Visitors to Normandy American Cemetery must soon book in advance
With more than one million visitors last year, the cemetery is one of the region’s most-visited D-Day sites
The Normandy American Cemetery is the location of the graves of 9,389 US soldiers who were killed as part of the D-Day operations in 1944TMP - An Instant of Time/Shutterstock
Visitors to the Normandy American Cemetery in northwest France will soon have to pre-book their visit, with a new system coming into force from April 2026.
More than 1 million visitors
The Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer (Calvados, Normandy) is the site of the graves of 9,389 soldiers who died in the D-Day Landings.
This took place during ‘Operation Overlord’, the codename for the Battle of Normandy, an Allied operation that launched the landings on June 6, 1944, and successfully liberated German-occupied Western Europe during World War Two.
The 172.5 acre cemetery near Omaha Beach is one of the most-visited D-Day-related sites in Normandy, with more than one million visitors in 2024, states the American Battle Monuments Commission (AMBC), which manages 26 American cemeteries worldwide including this one.
The cemetery is located in Colleville-sur-Mer, close to Omaha BeachMap: Abmc.gov
Pre-booking required
As a result of growing visitor numbers the site will no longer be open without a booking from next April.
Tickets will need to be booked in advance. There will be a cut-off limit, with bookers offered alternative days if all tickets are sold for a particular day.
“The American Battle Monuments Commission is grateful for the continued interest of our guests to visit these hallowed grounds and commemorate the fallen,” states the ABMC.
It continues: “To preserve the visitor experience and maintain an environment appropriate for memorializing America’s honored war dead, starting April 1, 2026, the ABMC will implement changes for visitors - including tour operators and group leaders - to the Normandy American Cemetery.
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“The details of these changes will be distributed soon, but all guests should expect to be required to pre-register in order to visit the cemetery. On days when visitation has reached maximum capacity, visitors will be offered alternative days to visit.
“These changes will allow Normandy American Cemetery to continue providing a meaningful and safe visitor experience, while ensuring a serene and dignified commemorative setting befitting the men and women honored at our site.”
Currently, the cemetery is open to the public every day without booking, except on December 25 and January 1, between 09:00 and 17:00. Staff members are usually on duty to answer questions, and they can also escort relatives to memorial sites. There is also a visitor centre.
