Merville-Franceville-Plage () is a commune in the Calvados department in the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

in northwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Merville-Franceville-Plage, more usually called Franceville, is situated on the Côte Fleurie, 6 km from Cabourg and from

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. Merville Franceville is located on the right/east side of the ''Baie de l'Orne''. The back country is a plain, favourable to cereal cultivation and dairy cattle.

Population

Climate

The commune has a maritime climate : Winters are warm and summers rarely suffer from excessive heat.

Sights

*''Redoute de Merville'', fortification edified on Vauban's plans in 1779. Rediscovered by the occupying forces during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. *The Merville Gun Battery (''Batterie de Merville'') is an historic site situated on the eastern flank of the landing area codenamed

Sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

. Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway, and the 9th Parachute Battalion, neutralized the German battery during the Battle of Merville Gun Battery on 6 June prior to the beach landings.

Tourism

Merville Franceville is attractive for families, thanks to the various beach activities and excursions in the back-country. This town is famous for being a good spot for

kite surfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...

Twin towns

* Clyst St. Mary,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

* Merville, British Columbia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

References

Photos

Image:Mairie de Merville-Franceville.jpg, Town hall Image:MF01.jpg, seafront Image:Low tide at Merville-Franceville-Plage.jpg, low tide Image:MF03.jpg, footpath to the beach Image:MF04.JPG, miniature golf Image:Gare de Merville-Franceville 26-06-06.jpg, former railway station now solicitor office

External links

* (fr-en
Tourist Office Website
* (fr-en
City council website
Communes of Calvados (department) Seaside resorts in France Calvados communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Lisieux-geo-stub