scenic viewpoint
Suisse Normande
A miniature Alps of green gorges and rocky bluffs along the River Orne, beloved by drivers and climbers.
19 km · about 20 min drive
EuropeFranceNormandy
Falaise
Normandy, France · Europe
About Falaise
Falaise is worth a stop: 15 minutes from Potigny, 59km from D-Day Beaches Coastal Road (D514).
Falaise is in Normandy, France, with about 9,100 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Potigny, about 9 km away.
The Falaise pocket or battle of the Falaise pocket (German: Kessel von Falaise; 12–21 August 1944) was the decisive engagement of the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. Allied forces formed a pocket around Falaise, Calvados, in which German Army Group B, consisting of the 7th Army and the Fifth Panzer ArmyRead more
(formerly Panzergruppe West), were encircled by the Western Allies. The battle resulted in the destruction of most of Army Group B west of the Seine, which opened the way to Paris and the Franco-German border.
Six weeks after the 6 June 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy, German forces were in turmoil, having expended irreplaceable resources defending the frontline and with Allied air superiority threatening the availability of food and ammunition. However, on the Allied side, British forces had expected to liberate Caen immediately after the invasion, an operation which ended up taking nearly two months, and US forces had expected to control Saint-Lô by 7 June, yet German resistance delayed this until after Caen's liberation.
The Allied armies developed a multi-stage operation, beginning with Operation Goodwood on 18 July, and continuing with Operation Cobra on 25 July, which saw American forces pushing into a gap around Saint-Lô and overwhelming the defending German forces. On 1 August, Lieutenant General George S. Patton was named the commanding officer of the newly recommissioned US Third Army, which included large segments of the force that had broken through the German lines. The Third Army quickly pushed south and then east, meeting little resistance. Concurrently, the British/Canadian troops pushed south in Operation Bluecoat, attempting to keep the German armour engaged. Four depleted panzer divisions were insufficient to defeat the First US Army, driving the Germans deeper into the Allied envelopment.
On 8 August, Allied ground forces commander General Bernard Montgomery ordered the Allied armies to converge on the Falaise–Chambois area to envelop Army Group B, with the First US Army forming the southern arm, the British the base, and the Canadians the northern arm of the encirclement. The Germans began to withdraw on 17 August, and on 19 August the Allies linked up in Chambois. German counter-attacks forced gaps in the Allied lines, the most significant of which was a corridor forced past the 1st Polish Armoured Division on Hill 262, a commanding position at the pocket mouth. By the evening of 21 August, the pocket had been sealed, with an estimated 50,000 Germans trapped inside. Approximately 20–50,000 German troops managed to escape the pocket before it was closed. The Allied Liberation of Paris came a few days later, and on 30 August the remnants of Army Group B retreated across the Seine, completing Operation Overlord.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is there to see near Falaise?
Within an hour or so of Falaise: Suisse Normande (19 km), Deauville Beach (55 km), Bayeux Tapestry Museum (56 km), Bayeux Cathedral (56 km).
Are there any good drives near Falaise?
The nearest famous roads are D-Day Beaches Coastal Road (D514) and Rouen-Les-Essarts.
Where is Falaise?
Falaise is in Normandy, France, about 9 km from Potigny.
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Quick Information
- Population
- 9,107
- Continent
- Europe
- Country
- France
- Region
- Normandy
- Timezone
- Europe/Paris
- Coordinates
- 48.8922, -0.1953
Emergency & Services
Essential numbers in France
Carrying a warning triangle and hi-vis vest in your vehicle is mandatory. Motorway emergency phones connect to official breakdown services only.
Full driving guide for FranceTags
Worth the detour from Falaise
5 notable places within an hour's drive.
beach
Deauville Beach
Glamorous Belle Époque seaside resort with parasol-dotted sands and the famous wooden boardwalk.
55 km · about 65 min drive
museum
Bayeux Tapestry Museum
Home to the extraordinary 70-meter-long medieval embroidery depicting the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
56 km · about 65 min drive
cathedral
Bayeux Cathedral
A soaring Norman-Gothic cathedral in the first town liberated in 1944, home town of the famous tapestry.
56 km · about 65 min drive
coastal drive
D-Day Beaches Coastal Road (D514)
The coast road threading the five 1944 landing beaches from Utah to Sword, past Arromanches' Mulberry harbour remains, gun batteries and memorials: Normandy's essential remembrance drive.
59 km · about 70 min drive
Driving roads near Falaise
- 19 kmSuisse NormandeA miniature Alps of green gorges and rocky bluffs along the River Orne, beloved by drivers and climbers.
- 59 kmD-Day Beaches Coastal Road (D514)The coast road threading the five 1944 landing beaches from Utah to Sword, past Arromanches' Mulberry harbour remains, gun batteries and memorials: Normandy's essential remembrance drive.
- 69 kmPont de NormandieA soaring cable-stayed bridge leaping 2 km across the Seine estuary between Le Havre and Honfleur; on opening in 1995 its 856 m main span was the longest of its kind in the world.
Driving in France
- Drives on
- the right
- Petrol
- ~€1.85/litre
- Motorway tolls
- ~€10.00/100km
When to drive here
April to October
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