24 Sights in Caen, France (with Map and Images)
Legend
Welcome to your journey through the most beautiful sights in Caen, France! Whether you want to discover the city's historical treasures or experience its modern highlights, you'll find everything your heart desires here. Be inspired by our selection and plan your unforgettable adventure in Caen. Dive into the diversity of this fascinating city and discover everything it has to offer.
Sightseeing Tours in CaenActivities in Caen1. Église Saint-Étienne
The Church of Saint-Étienne de Caen or Abbey Church of Saint-Étienne de Caen is a Catholic place of worship that stands on the territory of the French commune of Caen, in the department of Calvados, in the Normandy region. Built from the eleventh century by William the Conqueror as the abbey church of the Abbaye aux Hommes, or Abbey of Saint-Étienne, it became a parish church after the French Revolution. It should not be confused with the nearby Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux church.
2. Université de Caen Normandie
Campus 1 in Caen is one of the campuses of the University of Caen-Normandy. This is the historic campus, built by Henry Bernard as part of the Reconstruction of Caen, after the destruction of the faculty palace located in the city center during the Battle of Caen. It now brings together human and life sciences courses. There were 12,470 students in 2018–2019, or 49% of the number of students on the Caen campuses.
3. Hôtel de Ville
The Abbey of Saint-Étienne, also known as Abbaye aux Hommes by contrast with the Abbaye aux Dames, is a former Benedictine monastery in the French city of Caen, Normandy, dedicated to Saint Stephen. It was founded in 1063 by William the Conqueror and is one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Normandy.
4. Collégiale du Saint-Sépulcre
The Collegiate Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Caen is a former collegiate church founded in the thirteenth century in the Vaugueux district of Caen. This monument has been classified as a historical monument since February 23, 1934.
5. Église Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs
The Church of Saint-Nicolas, sometimes called Saint-Nicolas-des-Champs, is a church founded in the eleventh century in the Bourg-l'Abbé of Caen. It has been classified as a historical monument since 20 August 1913. Its cemetery has been a listed site since 1939 and it is also known for its brotherhood and its matrologist.
6. Centre pénitentiaire de Caen
The Caen Prison is a prison located in the Maladrerie district of Caen. It has been home to inmates sentenced to long sentences since 1975. The nineteenth-century building has been listed as a historical monument since October 29, 1975.
7. Pavillon des Sociétés savantes
The Pavilion of Learned Societies, also known in the past as the "Pavilion of the Fair" or the "Langlois Museum", is a building built in Caen in the eighteenth century, originally to house the city's aldermen during fairs.
8. Hôtel de Mondrainville
The Hôtel de Mondrainville, also known as the Hôtel de la Monnaie, is a private mansion built between 1531 and 1562 in the old city centre of Caen by Étienne Duval de Mondrainville. It was located at 12 rue de la Monnaie, partly destroyed in 1944, it is now at 7 rue Gémare.
9. Église Saint-Sauveur
The Church of Saint-Sauveur is a Catholic place of worship in the old city center of Caen. Before 1802, this church was called Notre-Dame-de-Froide-Rue. Since 1802, it has been dedicated to the Holy Saviour (Jesus Christ). This monument has been classified as a historical monument since 1889.
10. Église Saint-Julien
The church of Saint-Julien in Caen is a place of Christian worship built by Henry Bernard in the 1950s to replace the old church of Saint-Julien, located further south and destroyed in 1944. This monument has been classified as a historical monument since 27 June 2007.
11. Chapelle Sainte-Paix
The Sainte-Paix chapel is a place of worship built in the eleventh century on the territory of Mondeville, incorporated into Caen in the eighteenth century. It has been classified as a historical monument since 3 June 1975.
12. Cité-jardin des Rosiers
The garden city of Les Rosiers is a low-cost residential area located in Caen (Calvados) in the Hastings district. Built at the beginning of the twentieth century and gradually abandoned — but not completely — from the early 1990s, its future seems less uncertain since the registration of the facades as a historical monument and a project to remake it into a living space.
13. Tour Guillaume-Le-Roy
The Leroy Tower, sometimes called the Guillaume-le-Roy Tower, built in the fourteenth century, is one of the main remains of the urban fortifications, which stands on the territory of the French commune of Caen, in the Calvados department, in the Normandy region.
14. Église Saint-Gilles
The Church of Saint-Gilles de Caen is a former Catholic parish church dedicated to Gilles the Hermit, located in the city of Caen. The church has been listed as a historical monument since 1862. Destroyed in 1944, only remains have been preserved on the site, which has been converted into a public garden.
15. Restes de l'église Saint-Martin
The Church of Saint-Martin de Caen is a former Catholic parish church, now in ruins, located in the city of Caen. The remains of the church have been listed as historical monuments since 25 June 1929.
16. Manoir des Gens d'Armes
The Manoir des Gens d'Armes, also known as the Manoir de Nollent or Manoir de la Talbotière, is an early Renaissance manor house located in Caen, in the French region of Normandy. It has been classified as a historical monument since 1862.
17. Manoir du Pont-Créon
The Manoir du Pont-Créon is a former manor house located west of the current city centre of Caen, in the Saint-Ouen district. The building has been listed as a historical monument since June 1, 1927.
18. Réservoir ou château d'eau de la Guérinière
The Guérinière water tower is a water tower located in the Guérinière district of Caen. Thanks to its 3,000 m3, it supplies water to the districts of La Guérinière, Vaucelles and La Grâce de Dieu.
19. Hôtel Daumesnil
Hôtel Daumesnil is a private mansion located in Caen. It was built in the seventeenth century on the new royal square. It was listed as a historical monument for the first time on 1 June 1927 and a second time on 29 November 2021.
20. Église Saint-Jean
The church of Saint-Jean de Caen is the parish church of the Saint-Jean district in Caen, France. It was classified as a historical monument in the list of French historic monuments protected in 1840.
21. Église du Vieux Saint-Sauveur
The Church of Old Saint-Sauveur is a former place of worship on the Place Saint-Sauveur in the old town center of Caen, France. Before the French Revolution, the church was a parish and was called just Saint-Sauveur Church. It took its current name in 1802 when the Notre-Dame-de-Froide-Rue church, which became the center of the new parish, was renamed Saint-Sauveur Church in Caen. The church has been classified as a historical monument since 29 June 1951.
22. Église Notre-Dame de la Gloriette
The Church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Gloriette is a church in the old city centre of Caen. Built by the Jesuits at the end of the seventeenth century, it was deconsecrated during the French Revolution before being returned to Catholic worship in 1802. It is now frequently used for classical music concerts. This monument has been classified as a historical monument since 9 July 1909.
23. Chapelle du Bon Sauveur
The public mental health establishment of Caen, previously named Le Bon Sauveur, then the Specialized Hospital Center of Caen, is a former convent transformed into a psychiatric hospital from the nineteenth century by the Congregation of the Daughters of the Good Savior founded in the first part of the eighteenth century.
Wikipedia: Centre hospitalier spécialisé du Bon Sauveur (FR)
24. Église Saint-Gilles - La Trinité - Abbaye aux Dames
The Abbaye aux Dames de Caen is a former monastery of Benedictine nuns founded in the eleventh century which stands on the territory of the French commune of Caen in the department of Calvados, in the Normandy region. It is one of the two great abbeys, along with the Abbey of Men, founded by William the Bastard the future conqueror, around 1060, in Caen. Its abbey church of the Trinity has been home to the tomb of Matilda of Flanders, the wife of William the Conqueror, since 1083.
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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.