Travel Guide Ouistreham

In the heart of Normandy and Calvados, on the Côte de Nacre, Ouistreham-Riva-Bella was born from the sea and the river. This double belonging has always influenced its destiny. Its geographical situation made it a guard post that guaranteed the security of the region by defending the mouth of the Orne. It is here that the village was established, on a height that dominated the river In the 11th and 12th centuries, after the conquest of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror, the village of Ouistreham benefited from the great prosperity of the duchy of Normandy. In the 13th century, Normandy was attached to the kingdom of France. A struggle between the kings of France and the dukes began. The following centuries were troubled by numerous wars with England, and the village often resumed its role of sentinel. In the 19th century, after the First Empire, established in France on May 18, 1804 by Napoleon I, these rivalries calmed down with the realization of the canal between Caen and the sea, a waterway linking the port of Caen to the port of Ouistreham. This work gave a new impulse to the city, generating in particular the creation of the Port district. The increase in maritime transit, the reception of large tonnage commercial ships, the creation of a maintenance platform for the future offshore wind farm of 64 wind turbines in Courseulles-sur-Mer make 2022 the year of large-scale construction sites on the coast. Now turned towards the land and open to the sea, the town, which now communicates under the name of Ouistreham Riva-Bella, continues its development