Vire

Vire is in Calvados department, Normandy, southwest of Caen.

Understand

Vire is somewhat inland of where the D-Day landings took place in June, 1944. The British liberated the town in mid-July after heavy fighting; the place was mostly destroyed but has long since been rebuilt.

Tourist information

• Vire tourism website

Get in

By train

• 1 Vire station (Gare de Vire). SNCF trains from Paris (Montparnasse) and Granville. (updated Feb 2025)

By car

From Paris, take the A13 motorway to Caen and then the A84 motorway towards Rennes (30 km west of Caen - exit no. 42).

From Rennes, take the A84 motorway, exit no. 42.

By bus

Les Bus Verts du Calvados: line n°32 Caen-Vire.

By plane

Caen Carpiquet Airport is 50 km from Vire.

See

The 12th-century fortifications of the medieval town are still partly visible in the town rebuilt after 1944:(Porte Horloge, Porte Saint-Sauveur, Tour aux Raines, Tour de Coulonces, Tour de Geôle, Tour de la Douve.

Eat

• 1 La Table Viroise, Rue d'Aigneaux 4, ☏ +33 2 31 68 00 35. Lunch M-F, dinner M-Sa. Great French food. menu from €18. (updated Feb 2025)