Caen Memorial

October 24: Arguably the best D-Day museum in an area full of D-Day museums, the Caen Memorial is worth at least at least a three-or-four-hour visit for its comprehensive explanations. Opened only in 1988, the interior is spacious, modern and inventive, and has free baggage-and-coat-check for anyone who can only visit on their way to or from Paris.

You start down a spiral slope, that literally traces Europe's descent into World War II with pictures, text and multimedia. You then learn about D-Day and the Battle of Normandy though artifacts, models and multimedia presentations.

The "D-Day" film uses a split screen to present the battle from the Allied and German points of view at the same time. Finally, the museum describes the world after the war, including the Cold War (including a piece of  the Berlin War). Temporary exhibits keep the museum dynamic: we saw one about editorial cartoons that covered everything from Islam to the French economy to ecology.

A beautiful garden covering Nobel Peace Prize winners surrounded the main building and was visible from the glass walls of the cafeteria. We didn't visit because it was starting to rain heavily.