Caen
Caen is the capital and largest city of the Calvados department in Normandy. Situated a few miles from the coast, the landing beaches, the bustling resorts of Deauville and Cabourg, as well as Norman Switzerland and the Pays d'Auge, Caen is often considered the archetype of Normandy. Wikivoyage
Population 109,400 (Wikidata)
Before you go
Emergency numbers in France
Getting there
Remembered in this browser only, with the last few you used.
Best-documented sights
All of them in the guide-
Plan de Rome Museum · 970 m -
Louis XIV Artwork · 40 m -
Restes de l'église Saint-Martin Ruins · 170 m -
Musée d'initiation à la Nature Museum · 440 m -
Monastère de la Visitation Monastery · 470 m -
Mur d'enceinte du Château de Caen Castle · 600 m -
Tour Guillaume-Le-Roy Attraction · 760 m -
Abbaye aux Hommes Monastery · 350 m
Within a kilometre of the centre, ordered by how well documented each is — not by a "best" anyone decided. Each opens on the map in the guide. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited there.
Through the year
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Caen Student Carnival
February – March
Europe's biggest student festival. It usually takes place in March or April. Created in 1894, it attracts around 35,000 students every year.
Annual events from Wikidata and Wikivoyage (Caen); descriptions from Wikipedia where it has one, photos from Wikimedia Commons. Dates move year to year — check before you plan around one.
Markets
Markets mapped on OpenStreetMap, with their hours where someone has added them. Check locally before you go.
Eating nearby
All 81 places to eatSomewhere to run
Getting around
- Château Quatrans 480 m
- Place de la Mare 490 m
- Saint-Pierre 700 m
- Université 750 m
- Bernières 860 m
- Résistance Saint-Jean 1.0 km
Train stations: Caen 1.7 km
Places © OpenStreetMap contributors, as of 9 October 2026. Description from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA). Events from Wikidata and Wikivoyage, population from Wikidata.