William the Conqueror's capital and the Allies' most bitterly contested city — where the conqueror built a castle and two abbeys as penance for marrying his cousin, the 1944 battle lasted 77 days and killed 3,000 civilians, and the Mémorial de Caen is the finest WWII museum in France
Caen (110,000; metro 270,000) is the capital of Calvados in Normandy, 15km from the D-Day beaches — the city William the Conqueror made his administrative capital before the 1066 conquest of England. The Abbaye aux Hommes (Men's Abbey) and Abbaye aux Dames (Women's Abbey) were built by William and his wife Matilda as papal penance for marrying without dispensation; William's tomb is in the Abbaye aux Hommes. The Battle of Caen (June 6–August 21, 1944) was one of the longest battles of the Normandy campaign — the city was 75% destroyed; the Mémorial de Caen (opened 1988) is one of Europe's mos…
Caen was William's favourite residence from 1047 — he built the Château de Caen (1060), one of the largest medieval fortified enclosures in Europe, as his primary stronghold; the keep's ruins still dominate the city centre. William I died near Rouen in 1087 after a fall from his horse; his body was transported to the Abbaye aux Hommes but reportedly exploded during the ceremony due to decomposition, scattering onlookers. The city was captured by Henry I of England (1105), by the French (1204), briefly reoccupied by the English (1346, 1417), and returned permanently to France in 1450. The 1944…