Tickets and access to the museum:
No, booking in advance is not mandatory to visit the museum. However, during peak tourist periods, such as July and August, it is advised to book tickets online in order to gain time.
Dogs are forbidden in the museum, unless they are carried in bags, strollers or any kind of transportation, which is generally reserved to the smallest specimens.
Veterans, servicepersons, and handicapped persons have access to a reduced fare, which is 7.40€ per adult instead of 9.90€.
No, there isn’t.
The following profiles have free entry to the museum, given the appropriate and valid documentary proof:
- Children under 6
- Tourism professionals (including guides, drivers and journalists)
- World War II veterans and their partners
- Servicepersons in uniform
- Sainte-Mère-Eglise inhabitants
Entry to the museum is closed one hour before its closure time.
No, anyone can access the shop without a ticket.
Yes, it is necessary.
Yes it is, as long as you keep your ticket and warn the reception staff.
Yes, but only with the museums and structures who are partners of the Airborne Museum: Arromanches-les-Bains’ D-Day Museum, Benouville-Ranville’s Memorial Pegasus, and Cherbourg’s Cité de la Mer.
There are indeed several parking lots near the museum.
However, be advised that they are paying! But the museum kindly asks you not to blame our hostesses about this, as it is not the museum who handles these parking lots, but the town hall.
Children and families:
In addition to the digital augmented reality device available to all, our Histopad, that children are very fond of, the museum is designed in such as way that spectacular scenes and interactive screens intertwine, and several immersive and pedagogical devices such as the parachute jump simulator are scattered throughout the museum.
Moreover, the majestic vehicles and our rich collection are sure to fascinate children and adults alike, thus making a visit to the museum the perfect family trip.
Each of the museum’s buildings are either at ground level, or are equipped with access ramps. There is however one and only unreachable space: the platform in the C47 building.
Children under 6 have free entry in the museum.
The child fare then applies for individuals from 6 to 16 years old.
During the visit:
Yes, photographs are authorized, as long as it is without flash.
You need approximately 2 hours to visit the museum.
Group visits:
If it is a visit without guide, it is not mandatory, unless during the peak periods (Easter holidays, July and August, October).
But it is strongly advised to book in advance anyway.
If it is a guided visit, then it is absolutely mandatory to book it as much in advance as possible.
If you want to do a visit without guide, you need at least 15 persons to have the group fare.
If you want a guided visit, you need at least 20 persons.
You vouch for your co visitors to respect the museum’s internal regulations, which comprises calmness in the corridors and the rooms, not touching the objects, and running in the buildings.
It is not possible yet for a group to have its lunch break in the museum, but it will soon change with the implementation of several picnic areas in the museum’s park.
After the visit:
The museum team suggests the Battery of Azeville, and the Utah Beach Museum, located just a few kilometres away from Sainte-Mère-Eglise, as well as the D-Day Museum of Arromanches-les-Bains and the Memorial Pegasus, both located in Calvados.
The museum team suggests the Ferme-Musée du Cotentin.
The village’s church, which is more than four centuries old, is also fascinating, especially thanks to its paratrooper themed stained glasses.
Finally, there is a lot of monuments and microplaces filled with history to discover, to learn more about the village’s history. There are panels all across the village to indicate the path to follow.
The history of the museum, of Sainte-Mère-Eglise, of the region:
His name is John M. Steele, a paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne Division. He managed to survive this incident (without becoming deaf, contrary to certain rumours), and then took part in all the major operations that followed the D-Day. after the end of the war, he became a good friend of the museum, and was even there for its inauguration in 1964.
The museum was inaugurated on June 6 1964. At the time, there was only one building, the WACO.
They are indeed both authentic: they both came out of their respective factories in 1943.While the service records of the WACO glider are not precisely known, we do know for a fact that the C47 did drop paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division in Sainte-Mère-Eglise on June 6 1944.
The Iron Mike statue is located in La Fière, which is 4km away from Sainte-Mère-Eglise.
The Milestone Zero is in front of Sainte-Mère-Eglise’s town hall.
The main American cemetery of the region is in Colleville-sur-Mer, near Omaha Beach, in Calvados, at about 50km away from Sainte-Mère-Eglise.
Another smaller cemetery is in Saint-James, in the extreme south of the Manche, at about 140km away from Sainte-Mère-Eglise.
There are 3 german military cemeteries in Manche: the Mont d’Huisnes Mausoleum, in Huisnes-sur-Mer (11956 persons), the german military cemetery of Marigny (11 169), and the german military cemetery of Orglandes (10 152).
There are also 2 german military cemeteries in Calvados: the cemetery of La Cambe (21 245) and the cemetery of Saint-Désir in Lisieux (3 735).
These little items used by the American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne during D-Day were used as a recon system, once they had landed in enemy territory, often scattered, in order to locate their comrades and regroup.
But contrary to what is commonly believed, these crickets weren’t used that much by the soldiers.
They preferred a vocal code: the first person would say “flash” and the second had to answer “thunder”.
