Juno Beach Centre, Military history museum in Courseulles-sur-Mer, France.
The Juno Beach Centre is a history and military museum in Courseulles-sur-Mer, in the Normandy region of France, dedicated to Canada's role in the Second World War, both on the front and at home. It sits directly on the beach where Canadian troops landed on June 6, 1944, and its permanent exhibition covers the military campaign as well as the daily life of Canadians during the war years.
The museum opened in 2003, driven by Canadian veterans who wanted a lasting place to honor the role their country played during the D-Day landings. It was the first site in Normandy built specifically to tell the Canadian side of the war.
The Juno Beach Centre is the only Canadian museum in Normandy dedicated to the Second World War, and it draws many Canadian visitors who come looking for traces of their own family history. The personal letters, photographs, and objects on display were often donated by Canadian families, which gives the collection a deeply personal character.
The museum charges an entrance fee, and guided tours are available in several languages, including English and French. Those who want to visit the bunkers on the beach just outside should wear sturdy shoes, as the ground around them can be uneven.
The building was designed by a Canadian architecture firm and its floor plan is shaped like a maple leaf when seen from above. The exterior is clad in titanium panels, a material rarely used in museum design, which gives the structure a look unlike most other memorial buildings in Normandy.
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