Caen is a commune in France’s northwestern region. It is the Calvados department’s prefecture. Caen is the biggest city in old Lower Normandy, with a population of 108,365 (as of 2012) and a population of 420,000 in its metropolitan area. It is also the second biggest municipality in Normandy, behind Le Havre, and the third largest city proper in Normandy, following Rouen and Le Havre. Caen’s metropolitan area, in turn, is the second biggest in Normandy after Rouen’s, and the 21st largest in France.
It lies 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) inland from the English Channel, two hours north-west of Paris, and is linked to the south of England by the Caen-(Ouistreham)-Portsmouth ferry route. Caen is a center of political, economic, and cultural influence in the region’s northern hemisphere. Caen, located a few miles from the coast, the landing beaches, the lively resorts of Deauville and Cabourg, Norman Switzerland, and Pays d’Auge, is generally seen as the Normandy archetype.
Caen is famous for its historical structures constructed during the time of William the Conqueror, who was buried there, and for the Battle for Caen—heavy combat that occurred in and around Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, devastating most of the city. The city has since maintained the legacy by establishing the Memorial de Caen, a memorial and museum devoted to peace.
