Caen, France

Caen was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century as the capital of the Duchy of Normandy — the two abbeys were his penance for marrying his cousin Matilda against papal wishes. From Caen, William launched the 1066 invasion of England. The city prospered through the Middle Ages, declined in the Hundred Years' War, and was devastated during the Battle of Normandy in June–August 1944: Allied bombing and German resistance destroyed two-thirds of the city. Rebuilding took decades and used the same pale Caen stone as the medieval buildings. The Mémorial de Caen, opened in 1988, transformed the city into a place of historical pilgrimage.

Norman cuisine is rich, dairy-heavy and satisfying. Tripe à la mode de Caen is the city's namesake dish (tripe slow-cooked with Calvados and cider). Teurgoule is a Norman cinnamon rice pudding. The Pays d'Auge provides Camembert (eat it at room temperature with crusty bread), Livarot (the 'colonel' — the stinkiest of the four), Pont-l'Évêque and Neufchâtel (heart-shaped). Calvados apple brandy punctuates meals as a trou normand (a digestive shot between courses). Norman cider replaces wine at many traditional tables. Festivals: Festival Normandie Impressionniste (every few years — art across the region), D-Day commemorations (June 6 — ceremonies at the beaches), Foire de Caen (September — regional fair). Museums: Mémorial de Caen (WWII, peace, D-Day), Musée de Normandie (in the Château), Musée des Beaux-Arts (in the Château), Artothèque de Caen (contemporary art lending library).

Safety: Caen is safe. A university town with a student-oriented nightlife around the Quartier du Vaugueux. Emergency: 112. Language: French. English spoken at the Mémorial, D-Day sites and tourist offices. The D-Day beaches attract many British and American visitors, so English is more common here than in comparable French cities. Currency: EUR. Cards accepted at most businesses. Cash useful at markets, crêperies and smaller restaurants. Bring cash for parking at D-Day beach sites.

Caen was devastated during the Battle of Normandy in 1944 — two-thirds of the city was destroyed in weeks of fighting after D-Day. What rose from the rubble is a pleasant university town built in the distinctive pale Caen stone that William the Conqueror first used for his two great abbeys and exported to England for the Tower of London and Canterbury Cathedral. The Abbaye aux Hommes (Men's Abbey, founded 1063, housing William's tomb) and the Abbaye aux Dames (Women's Abbey, founded by his wife Matilda) survive as the city's finest monuments, bookending the centre from east and west. The Château de Caen — William's ducal fortress, one of the largest medieval enclosures in Europe — sits on a hill in the middle of the city, housing the Musée de Normandie and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. But Caen's most powerful attraction is the Mémorial de Caen — a museum of peace and war that covers WWII, the D-Day landings, the Cold War and contemporary conflicts with a seriousness and emotional depth that ranks it among Europe's finest war museums. The D-Day beaches themselves — Omaha, Utah, Gold, Juno, Sword — lie 15–30 km north of the city along with the Pointe du Hoc, the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, Arromanches' artificial harbour remains, and the Pegasus Bridge. The surrounding Calvados countryside produces Camembert, Livarot and Pont-l'Évêque cheeses, Calvados apple brandy, and cider — the Pays d'Auge is a patchwork of apple orchards, half-timbered manor houses and dairy farms.