Caen has been shaped above all by two men separated by nine centuries: William the Conqueror, who built this city as his capital and left two great abbeys that still define the skyline, and Eisenhower, whose troops bombed it nearly flat in the summer of 1944. What survived is extraordinary; what was rebuilt is instructive.
The Château de Caen, William's fortress at the heart of the city, is the best place to start. Its walls enclose two excellent museums — the Musée des Beaux-Arts and the Musée de Normandie — and the castle grounds can be visited for free. Just downhill, the Abbaye aux Hommes is where William is buried; the Abbaye aux Dames, his wife Matilda's foundation, stands across town.
For the Second World War, the Mémorial de Caen on the northern edge of the city is one of the best war museums in France — emotionally serious, historically rigorous, and essential for anyone heading to the D-Day beaches. The Église Saint-Pierre, a Gothic church with an elaborate Renaissance apse, survived the war and is worth a stop in the old quarter near the castle.
The Vaugueux neighbourhood, with its half-timbered houses and restaurant-lined streets, is the most atmospheric corner of the rebuilt city and good for an evening wander.