Ouistreham

Ouistreham is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region of France.

Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town is about the mouth of the Canal de Caen à la Mer.

History

The name Ouistreham derives from the Saxon Waster Ham, or "Westerhome" (in the sense of "western village"), and it has been a trading port since the Middle Ages. The harbour is now a part of "Port de Caen-Ouistreham". Ouistreham is pronounced Wee-ss- tram

Since the beginning of the 20th century, it is a bathing beach on the "Riva Bella".

On June 6 1944, the Free French forces involved in the D-Day landings (177 men of the Commando Kieffer) disembarked at Ouistreham (Sword Beach).

The assault on Ouistreham was featured in the movie The Longest Day.

Tourist sites

• Museum of the Atlantic Wall
• Musée du Débarquement n° 4 Commando (museum)
• Der Grosse Bunker (Le Grand Bunker) is an old German bunker from WW2 that was captured by the British in the D-Day invasion

Transportation

The port of Ouistreham has a scheduled cross-Channel ferry service to Portsmouth, operated by Brittany Ferries.

Twin towns

Ouistreham is twinned with the West Sussex village of Angmering