Juno Beach: An In-Depth Historical Guide

Juno Beach was the Canadian landing beach on D-Day, a ten-kilometer stretch of the Calvados coast covering Courseulles-sur-Mer, Bernières-sur-Mer, and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer. The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division landed here on June 6, 1944, took the beach towns by midday, and pushed farther inland than any other Allied division that day. The beach is free, open year-round, and part of the D-Day landing beaches inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on July 26, 2026.

What Happened Here

The Juno sector fell to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division and the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade, about 14,000 Canadians in a landing force of some 21,000; the remaining third were British. An offshore reef and a rough sea pushed H-Hour back to 7:45 a.m., nearly an hour after the American landings began, and by then the rising tide had covered many of the mined beach obstacles. The German 716th Division held fortified strongpoints in the seafront houses of all three towns.

The first wave took heavy losses at the seawalls, and the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada lost more men that morning than any other Canadian unit. The Canadians cleared the towns street by street, linked up with the British from Gold Beach the same day, and by nightfall stood closer to their final objectives than any other Allied division. The day cost the 3rd Canadian Division 340 killed, 574 wounded, and 47 captured. Counting the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, dropped east of the Orne before dawn, 359 Canadians died on June 6.

Visiting the Beach Today

Juno is an open public beach, free at all hours, backed by the same seafront houses the Canadians fought through. In Bernières-sur-Mer, the timbered villa known as Canada House stands directly on the sand where the Queen’s Own Rifles came ashore, and is counted among the first buildings liberated on D-Day. German bunkers survive at Courseulles and Saint-Aubin, and memorials to the Canadian regiments stand in all three towns.

The Juno Beach Centre and the Sites Nearby

The Juno Beach Centre stands on the dunes at Courseulles-sur-Mer. It opened on June 6, 2003, founded by D-Day veteran Garth Webb, and serves as Canada’s museum in Normandy, covering the whole Canadian war effort rather than the landing alone. Check hours and tickets at junobeach.org.

The Canadian War Cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer lies ten minutes inland, with more than 2,000 graves. The Abbaye d’Ardenne, where soldiers of the 12th SS murdered Canadian prisoners in the days after the landing, stands on the western approach to Caen. Our guide to the ten best D-Day museums in Normandy covers the wider region.

Getting There

Juno Beach is about 30 minutes by car from Bayeux and 15 minutes east of Arromanches; no train reaches the coast. Gold Beach adjoins Juno to the west and Sword Beach to the east. The LinkParis.com Canadian Normandy D-Day tour runs from Paris every Tuesday as a small-group tour, meets the morning train at Bayeux station, and covers Bernières-sur-Mer, the Juno Beach Centre, the Bény-sur-Mer cemetery, and the Abbaye d’Ardenne. For groups of four or more, it can run any day of the week.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Juno Beach?
Juno Beach covers the towns of Courseulles-sur-Mer, Bernières-sur-Mer, and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer on the Calvados coast of Normandy, between Gold Beach to the west and Sword Beach to the east. It sits about 30 minutes by car from Bayeux.

How many Canadians died at Juno Beach on D-Day?
The 3rd Canadian Division lost 340 killed, 574 wounded, and 47 captured in the Juno sector on June 6, 1944. Counting the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, 359 Canadians died on D-Day.

What is the Juno Beach Centre?
The Juno Beach Centre is Canada’s D-Day museum, on the dunes at Courseulles-sur-Mer where Canadian troops landed. It opened on June 6, 2003, founded by D-Day veteran Garth Webb, and covers Canada’s entire Second World War effort.

What is Canada House at Juno Beach?
Canada House is a timbered villa on the seafront at Bernières-sur-Mer, directly on the sand where the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada landed. It is counted among the first buildings liberated on D-Day and carries memorial plaques to the regiment.

Can you visit Juno Beach from Paris in one day?
Yes. Take an early train to Bayeux and a guided tour of the Canadian sector, and return to Paris the same evening. The full day covers Juno Beach, the Juno Beach Centre, the Bény-sur-Mer Canadian cemetery, and the Abbaye d’Ardenne.