About

A company created
for this project.

The D-Day Boat Tours is operated by a maritime services company created in 2026 specifically for this activity, at Arromanches-les-Bains. Legal form: SAS (French simplified joint-stock company), pending registration. The company is held by three partners: Olivier Normand, Nelly Depardieu and a third shareholder.

The intent of the structure is to deliver the maritime reading of the D-Day landings as a professional, regulated tourism service: French flag, vessel compliant with passenger regulations, qualified crew, wheelchair-accessible boarding, ticketing handled by the local Tourist Office.

The vessel

L'Archimède is the vessel assigned to the activity. It is an amphibious passenger boat built in 1992 by Établissements Proteau in Aigrefeuille (Charente-Maritime). Aluminium hull, 11.86 m × 4.60 m. French flag, port of registry Cherbourg, coastal navigation, commerce category.

Operational capacity 43 passengers per tour, wheelchair-accessible. The contained capacity allows a genuine human-voice reading of the landscape and the history, rather than mass broadcast, while remaining suitable for organised groups (schools, memorial associations, travel agents).

Source: francisation certificate no. 827110, Cherbourg Customs Bureau (first registered 22 May 1992). Technical inspection in progress for the 2026 season.

Leadership

Olivier Normand and Nelly Depardieu co-found the company. They also run, as partners, Compagnie Maritime DNO, which has operated the Manche Iles Express ferry service to the Channel Islands since 2022 — and it is that experience of passenger operations in tide-and-wind conditions that makes this project possible. The D-Day Boat Tours is a distinct activity from Manche Iles Express: separate company, separate vessel, separate team.

Why this tour exists

No operator currently offers a structured maritime activity at the D-Day landing beaches. The remains of the artificial harbour at Arromanches — the Phoenix caissons, the floating Beetles, the sunken roadway sections — cannot be properly read from the beach. A large share of the original elements remain offshore.

The D-Day Boat Tours will offer this maritime reading in a bilingual short format compatible with a one-day memorial visit to Arromanches. Ticketing will be handled by the local Tourist Office (Bayeux-Bessin Tourisme), which will coordinate with the other memorial sites in the sector.

Institutional and tourism partners

The project is built in cooperation with the public and tourism stakeholders of the territory:

  • Mayors' offices of Arromanches-les-Bains and Tracy-sur-Mer
  • Bayeux Intercom and Bayeux-Bessin Tourism
  • Calvados Attractivité and the Calvados Département
  • Région Normandie and Normandy Tourism
  • D-Day Landing Museum at Arromanches and Arromanches 360°

This tour also operates against the backdrop of the candidacy of the D-Day landing beaches for UNESCO World Heritage status, with the decision expected during the summer of 2026.

2026-2028 trajectory

2026 is a three-month pilot season (11 July to 20 September) intended to validate the business model and the operation. From 2027, the activity targets an extended season from April to September, with the development of local partnerships and the group market. By 2028, the deployment of a hybrid or electric amphibious vessel of 60 passengers is envisaged, to align transport capacity and environmental footprint with the requirements of the site.

Contact

The D-Day Boat Tours
Arromanches-les-Bains, France
[email protected] (activation in progress)

The company's phone number and full postal address will be published once registration is finalised.