroopers needed to be relieved by seaborne forces before the Germans could mount a serious counterattack — which is why speed of advance from Sword Beach was so critical. They would not be reinforced until 13:00, when Lord Lovat’s commandos reached the bridges, arriving one minute before Lovat’s promised time.

07:25: The Landings Begin

At H-Hour, 07:25, the 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment and the 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment hit Queen sector — the main assault area opposite the resort village of Colleville-sur-Orne (today renamed Colleville-Montgomery in honour of the D-Day commander). They were preceded by DD (Duplex Drive) amphibious Sherman tanks of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars and flail tanks of the 22nd Dragoons — specialised armour designed to crush beach obstacles and detonate mines ahead of the infantry. The beach had been subjected to two hours of naval bombardment and an aerial attack, and the German defenders — elements of the 716th Infantry Division — were disorganised but still capable of causing casualties.

The battle for the beach itself lasted approximately one hour. The South Lancashire Regiment cleared the right sector and began to reduce the German strongpoints behind the sea wall. The East Yorkshire Regiment, on the left flank, faced heavier resistance — taking fire from enemy mortars, from 88mm guns on Périers Ridge, and from the German divisional artillery. But by 08:00 the fighting had moved largely inland, and by noon enough breaches had been opened in the sea wall to allow reinforcements through. On the far eastern end of the beach, the 177 Free French commandos under Commandant Philippe Kieffer stormed and captured the fortified Ouistreham casino, which the Germans had converted into a major strongpoint — the same casino building that features in the 1962 film The Longest Day.

🎵 The Piper on the Beach

One of the most extraordinary individual acts on D-Day happened on Sword Beach: as Lord Lovat’s 1st Special Service Brigade came ashore, his personal piper, Private Bill Millin, waded through the surf playing Highland Laddie on his bagpipes. Millin was the only man on any D-Day beach to carry a musical instrument into battle. He played throughout the landing and then accompanied Lovat’s commandos on the 5km march to Pegasus Bridge, where — arriving one minute before Lovat’s promised time — he played as the commandos crossed. German snipers reportedly did not shoot at Millin, later claiming they thought he was mad. A bronze statue of Bill Millin now stands on the beach at Colleville-Montgomery.

🇫🇷 The French Commandos

Among the forces landing on Sword Beach were 177 Free French commandos of the 1er Bataillon de Fusiliers Marins Commandos, commanded by Commandant Philippe Kieffer. They were the only French military unit to participate in the D-Day landings. Their objective was to fight eastward along the beach from the landing point, destroy the fortified Ouistreham casino strongpoint (Widerstandsnest 08), and then advance inland to join Lord Lovat’s brigade. The casino was captured despite fierce resistance. Kieffer was wounded twice during the assault but remained in command. His men’s actions that day are commemorated at the MusĂ©e No. 4 Commando in Ouistreham.

⚔️ The German Counterattack

At 16:00 on D-Day, the 21st Panzer Division — one of the most experienced armoured divisions in the German Army, positioned near Caen — launched a counterattack through the gap between Sword and Juno beaches. Panzergrenadiers and tanks briefly reached the coast at Luc-sur-Mer, threatening to cut off the entire Sword beachhead. They were stopped by British artillery and anti-tank guns on Périers Ridge. At dusk, a massive Allied glider force of 250 tugs and 250 gliders — the 6th Airlanding Brigade arriving in Operation Mallard — passed directly over the German tanks on their way to land east of the Orne. Believing they were about to be encircled, the Germans withdrew. The counterattack had failed. The beachhead was secure.

Who Landed on Sword Beach? The Regiments

Sword Beach was the responsibility of the British Army’s I Corps under Lieutenant General John Crocker. The main assault was led by the 3rd Infantry Division under Major General Tom Rennie, supported by three further specialist formations.

🇬🇧 3rd Infantry Division — The Main Assault

8th Infantry Brigade (first wave):

  • 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment — Queen White sector
  • 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment — Queen Red sector
  • 1st Battalion Suffolk Regiment — in reserve

185th Infantry Brigade (advance on Caen):

  • 2nd Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry — spearheaded advance toward Caen, reaching BiĂ©ville before being halted by 21st Panzer
  • 1st Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment
  • 2nd Battalion Royal Warwickshire Regiment

Armoured support: 13th/18th Royal Hussars (DD tanks) | 22nd Dragoons (flail tanks) | 5th Assault Regiment Royal Engineers (AVREs)

🎖️ 1st Special Service Brigade — The Commandos

Commanded by Brigadier Simon Fraser, 15th Lord Lovat — landed after the initial assault and marched to Pegasus Bridge to link up with 6th Airborne Division.

  • No. 3 Commando
  • No. 4 Commando — including 177 Free French commandos under Commandant Philippe Kieffer, who captured the Ouistreham casino strongpoint
  • No. 6 Commando
  • No. 45 (Royal Marine) Commando

Also: No. 41 (Royal Marine) Commando — landed at the western end of Sword and advanced toward Lion-sur-Mer, attempting to link up with Canadian forces from Juno Beach. The link was not completed until the following day.

The German Defenders on Sword Beach

Sword Beach was defended by elements of Generalleutnant Wilhelm Richter’s 716th Infantry Division — an understrength static coastal defence unit of approximately 7,000 men, containing soldiers deemed unfit for service on the Eastern Front as well as conscripted Eastern European troops. The 716th had been in position on the Calvados coast since 1942 and was spread thin across a long frontage. The more dangerous threat on D-Day came from the inland reserve: Generalmajor Edgar Feuchtinger’s 21st Panzer Division, a veteran formation of approximately 16,297 men with 146 tanks and 50 assault guns, which had fought in North Africa. It was this division that launched the major counterattack at 16:00 on 6 June, nearly breaking through to the coast before being repulsed.

What to See at Sword Beach Today

Sword Beach today is a stretch of sandy Normandy coast that feels largely peaceful and ordinary — which makes the imagination required to picture what happened here all the more striking. These are the key things to see, from the ferry port outward.

🏰 Le Grand Bunker — MusĂ©e du Mur de l’Atlantique, Ouistreham

Standing directly beside the Brittany Ferries terminal, Le Grand Bunker is one of the most intact German Atlantic Wall structures in Normandy — a 17-metre, six-storey naval fire-control tower that served as the artillery observation and command post for the Ouistreham sector on D-Day. Every floor is preserved with original German equipment: range-finding instruments, radio sets, gas protection systems, living quarters, and the command room from which the officer directed fire onto the incoming Allied fleet on the morning of 6 June. From the roof — which visitors can access — you can see the exact stretch of water across which the 3rd Division came ashore.

Admission 2026: €8.50 adults | €6.50 children 6–12 | Free under 6 | Open year-round — check grandebunker.com for seasonal hours. Location: Avenue du 6 Juin, Ouistreham — a 5-minute walk from the ferry terminal. This is the single most important museum on Sword Beach and one of the finest Atlantic Wall museum sites in Normandy.

🇫🇷 Musée No. 4 Commando, Ouistreham

A short walk from Le Grand Bunker, this museum is dedicated entirely to the 177 Free French commandos who landed on Sword Beach on D-Day — the only French soldiers to fight in the D-Day landings. Opened in 1986, the museum houses a remarkable collection of personal artefacts, photographs, documents and equipment belonging to the men who served under Commandant Philippe Kieffer. It tells the story of the French commando unit from its formation in England, through its training alongside British counterparts, to the assault on the Ouistreham casino strongpoint and the march to Pegasus Bridge.

Location: Place Alfred Thomas, Ouistreham. Check for current admission prices and opening hours at the museum directly. For visitors with French connections or an interest in the Free French resistance, this museum provides context unavailable anywhere else on the D-Day coast.

🎵 Bill Millin Piper Statue, Colleville-Montgomery

A life-size bronze statue of Private Bill Millin — Lord Lovat’s personal piper, who played bagpipes wading ashore under fire on D-Day — stands on the beach at Colleville-Montgomery, unveiled in 2013. The village itself was renamed in honour of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery after the war. The statue faces the sea, looking back toward the direction the invasion fleet came from. Free to visit. 4km west of Ouistreham along the D514 coastal road.

🕊️ Hermanville War Cemetery & La Délivrande War Cemetery

Hermanville War Cemetery contains 1,003 Commonwealth graves, the majority killed on D-Day and the days following — located in Hermanville-sur-Mer, 3km west of Ouistreham along the D514. La Délivrande War Cemetery at Douvres-la-Délivrande, a few kilometres further south, holds over 1,020 graves, many of them D-Day casualties whose graves were moved here after the campaign. Both are free entry, open daily, maintained by the CWGC.

🏰 Hillman Fortress (Widerstandsnest Hillman)

An often-missed but highly rewarding site: the underground command complex that served as the headquarters of the German 736th Infantry Regiment, set in a field near Colleville-Montgomery. Concrete bunkers, interconnected trenches and observation posts still stand exactly as the fighting left them. Not captured until 20:15 on D-Day. Free entry, open access year-round. Signposted from the D35a near Colleville-Montgomery village. One of the most authentic Atlantic Wall sites in Normandy.

🔫 Merville Battery — 8km East of Ouistreham

The German gun emplacement whose four casemates threatened the entire Sword Beach sector — silenced by the 9th Parachute Battalion at 04:45 on D-Day morning, three hours before H-Hour, in a near-suicidal assault with just 150 of their 700 planned men. Now a museum at Merville-Franceville-Plage with the original bunkers preserved and an authentic Douglas C-47 aircraft on display. Admission charged — check merville-battery.com for 2026 hours and prices.

🏖️ Sword Beach — The Beach Itself

Sword Beach today is a long, flat sandy beach with a concrete sea wall promenade, backed by the same holiday villas and seasonal cafés that were here in 1944 (though rebuilt after the war). At low tide, the beach is wide and accessible — and at very low tides, remnants of German beach obstacles are occasionally visible near the waterline. D-Day memorials and plaques are scattered along the sea wall between Ouistreham and Lion-sur-Mer. Walking the full 8km length of Sword Beach takes 2–3 hours and passes most of the significant memorial markers.

Getting to Sword Beach from Caen

Sword Beach is the closest of the five D-Day beaches to Caen — and the only one you arrive ON when you take the ferry.

⛴️ From the Ferry — You’re Already There

The Brittany Ferries terminal at Ouistreham is at the eastern end of Sword Beach. As you drive out of the port, you are crossing the beach where British soldiers waded ashore under fire on 6 June 1944. Le Grand Bunker is a 5-minute walk from the terminal gate.

If arriving by overnight ferry: Le Grand Bunker opens from around 09:30 — perfect for visiting immediately after disembarkation on the morning sailing. You can park in Ouistreham town and walk to both Le Grand Bunker and the Musée No. 4 Commando before driving further along the D-Day coast.

🚗 From Caen City — 15km, ~20 Minutes

By car: Follow the D515 north from Caen toward Ouistreham — approximately 15km, 20 minutes. Toll-free. Follow signs for Ouistreham or Plages du Débarquement. Free car parking is available on the Avenue du 6 Juin directly beside Le Grand Bunker, and along most of the D514 Côte de Nacre coast road between Ouistreham and Lion-sur-Mer.

By bus: Twisto bus route 12 runs from Caen city centre (Gare de Caen) to Ouistreham, passing close to Le Grand Bunker. Journey time approximately 35–40 minutes. Check twisto.fr for current timetables.

💡 Explore Normandy Pass: If you plan to visit multiple D-Day sites, the Explore Normandy Pass (€1) gives discounts at over 70 museums and sites across the region. Available from the Normandy tourism board at normandie-tourisme.fr.

Driving the Sword Beach Coast — D514 West from Ouistreham

The D514 coastal road west from Ouistreham runs the full length of Sword Beach, passing through Colleville-Montgomery (Bill Millin statue, memorials), Saint-Aubin-d’Arquenay, Lion-sur-Mer and Luc-sur-Mer — with sea views and D-Day markers throughout. From there the road continues to Courseulles-sur-Mer (Juno Beach, ~18km from Ouistreham) and Arromanches (Gold Beach, ~35km). The entire coastal drive from Ouistreham to Arromanches — passing all three British and Canadian beaches — takes approximately 1 hour without stops, and passes through the full extent of the D-Day shoreline. All roads are toll-free.

Sample Day: Sword Beach from Caen

Sword Beach is easy to combine with Pegasus Bridge (just 9km away) and the MĂ©morial de Caen. Here are two suggested plans depending on how much time you have.

Sword Beach + Pegasus Bridge (Half Day — From Caen or Arriving by Ferry)

Perfect for: Arriving on the morning ferry, or a half-day from Caen covering the eastern D-Day sector.

  • 09:30: Le Grand Bunker, Ouistreham — the six-level German command bunker (1.5–2 hrs). Adjacent to the ferry terminal.
  • 11:30: Drive west along D514 past Colleville-Montgomery — stop at Bill Millin piper statue on the beach (10 min, free)
  • 12:00: Drive south on D84 to BĂ©nouville — Pegasus Bridge and MĂ©morial PĂ©gase museum (9km from Ouistreham, ~15 min drive)
  • 12:15–14:00: MĂ©morial PĂ©gase — the original bridge, full-scale Horsa glider replica, and CafĂ© GondrĂ©e (the first house liberated in France)
  • 14:30: Return to Caen (15 min) or continue west along the coast to Juno and Gold beaches

Full Eastern D-Day Day — Mémorial + Sword Beach + Pegasus Bridge + Hermanville

Perfect for: A complete day focused on the British D-Day eastern sector with full historical context.

  • 09:00: MĂ©morial de Caen — essential context for the whole D-Day story (2.5 hrs, from ~€17.50). Start here if you want to understand what you are about to see.
  • 11:30: Drive to Ouistreham (15 min) — Le Grand Bunker (allow 1.5 hrs)
  • 13:00: MusĂ©e No. 4 Commando in Ouistreham, then lunch in the town
  • 14:30: Drive west along D514 — Colleville-Montgomery beach (Bill Millin statue, memorials)
  • 15:15: Hermanville War Cemetery (15 min, free)
  • 15:45: Pegasus Bridge and MĂ©morial PĂ©gase (note museum closed from 31 August 2026 until May 2027)
  • 17:30: Return to Caen (15 min)

Top Tips for Visiting Sword Beach

  • Start at the MĂ©morial de Caen: If you only do one thing before visiting the beaches, visit the MĂ©morial first. It provides the human, political and military context for D-Day in a way that transforms a beach visit from a landscape tour into a story you understand. Allow a minimum of 2 hours.
  • Ferry arrivals: Le Grand Bunker is 5 minutes from the terminal: If you arrive on the overnight ferry, you can be at Le Grand Bunker as it opens. The bunker is walking distance from the terminal gate — no car required for the Ouistreham museums.
  • Walk the coast road west: The D514 coastal road between Ouistreham and Lion-sur-Mer traces the full length of Sword Beach. Driving slowly with stops takes about 1 hour and passes all the significant beach memorials. The road is flat, the views unbroken, and on a clear morning the light on the Channel is exceptional.
  • The MĂ©morial PĂ©gase museum reopens late 2026/2027: The museum beside Pegasus Bridge is closed from 31 August 2026 until May 2027 for a major expansion. The bridge itself, CafĂ© GondrĂ©e and the outdoor memorial are always accessible and worth visiting regardless.
  • Combine with Juno Beach (18km west): Sword and Juno are the two closest D-Day beaches to Caen. Both can be covered in a half-day, driving west along the D514 from Ouistreham to Courseulles-sur-Mer (Juno Beach Centre, €8.50 adults). The sector between Lion-sur-Mer and Courseulles, where No. 41 Commando tried to link up with Canadian forces on D-Day, is historically significant.
  • Take the tide into account: Sword Beach is broad at low tide and dramatically narrower at high tide — the high-tide line comes right up to the sea wall. For the best sense of what the 3rd Division faced on D-Day (the beach they had to cross under fire), visit at low tide when the full width of sand is exposed.
  • The casualty figures matter: Sword Beach had approximately 630 casualties — killed, wounded and missing — on D-Day. This figure is sometimes cited as evidence of a “light” landing. It was not light by any usual measure; 630 casualties in a single day’s fighting is a significant loss. But compared to Omaha (~2,400 casualties on the same day), the difference is stark and speaks directly to the effectiveness of the naval bombardment, the specialised armour, and the relative weakness of the beach’s static defenders.

Sword Beach: Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on Sword Beach on D-Day?

At H-Hour, 07:25 on 6 June 1944, the British 3rd Infantry Division came ashore on Sword Beach, France — the easternmost of the five D-Day landing beaches, approximately 15km north of Caen. The 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment and 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment led the assault on Queen sector (opposite Colleville-sur-Orne, now Colleville-Montgomery), supported by DD Sherman tanks of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars. The beach was cleared within approximately one hour. Free French commandos under Commandant Kieffer stormed the Ouistreham casino strongpoint. Lord Lovat’s 1st Special Service Brigade fought inland to link up with paratroopers at Pegasus Bridge at 13:00. At 16:00, the 21st Panzer Division counterattacked but was repulsed. By midnight, approximately 29,000 men had landed. Caen — the primary objective — was not captured on D-Day and would not fall until July 1944.

Who landed on Sword Beach and what regiments were involved?

Sword Beach was the responsibility of the British 3rd Infantry Division (Major General Tom Rennie) — with the 2nd Battalion East Yorkshire Regiment and 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment leading the first wave. Following them were the 1st Battalion Suffolk Regiment (in reserve), and the 185th Infantry Brigade, including the 2nd Battalion King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, which spearheaded the drive toward Caen. Also landing on Sword were the 1st Special Service Brigade under Lord Lovat (No. 3, No. 4, No. 6 and No. 45 Royal Marine Commandos), 177 Free French commandos under Commandant Philippe Kieffer (part of No. 4 Commando), and No. 41 Royal Marine Commando. Armoured support was provided by the 13th/18th Royal Hussars (DD tanks) and 22nd Dragoons (flail tanks). All forces were under British I Corps commanded by Lieutenant General John Crocker.

How many casualties were there on Sword Beach? How many British soldiers died?

The most widely cited and authoritative figure — sourced from Lionel Ellis’s Victory in the West (HMSO, 1962) and confirmed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission — is approximately 630 casualties on Sword Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944. This figure covers all casualties of the 3rd Infantry Division: killed, wounded and missing. It is not a figure for deaths alone — the number killed was lower, though precise death-only figures for D-Day at Sword were not separately recorded at the time. The 3rd Division’s own records show 683 men lost (8th Brigade: 367; 185th Brigade: 232; the divisional machine-gun battalion: 36; 9th Brigade losses were not separately recorded for D-Day). For context: Omaha Beach saw approximately 2,400 American casualties on the same day. Sword’s lighter toll is attributed to effective pre-landing naval bombardment, the success of specialised armoured vehicles in clearing the beach quickly, and the relative weakness of the 716th Infantry Division defending the sector.

Where is Sword Beach? Is it at Ouistreham?

Sword Beach in Normandy, France stretched approximately 8km along the Calvados coast from Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer in the west to Ouistreham in the east — making it the easternmost of the five D-Day landing beaches. Yes — Ouistreham is at the eastern end of Sword Beach, and it is where the Brittany Ferries terminal is located today. The ferry port at Ouistreham occupies the exact location where the French commandos and the eastern elements of the 3rd Infantry Division came ashore. Sword Beach is approximately 15km north of Caen and about 20 minutes by car from the city centre via the D515.

What is there to see at Sword Beach today?

The key sites at Sword Beach today are: Le Grand Bunker (MusĂ©e du Mur de l’Atlantique) in Ouistreham — a six-level preserved German command bunker, €8.50 adults, 5 minutes from the ferry terminal; MusĂ©e No. 4 Commando in Ouistreham — dedicated to the 177 Free French commandos who landed here; Bill Millin Piper Statue at Colleville-Montgomery — the bronze memorial to Lord Lovat’s piper; Hermanville War Cemetery — 1,003 Commonwealth graves, free; the beach itself — free, accessible, with memorials and plaques along the sea wall between Ouistreham and Lion-sur-Mer; and Pegasus Bridge (9km inland), where British paratroopers seized the canal bridge at 00:16 on D-Day. Nearby and highly recommended as context: the MĂ©morial de Caen, 15km south.

Why was it called Sword Beach?

“Sword” was an operational codename chosen during the planning of Operation Overlord to conceal the real landing locations from German intelligence. This section of coastline was originally codenamed “Swordfish” — which paired with “Jellyfish” (Juno) and “Goldfish” (Gold). The Allies later shortened all three to single words: Sword, Juno, Gold. The American beaches were named Utah and Omaha. All five names are purely functional security designations and carry no particular symbolic meaning.

Continue Planning Your Normandy D-Day Visit

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All D-Day Beaches

Complete hub covering all five D-Day landing beaches — Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword — with distances from Caen and our interactive map

D-Day Beaches Hub →

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MĂ©morial de Caen

The world’s finest D-Day museum — visit before the beaches for essential context on what happened and why. In Caen itself, 15km from Sword

Mémorial de Caen →

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Pegasus Bridge

The first Allied action of D-Day — seized at 00:16, just 9km from Sword Beach and 15 minutes from the ferry port. Pairs perfectly with Sword

Pegasus Bridge →

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Juno Beach

The Canadian D-Day beach — 18km west of Sword along the D514. Juno Beach Centre museum on the exact landing spot, with original bunkers and preserved German defences

Juno Beach →

Book Your Ferry — Arrive on Sword Beach

Brittany Ferries sails year-round from Portsmouth to Caen (Ouistreham). The ferry terminal sits at the eastern end of Sword Beach — where British and French forces came ashore on 6 June 1944. Step off the ship and you are already there.

Check Prices & Book Portsmouth to Caen →