Ten miles west of Arromaches is the Longue-sur-Mer Gun Battery which is four German casemates and the only original coastal artillery still in place. Here was a place where Germans kept watch on the English Channel.
In the nearby American Cemetery at St. Laurent, just above Omaha Beach, are nearly 10,000 graves of US soldiers who gave their lives to free Europe. The cemetery's visitors center has a database with the story of every US serviceman who died in Normandy.
There is a path from the center down to the beach where the highest casualty rates of the invasion occurred. During good weather, the beach is filled with people on holiday, but other times it is tranquil.
The most-heavily fortified German position on the coast was at Pointe du Hoc where the place was bombed heavily before 300 hand-picked US Army Rangers scaled the cliffs. Today, visitors can see smashed German bunkers and bomb craters. Picknicking is forbidden here as it is considered a gravesite.
Steves also recommends a trip to the Memorial Museum at Caen, the first large city liberated by the Allies.
A Definite Stop for Me If I Ever Can Afford to Go Back to Europe. --Cooter
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