The Longues-sur-Mer batterie high on the cliffs to the east of Arromanches-les-Bains needs little introduction as it's one of the most-visitied WW2 sites in Normandy.
This is largely thanks to its four huge and accessible casemates of which three retain their original 150mm Naval guns in place. The site is also the location of a huge M262, multi-level observation and fire control bunker - a huge construction which was used for some of the pre-Allied-landing scenes in the Hollywood movie 'The Longest Day'.
This site was nearing completion on D-Day and while the FCP was built, it was still to be connected to the communications which linked the four casemates.

The four casemates are all of the M272 design with a large gun room and two ammunition rooms behind with a protected rear entrance. With a range of 20km, these guns traded blows with Allied ships on June 6, 1944. The gun in the most easterly casemate is reported to have been previously damaged in pre-D-Day bombardments and the casemate is thought to have been destroyed following its capture by British forces in an accidental explosion although there are varying stories to the actual incident.

The three remaining casemates are all accessible - although the ammo rooms have been gated off since 2020 - and this gives the visitor the opportunity to get behind the guns to see them close up. Some are in a better condition than the others as they look to have taken rounds to the shields and have suffered the onset of rust.

As well as the four large casemates and the FCP you can explore ammo stores, anti-aircraft positions, and several defensive Tobruks, including one for a mortar.

Following a stormy winter in Normandy, and several cliff falls along this stretch of coastline, the decision was taken to close off the front of the FCP to visitors in early 2023. The rest of the FCP remains open to the public.