The only working harbour on the Côte de Nacre: fishing boats, a fish market, oyster beds — and the beach where fourteen thousand Canadians came ashore on 6 June 1944.
Courseulles has always lived off the sea: fishing, oyster farming since the 19th century, hulls under repair. The channel of the Seulles brings the boats right into the middle of town, between the fish market and the café terraces. And then there is the beach, immense, which was Juno Beach: a Cross of Lorraine marks the spot where General de Gaulle set foot in France again on 14 June 1944. Ten minutes' drive from La Capricieuse, a five-star Yelloh Village campsite in Luc-sur-Mer: cottages, a heated water park, a restaurant on site and the beach at the end of the lane.
The coastal greenway links Luc-sur-Mer to Courseulles by bike, away from the road: an hour of family riding, flat from start to finish.
The fish market on the quay sells the day's catch and the local oysters; on Saturday mornings the town market takes over the square.
The Juno Beach Centre takes about two hours and offers a guided tour of the beach bunkers, led by young Canadians.
A small fleet of trawlers coming in with the tide, a quay, an auction hall and the smell of fresh fish. This is the last working fishing port on the Côte de Nacre, and the beating heart of the town: people come as much to watch as to buy.
The Courseulles oyster, raised in the beds along the Seulles channel, made the town's gastronomic name as early as the 19th century — they were served at the table of Napoleon III. You eat them on the quay, facing the boats, barely out of the water.
The Canadian D-Day museum, set on the dunes at the exact place where fourteen thousand men landed on 6 June 1944. It tells the story of Canada at war, and of the country itself: it is the only Canadian memorial in Normandy, and it is run by young Canadians.
Eighteen metres high, planted in the sand where General de Gaulle set foot in France again on 14 June 1944. Churchill and King George VI came ashore at the same place in the days that followed: this beach has seen a great deal of history pass through.
Two wooden piers frame the entrance to the channel and reach out into the sea. You walk to the far end to watch the boats come in, and anglers cast from it — the best vantage point over the comings and goings of the harbour.
Sand as far as the eye can see on either side of the channel, lifeguarded in summer, with a sailing school and land yachting. At low tide the foreshore stretches out for hundreds of metres: children spend the afternoon there without ever getting water above their knees.
Photo credits: Nitot, Turgidson, René Hourdry, Ibex73, Jebulon, Dr Wilson, Marianne Casamance, Dobroš — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA / CC0).
Photo: Ibex73 · CC BY-SA 4.0When the tidal coefficient goes above 90, the sea withdraws several hundred metres and lays the rocks bare: brown shrimp in the pools, cockles in the sand, mussels on the rocks. Shore fishing is free, provided you respect the minimum sizes and check the map of permitted areas, posted at the tourist office. Bring boots, a bucket, and start two hours before low water.
Five-star cottages, a heated water park and the beach fifty metres away, in Luc-sur-Mer.
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