Musée du Mur de l'Atlantique - Batterie Todt

Museum near Boulogne-sur-Mer

CC BY-SA 2.0 / Deep darkness

The Musée du Mur de l'Atlantique – Batterie Todt is a fascinating World War II museum located in Audinghen, near Cap Gris-Nez, France. It is housed within Turm I, one of the massive bunkers that formed part of the Batterie Todt, a coastal artillery battery built by Nazi Germany in 1940. The battery was strategically positioned at the narrowest point of the English Channel, allowing its 380mm naval guns to fire across to the British coast. The museum provides a deep dive into the history of the Atlantic Wall, the extensive fortifications constructed by the Germans to defend against Allied invasions.

Inside the museum, visitors can explore the original firing chamber, which has been transformed into an exhibition space. The collection includes uniforms, weapons, ammunition, photographs, and even vehicles used during the war. A walkway has been built to allow visitors to safely navigate the enormous bunker, which has a 29-meter diameter firing chamber and an 11-meter-high ceiling. The museum also showcases the life of German soldiers stationed at the battery, with displays detailing their daily routines and the construction of the fortifications by Organisation Todt, the Nazi engineering group responsible for building the Atlantic Wall.

One of the most impressive exhibits outside the museum is the Krupp K5 railway gun, a massive 280mm artillery piece used by the Germans during the war. The museum also features scale models of the Batterie Todt bunkers, allowing visitors to understand the sheer scale of these fortifications. The site is privately owned and has been carefully preserved to offer an authentic experience of wartime history. The museum provides a unique perspective on the German coastal defenses and their role in the conflict.

What Other Travellers Say...

Reviews Summary

4.6 (4,181)

Museum of the Atlantic Wall at Batterie Todt, Batterie Todt, hameau de Haringzelle, 566 route du musée, 62179 Audinghen, France, is housed in a large German bunker and presents World War II displays focused on troop life with uniforms, weapons and original equipment; visitors praise its extensive collection and the atmospheric, unpolished presentation, note the huge external K5/280mm railway gun and nearby similar battery ruins you can explore, and report friendly, helpful staff, free parking, restrooms and an adult admission of €8.50 while suggesting the indoor exhibits could benefit from more modern audiovisual storytelling.

Herr Merlin

3 months ago

"Very nice museum with an astonishing collection. One can only imagine what kind of amazing engineering the Germans where once capable of. Really bigcollection. Must visit if you are within the region...."

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Gary Kamermans

6 months ago

"I had the privilege and the honor of visiting the museum in October 2024. It was an amazing visit, it was a bit emotional and a little overwhelmingbut very good. Well set up, excellent and friendly staff, lots of history and very educational. Would highly recommend visiting. My only regret, I couldn't stay longer to visit the area more...."

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rt159ts

5 months ago

"It's an interesting museum on an impressive topic. The size of the guns inside once must have been immense. What is even more impressive is thatthere are several almost identical ruins of similar batteries nearby. Although these are a bit dangerous to visit, you can go inside. Back to the museum itself. It is a rather static display and could benefit from some modern audio visual displays as well as more modern storytelling...."

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The Musée du Mur de l'Atlantique - Batterie Todt appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Calais!

Moira & Andy

Hey! We're Moira & Andy. From hiking the Camino to trips around Europe in Bert our campervan — we've been traveling together since retirement in 2020!

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