This is Ouistreham !!!

Posted in Europe, France

The wonderful coastal beach town of Ouistreham s located in the Calvados department no, 14 in the Normandie region of my belle France. Since the end of 2014, the town has been known as Ouistreham Riva-Bella. I found some older paper pictures not in my blog and feel they should as this is my life’s history, Therefore, here is my take on this is Ouistreham !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

This seaside resort of Ouistreham is located at the entrance to the Caen-Ouistreham port on the Caen-to-the-Sea Canal. A 14-km navigable channel, it rises in the city of Caen and flows into the mouth of the Orne river in the town, after crossing six other towns. Ouistreham is reached by road from Caen via the D514 road and then the D515 road, The town has been served by cross-Channel ferries to Portsmouth (UK) since 1986. These ferries are currently operated by Brittany Ferries. It is located  9,5 km from Douvres-la-Délivrande, 16 km from Caen,20 km from Cabourg, 44 km from Bayeux, 224 km from Versailles, and 328 km from my current home frome where we came from along the D768 north dir Pontivy to connect with the N24 highway dir Rennes, past this City get on the A84 highway or Route des Estuaires dir Saint Aubin du Cormier continue past Romagné continue past Saint James dir Mont Saint Michel, this road becomes the N175 continue past Avranches after which it becomes again the A84 continue past Villedieu-les-Poêles-Rouffigny continue dir Caen ,and before take the beltway on porte de Bretagne onto the N814 road and get on exit/sortie 3a Porte d’Angleterre to get onto the D515 road and go around Hérouville-Saint-Clair continue and by Benouville road name change to D514 continue crossing the Pegasus Bridge over the Canal de Caen à la mer, and on your left the Memorial Pegasus of WWII on next roundabout circle bear left and continue with the Orne river on your right hand side past the pleasure marina to the lighthouse or Phare de Ouistreham.

The Phare de Ouistreham lighthouse is a 38-meter-high, cylindrical granite lighthouse painted red and white with 171 steps. This land-based lighthouse was erected in 1905 to replace the old 13-meter-high square lighthouse. The Ouistreham lighthouse is visible from 16 nautical miles away. It indicates to sailors the area of ​​the dangerous Essarts rocks with a red sector indicating the direction not to take.

The Ouistreham Riva-Bella fish market is a true institution. Head to the auction every morning, Located between the Caen-to-the-Sea Canal and the natural site of Pointe du Siège, the marina enjoys an exceptional location. 70 rings are reserved for visitors: the possibility of stopping off in this magnificent natural environment!

Other things to see here with more time are the parish Church of Saint-Samson ,built in the years before 1150, under the aegis of the sixth abbess of the Trinity of Caen, Jeanne de Coulonces, and was dedicated to Saint Samson in 1180. Adjoining the church there is a group of old buildings dating from the 10-11C, completely renovated at the end of the 20C, the tithe barn. Until the French revolution, Ouistreham was a barony belonging to the abbess of the Trinity of Caen, the population owed her the tithe (tax representing approximately one tenth of the crops and herds) which was stored in these buildings. Today this barn, which has been restored and converted without losing its original configuration, has been transformed into a reception room. Also, the Grand Bunker de Ouistreham, installed in the Riva-Bella firing control post. The Museum No. 4 Commando: this museum retraces the epic of the first commandos who landed at Sword Beach on June 6 at dawn, including the 4th Franco-British commando of French commander Philippe Kieffer. La Flamme, located at 23 boulevard Aristide Briand, made of aluminum by Yvonne Guégan, inaugurated on June 6, 1984 by François Mitterrand. It is raised on a firing dome. The names of the 177 French who took part in the landing on the morning of June 6, 1944 are engraved on the metal. Around it, ten small steles bear the names of the commandos who died between Colleville-Montgomery and Ouistreham. Signal, commemorative monument of the Allied landing. It is part of a series of similar monuments, bearing the same title, located in the towns where the 1944 landing took place. It was inaugurated on June 6, 1957 on a blockhouse, located on the site where the ferry terminal was built. The monument was removed during the construction of the latter and placed on the roundabout of the Avenue du Grand Large (D 84), at the intersection with the Quai Jean Charcot and the Rue Émile Herbline. The Ouistreham casino on the theme of the sea, is an establishment of the Lucien Barrière group. Ouistreham Riva-Bella is 5km of a long white sand beach and the Sword Beach landing beach encompassed the town,

A bit of history I like tell us that the Saint-Samson Church and the tithe barn formed the heart of the hamlet of Ouistreham from the very beginning. Its proximity to the sea meant that the town developed towards the shore, to the north. Ouistreham was a fishing and farming village where activity was also linked to maritime trade. In 1779, to protect the mouth of the Orne river from English attacks, it was decided to build three redoubts according to Vauban’s plans, one of them here. These redoubts were disarmed in 1816, the one in Ouistreham was sold to a private individual who transformed it into a mansion. Remains of the redoubt are still visible at the “Petit Château de la Redoute” at 38 boulevard Boivin-Champeaux. In 1866, a first villa was built in the dunes. At the very beginning of the 20C, the seaside resort developed around these luxurious villas and leisure facilities: thalassotherapy and Ouistreham casino. In 1912-1913, the Riva-Bella beach seaside society was founded. During WWII, Ouistreham was occupied by nazis troops. From 1942 the beach area became a no man’s land; 123 seaside villas were razed to make way for the Atlantic Wall defenses. On June 6, 1944, this surveillance post became a strategic location and its capture ensured the landing point on Sword Beach. The Franco-British No. 4 Commando, commanded by Colonel Robert Dawson, comprising the 177 French Marines of the 1st BFMC under Commander Philippe Kieffer (forming part of Lord Lovat’s First Special Brigade), then reached the bridges of Bénouville (Pegasus Bridge) and Ranville, linking up with the paratroopers of the 6th DAP (British Airborne) after street fighting in Ouistreham. On June 6, 2014, Ouistreham hosted the international ceremony for the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings and the Battle of Normandy.

Anecdotes I like tell us that Marcel Proust alludes to Riva-Bella by calling it Rivebelle in the novel À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs or In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower. Ouistreham is the main location in the plot of Georges Simenon’s novel  Le Port des brumes or The Port of Mists, featuring the famous Inspector Maigret. A scene from Bertrand Blier’s film  Les Valseuses or Going Places was filmed on the beach with Gérard Depardieu, Patrick Dewaere and Jeanne Moreau.

The town of Ouistreham on its heritage : https://ouistreham-rivabella.fr/decouvrir/histoire-et-patrimoine/

The Ouistreham tourist office on its heritage ; https://www.ouistreham-plaisance.com/web/tourisme/tourisme.php

The local Caen la Mer tourist office on Ouistreham : https://www.caenlamer-tourisme.fr/decouvrir-caen-la-mer/prendre-lair-marin-sur-la-cote-de-nacre/les-communes-du-littoral/l-essentiel-de-ouistreham-riva-bella/

The Calvados dept 14 tourist office on landing beaches of WWII so Sword Beach : https://www.explore-calvados.com/explorez-le-calvados/les-destinations-du-calvados/debarquement/plages-debarquement-calvados/sword-beach/

The Normandie region tourist office on Sword Beach ,Ouistreham : https://www.normandie-tourisme.fr/decouverte/d-day-et-bataille-de-normandie/les-plages-du-debarquement/sword-beach/

There you go folks, a wonderful visit to a nice beach town of Ouistreham, Another dot in my world map even if on my road warrior trails, Again, hope you enjoy this post on this is Ouistreham !!! as I, And remember, happy travels , good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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