Discovery tour of Bernières-sur-Mer

It is near this place called La Caline that the mouth of the Seulles was located, the river then crossed the town.

It is now divided into two distinct parts: the manor and the farm. The manor house dated 1491 is the oldest residence in the town. During the disputes between Protestants and Catholics, the barn was used as a shelter and place of worship for Protestants. A calvary engraved on one of the pillars of the farm's entrance attests to this. This complex still includes a 16th century orangery, a circular dovecote with more than 1700 bakers, one of the most important in Normandy, and an 18th century bakery. It is classified as a historical monument.

Location of the old port, built at the place called the shore, behind the fiefdom of La Luzerne. In the 17th century, storms silted up the mouth of the Seulles River, which moved slowly westward as far as Courseulles-sur-Mer.

This street takes its name from the building (No. 2) that was once used to manufacture ropes for ships until the 12th century. The municipality was until then a port. There is a 17th century well nearby.

Typical 17th century village houses with a roof called a pas d'hirondelle and their stairs allowing craftsmen to access the dwelling. The workshop was located on the ground floor.

You can see the 17th century fiefdom of Sémilly. In the past, the mouth of the Seulles passed at the foot of the estate's wall, rue Nicole Denis. A door would have given access to a small pier. It is classified as a historical monument.

The Notre-Dame Nativity church in Bernières sur Mer was built on land purchased by the Bishop Odo, William the Conqueror's half-brother which he donated to the Bayeux Chapter in 1066. Its Romanesque nave, dating from 1130-1140 and the late 12th century, is contemporary and in keeping with Normandy's finest abbeys. The 13th century brought a high Gothic choir and a stone 8-sided spire the summit of which stands at 67 metres. The 17th century was then to offer a remarkable stone altarpiece with imposing fluted columns, surmounted with large multicoloured statues of angels, one of the most monumental works throughout Calvados.

We can see the 18th century classic style Quintefeuille castle and its Louis XV period entrance gate. This estate owes its name to the Brouard family in the 20th century, in reference to the forest that extended several centuries ago, from Asnelles to Luc-sur-Mer.

Marais du Platon is (small meadow) formed around the old bed of the Seulles behind the dune cordon, when its mouth moved from Bernières to Courseulles. It is home to a great diversity of plant species and an abundant wildlife (fish, amphibians and insects), including two rare species. An animal: the Calamitous Toad and an aquatic plant: the Maritime Ruppie.

The monument takes on the form of the V of victory. It also represents the bow of a ship coming from the sea. It was inaugurated in 1950 as a tribute to the Allies who liberated France. It was the first in a series of 9 memorials built on our coasts.

The bunker, named after a villa destroyed during the construction of the German defences, was armed with a 50mm gun, supported by three fixed-post machine guns.

Inukshuk means "human form" in the Inuit language. It is a stone pile built by the Inuit in northern Canada and the Arctic region to mark the site of major events. It was erected in memory of the Canadian soldiers who fell during the D-Day Landings. Inaugurated during the ceremonies of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, it represents the link between the temporal and the spiritual.

The station was built in the 19th century, to allow tourists to flock to our coasts and enjoy the seaside activities of the time. In the past, it was part of the Caen-Courseulles line, which ran along the beach of Bernières in Courseulles. This line was decommissioned in 1953.

Hotel Belle Plage was built at the end of the 19th century, during the town's seaside boom. This villa became the headquarters of English and Canadian journalists on June 6, 1944. It was from this place that the first message announcing the D-Day landing was broadcast.