The beach and the huts
Two kilometres of gently sloping sand, lifeguarded in summer, with beach huts lined up along the sea wall. This is a family beach: few waves, a wide foreshore at low tide and the beach club fifty metres from the campsite gate.
Côte de Nacre · Calvados
DiscoverDiscover Luc-sur-MerThe village of the 5-star campsite La Capricieuse, fifty metres from the beach
A family seaside resort born in the 19th century: two kilometres of sand, a pier where people fish, a park sheltering the skeleton of a whale — and the campsite in the middle of it all.
Luc-sur-Mer can be explored in your slippers: the campsite opens fifty metres from the beach, the shops are a five-minute walk away, the pier and the park ten. This is a sea-bathing village from the golden age, with its wooden-balconied villas, its seafront and the rocks uncovered at low tide where families fish for shrimp. The beach is also a beach of 6 June 1944: Luc belonged to the Sword Beach sector. La Capricieuse, a five-star Yelloh Village campsite, offers cottages, a heated water park and a restaurant on site.
Good to know
Everything on foot
From your cottage- 50 mto the beach
- 5 minthe village centre
- 10 minthe pier and the park
No car is needed for the day: beach, shops, market, pier and park are all less than ten minutes from the campsite gate.
On the spot
What there is to see- 2 kmof sand at low tide
- 19 mthe whale skeleton
- 1 hrto walk round the village
At low tide the sea uncovers a vast foreshore of sand and rock: the playground of children, kite flyers and shore fishermen alike.
Good to know
Following the tides- Freethe Whale park
- Low tidefor shore fishing
- On siteSword Beach
Tide times are posted on the sea wall and at the tourist office: they are what decides the shape of the day, swimming or shore fishing.
In the village
Six stops in Luc-sur-Mer
The pier
It reaches a hundred and fifty metres into the Channel and serves anglers and evening strollers in equal measure. From the far end you can see the whole Côte de Nacre, from Ouistreham to Courseulles — and, on a clear day, the cliffs of the Bessin.
The whale of 1885
On 14 January 1885 a nineteen-metre rorqual ran aground in front of the village. Its skeleton, mounted and sheltered under a hall in the municipal park, can be seen free of charge all year round: it is the curiosity of Luc, and children’s first surprise.
The Whale park
An English-style public garden planted with remarkable trees, with its paths, its playground and its bandstand. It is the green heart of the village, a step from the seafront: the place to go when the wind blows too hard on the beach.
The painters at Luc
The Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Hill spent the summer of 1876 in Luc-sur-Mer, painting the beach, the cliffs and the sky — canvases now hanging in Stockholm. The Côte de Nacre had its open-air painters too, a little in the shadow of those of Honfleur.
Langrune, ten minutes on foot
The neighbouring village is reached along the sea wall, without ever leaving the shore. Its 13th-century church of Saint-Martin carries one of the finest Romanesque towers in Calvados. The path then carries on towards Saint-Aubin and Bernières.
Photo credits: Roi.dagobert, Edouard Paillette, René Hourdry, Nitot, BienheureuxAnonyme, Pascal Radigue — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY / CC BY-SA / CC0) · Carl Fredrik Hill, public domain.
At the end of the lane
Sword Beach
Photo: BienheureuxAnonyme · CC0Fifty metres from the campsite
The beach of 6 June 1944, in front of the village
The beach where children build sandcastles is part of the Sword sector, at the eastern end of the landings. On 6 June 1944 the British came ashore at Ouistreham, a few kilometres away, while the Canadians took Juno at Courseulles; Luc-sur-Mer was liberated the following day, at the junction of the two bridgeheads. Nothing on the sand recalls it, beyond a few memorial stones along the sea wall — and it is that contrast which strikes you.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about Luc-sur-Mer
Which campsite is there in Luc-sur-Mer?+
La Capricieuse, a five-star Yelloh Village campsite, stands in the heart of the village, fifty metres from the beach: cottages, a heated water park, a children’s club and a restaurant on site, looking out over the Côte de Nacre.
What is there to do in Luc-sur-Mer?+
Two kilometres of sand at low tide, the pier, the Whale park with its nineteen-metre skeleton — admission is free — and an hour’s walk round the village. The market, the shops and the beach are all less than ten minutes on foot from the campsite.
Do you need a car to stay in Luc-sur-Mer?+
Can you go shore fishing in Luc-sur-Mer?+
Yes, it is one of the village pastimes: at low tide the sea uncovers a vast foreshore of sand and rock. Tide times are posted on the sea wall and decide the shape of the day.
Also worth seeing
Our other day trips
The D-Day beaches
Sword Beach 50 m · Juno 10 min · Omaha 50 min
Mont-Saint-Michel
145 km · 2 hrs · A full day, tides included
Étretat
115 km · 1 hr 40 · The cliffs, the Needle and the gardens
Honfleur
65 km · 1 hr · The old harbour and the half-timbered houses
Deauville
55 km · 50 min · Les Planches, the casino and the villas
Bayeux
35 km · 35 min · The Tapestry, the cathedral and the medieval lanes
Caen
18 km · 25 min · The castle, the abbeys and the Memorial
The Côte de Nacre
On the doorstep · Arromanches 35 min · Courseulles 10 min
Courseulles-sur-Mer
10 km · 10 min · The harbour, the oysters and Juno Beach
Ouistreham
10 km · 15 min · The lighthouse, the harbour and Sword Beach
Cabourg
40 km · 40 min · The Marcel Proust promenade and the Grand Hôtel
Calvados
All around the campsite · Half-timbered villages and the Pays d'Auge
Campsite in Normandy
Your base camp, at Luc-sur-Mer
All of Normandy
Thirteen trips from the campsite
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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