The Grandes Mêlées at OrnavikA weekend of medieval combat, twenty minutes from the campsite
In mid-June, the Ornavik history park joins forces with a re-enactment company to bring together nearly ninety fighters from all over Europe: mass fights, duels, weapon demonstrations and encampments, between the Viking village and the motte castle.
Ornavik is not a stage set: it is a history park built by volunteers to tell the story of how the Vikings became the Normans, with a Carolingian farm, a Scandinavian village and a motte castle all built using period techniques. Once a year, in mid-June, it hosts the Grandes Mêlées: two days of historical medieval combat, fought by companies from several European countries, among the encampments. Camping La Capricieuse is about twenty minutes away by road, on the coast.
The dates
Every year- Mid-Juneone weekend
- 2 daysSaturday and Sunday
- 90 fightersfrom across Europe
The Grandes Mêlées are held at the Ornavik history park, on the Beauregard estate in Hérouville-Saint-Clair. Dates, times and prices are published each spring by the park.
Getting there
From the campsite- 15 kmto Hérouville
- 20 minby car
- Car parkon site
You reach Hérouville-Saint-Clair on the D7 from Luc-sur-Mer, skirting Caen to the north. The park has its own car park, on the edge of the Beauregard estate.
Useful to know
Before you go- Ticketedtickets from the park
- With the familyfrom about age 5-6
- Open airbring sturdy shoes
Tickets are bought at the park entrance; conditions are announced each year. The site is entirely outdoors, on earth paths: closed shoes are advisable, even in June.
The mêlées, seen from the campsite
Real contests, not a show
The Grandes Mêlées bring together European historical martial arts companies: the fighting is done in armour, with unsharpened weapons but under strict sporting rules, in duels and in team mêlées. The best squads on the continent come here, and it shows.
Between bouts, the encampments are open to the public: forge, cooking, crafts, training. The fighters happily explain their equipment, which makes the visit far livelier than a simple display.
From Vikings to Normans, at full scale
The park tells two centuries of Norman history in three settings: a farm from the time of Charlemagne, a Viking village and a motte castle, all built by hand with the tools and materials of the period. The work never stops: it advances year after year.
For a family staying on the Côte de Nacre it makes an ideal day out when the wind gets up or rain is forecast: twenty minutes by car, and you come away with a very concrete idea of what Normandy was like before the Normans.
June, the best way into summer
In mid-June the coast is still quiet, the days are the longest of the year and rates remain those of the early season. The campsite’s heated water park is open and the beach is fifty metres away.
A weekend is enough to combine the Grandes Mêlées, Caen and its abbeys, and a day on the beach: everything is less than twenty-five minutes from the campsite.
Frequently asked questions about Ornavik
What is Ornavik park?+
When do the Grandes Mêlées take place at Ornavik?+
How far is Ornavik from the campsite?+
Do you need to book a ticket?+
Illustrative photographs: Pascal Radigue, Marc Roussel — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0, CC BY-SA 3.0).
The other events
Le Sentier des Arts
Jardifoliz
D-Day Festival Normandy
The Whale Rafts
The Tribute Fest
Festival Beauregard
Bayeux Medieval Festival
The XSMOZ Festival
The Acadian Week
The Sea Festival
The Langrune float parade
The Sâoticot festival
Rétro Festival in Caen
The Baronnie Festival
The Normandy Beach Race
Les Équidays
Halloween at the campsite
All the events
Your base camp in Normandy
Five-star cottages, a heated water park and the beach fifty metres away, in Luc-sur-Mer.
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