Mémorial de Montormel
Mémorial de Montormel
4.5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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4.5
176 reviews
Excellent
108
Very good
54
Average
6
Poor
4
Terrible
4
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JEAN MICHEL L
Le Mee-sur-Seine, France5,586 contributions
July 2024 • Family
Historic site of memory that must be visited, the fight of the cliff pocket is superbly explained to you by a remarkable video, even the little ones understand!
Beautiful museum with many objects on display under display or "free" in view. Another film in a room on display, about testimonies of local fighters, moving and poignant. Place to frequent and publicize without moderation
Beautiful museum with many objects on display under display or "free" in view. Another film in a room on display, about testimonies of local fighters, moving and poignant. Place to frequent and publicize without moderation
Automatically translated
Written 3 August 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andrew M
20 contributions
Apr 2022 • Friends
Went to museum. Paid. Had expected it to be a walk around museum. Then they said it's an hour guide tour. Said we didn't have that done t. Asked for my money back. Just got a Gallic shrug and he stated it was impossible. Beware..
Written 28 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Quiddity2
Shushan69 contributions
July 2012 • Friends
We are WWll history buffs, but I think even if one is not particularly passionate about history, everyone would benefit from visiting this memorial to the Battle of Normandy. Montormel is the last big battle of Normandy There is an excellent slide presentation with a huge map that lights up as the battles are described. There is also a film. But our favorite part was viewing the beautiful valley below the museum through large windows , and realizing what it looked like in August of 1944. I cried as our young tour guide described her grandparents' memory of the battle, and the carnage left for the farmers to clean up in the ensuing months. I also did not know what a significant role the Polish army played in the liberation of this area. This is a great tribute to all the allies who fought and lost their lives here.
Written 18 August 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Analyste
Milan, Italy136 contributions
Mar 2017 • Friends
It has been 3-4 months since we visited the Memorial and Museum on the morning of March 11th 2017. I would not normally take this much time before I write a review but our visit was very upsetting and distressing; as a terribly rude staff member succeeded in souring our final stop. We had visited the D-day beaches and many of the excellent museums that were very moving, and gave our respects to the gallant men that had lost their lives. Alas, having looked on the web for opening times we decided to drive the 2-3 hours from the beaches to the museum at Montormel. On arrival, the museum was open so we went in and patiently waited by the entrance cashier. There was only one other couple and a man in the museum evidently doing a guided tour. The guide did not acknowledge our arrival and simply continued his repertoire. We waited and waited and waited and waited .....but no one came to our assistance, we even looked for someone else so we could pay our admission and enter the museum. After what must have been 10 minutes, in this very quiet, small museum my friend decided to go and speak to the guide to find out how we could pay. In order to do this he had to stride over a single rope blocking/cordoning off the entrance ...........well......immediately the guide yelled and reacted like a scolded cat, charging over demanding that my friend return behind the rope barrier. We were taken aback and tried to explain we had been waiting for a considerable time without acknowledgement and simply wished to pay, to enter the museum. He angrily demanded we would have to have a guide otherwise we would not understand it! To which we replied we did not wish to pay for a guide but simply look around the museum. He said there was nothing to see! Having travelled several hours especially to see the museum we were aghast with the man's disrespect, rudeness and general arrogance - it was all very distressing.......I can only pertain that perhaps something else before our arrival must have triggered this individual into such a wild fury. That having been said, we insisted that all we wanted to do was view the museum. The man relented and said we did not have to pay......(this was clearly not in kindness but more seemingly an unwillingness to either turn on the cashier or find change!)The museum was interesting and we watched a very good audiovisual presentation.......if only the staff member could have been courteous........a memorial and experience such as this should not be soured by the very individuals that are supposed to be preserving this precious history. I duly asked his name and the name of the director of the museum which he replied was him and he eventually wrote down his details for our benefit. I am not disclosing his name in case the information he gave me was false but instead will include a photograph of the individual who was incredibly rude (Saturday March 11th morning), to the point of being a "disgrace to the French" which I duly told him on leaving...........it has taken me several months of deliberation on whether I should write this review. I only hope that other individuals do not have the same distressing experience and that any donors or curators to/of the museum fully heed my review. Our trip to the museum was totally ruined by this member of staff.
Written 5 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We usually let people free to publish any comments they wish (and actually, you can see that most of them are positive to very positive about their visit in our museum) but your post on TripAdvisor is so abusive that in the present case, we feel an answer is required.
Facts actually occurred according to the timeline you give, except that the interpretation you provide is totally tendentious and biased.
As you wrote, at the time of your trip, the Memorial was calm, with limited attendance, and I was alone. When you arrived, I was commenting the battlefield in front of the bay windows.
Despite noticing I was on a tour and despite the rope barring the entrance to the paying part of the Memorial, you jumped in and interrupted the conference I was delivering to other tourists. I explained you calmly in French, then more insistently in English, that you had to wait.
The Memorial is conceived in such a way that the visits are guided tours, starting every 20 minutes. The visit is articulated around a central room displaying the evolution of the front lines, completed by the explanation of the battlefield in front of the bay window and an archive movie. There is no possibility for unguided wandering here and there without a guide.
Immediately after finishing the explanation in front of the bay windows, I came to you to explain that the visit was essentially a guided tour. You answered that you had no time, and that you wished to make an unguided tour, which is not possible, given the disposition of the exhibitions described above.
Realizing that you were frustrated, despite it was clearly not my intent, I proposed you to join the last stage of the started tour (the one you actually interrupted) to see the archive movie. As a gesture of goodwill and appeasement, I proposed you to join this tour for free – which you accepted. In this context, your comment that it was “not in kindness” and simply due to “unwillingness to either turn on the cashier or find change” is below all standards of education.
After the archive movie ended, you came to me, obviously trying to create an incident. You asked my name, photographed me, and burst into a torrent of abuse about me in particular and the French people in general, which generated astonishment and hindrance to the other people who waited for the visit.
I am guide and director of the Montormel Memorial for 16 years now I hosted over these years a lot of people, including a President of the Republic. Above all, I have had the opportunity to meet hundreds of veterans and I can assure you that none of them allowed themselves to enter the memorial without permission, much less to disrupt a visit. They have far too much education for this.
Written 11 September 2017
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
TIC09
Hardeeville, SC323 contributions
Oct 2013 • Couples
This is a small museum, but provides an excellent overview of the battle in August 1944 called the Falaise pocket. You start out standing around an electric map which discusses the events leading up to that time and the battle. I thought it might be hard to follow and a little old fashioned (all I kept thinking about was the old Electric Map in Gettysburg, PA). I was pleasantly surprised in that it was easy to follow and explained things very well. Once that was over, the curtains opened up and you could see the battleground. One of the people working there, then stepped into the room and gave us a very good explanation of what we were looking at.
The museum has a lot of artifacts from the battle. They are still finding things. In fact they discovered the remains of a German soldier just a few years ago while doing some work on the road near the driveway of the museum.
This is about a 90 minute drive from the landing beaches, but makes for a nice day combined with The chateau in Falaise. Falaise is a lovely town to walk around. If you have the time, I'd recommend you go, if only to realize that the fighting continued well beyond June 6th.
The museum has a lot of artifacts from the battle. They are still finding things. In fact they discovered the remains of a German soldier just a few years ago while doing some work on the road near the driveway of the museum.
This is about a 90 minute drive from the landing beaches, but makes for a nice day combined with The chateau in Falaise. Falaise is a lovely town to walk around. If you have the time, I'd recommend you go, if only to realize that the fighting continued well beyond June 6th.
Written 21 October 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
timbershifter
Bedfordshire, UK17 contributions
July 2018 • Friends
This is a part of the war you wont see at the movies. The film show and guides explain how the fleeing German Army were encircled and finally beaten in Normandy. As you look over the beautiful countryside its hard to imagine the scenes of total slaughter and carnage that took place all those years ago. It was also explained how the water supplies were contaminated for almost 10 years after the event due to the volume of rotting flesh of men and animals. If you think war is glamorous then pay this great little museum a visit and be prepared to be educated. Highly recommended.
Written 3 July 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John L
Calgary, Canada134 contributions
May 2015 • Friends
We almost bypassed this museum as we drove through the beautiful French countryside but we are very glad we did not. It is not the largest museum you will find in Normandy but it has an excellent multi-media diorama of the Falaise Pocket battles highlighting the critical roles of the Polish division and Canadian 2nd Corps. As well the museum is situated on a hill above the terrain encompassing the pocket, and a museum guide will help you pick out the specific villages, farms and rivers that influenced the battles.
Written 3 June 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SharCaff
Manchester, NH117 contributions
Unbelievable...if interested in WWII take the ride through some beautiful towns and roads to see this museum. Wonderful views of valley looking over Chambois. Lots of history on the Encirclement and the Corrider of death.
Written 16 May 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
weddingguests_8
Basse-Normandie, France16 contributions
May 2013 • Couples
A small but very interesting museum with both English or French guide. It is also overlooking beautiful rural countryside and it is hard to envisage the devastation which took place here during the WW2 offensive. Well worth a visit.
Written 11 March 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
nretiredBristol
bristol27 contributions
June 2013 • Couples
This is both a monument and a museum. Presentations are given at separate times in English french and I think polish. .you stand around a large diorama while the commentary describes the events and the locations light up. When this is finished the windows go back and you can look right across the valley. There are artefacts and a film presentation. Just as we were leaving the gentleman on reception asked if we wanted any more information, he then took us back to the viewing gallery and gave an even more graphic account adding lots of detail pointing out various buildings and answering our questions. You do not have to have an interest on WW2 to appreciate the events that took place here. If you are in the area pay it a visit.
Written 28 June 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello, I was sad to read your recent report on Mont Ormel. I had a similar experience with unpleasant staff and can only think that the problem comes from bad management. The lady who eventually allowed me in was very surly and unhelpful, and the man who I assumed was in charge never took any interest in my predicament. As you say, there is no reason why you have to have a guided tour. It was never an issue on my visit although I did take advantage of a very good tour guide. Did you take your complaint higher up? I really think that someone in authority should be aware of it as it appears to be an ongoing problem.
Written 16 July 2017
I am sorry to have learnt you had a similar experience - unfortunately I have not been able to take it to a higher level. However, I feel sure that those in control will sooner or later read the many poor reviews on TripAdvisor. Given the odd behaviour of the individual I don't believe it should take very long before the museum board realise their predicament....
It's a great shame....
Written 17 July 2017
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