16 Facts About Caen

Caen is located in the centre of its northern region, and it is a centre of political, economic and cultural power.

Caen succeeded Bayeux as the capital of Lower Normandy, complementing the second ducal capital of Rouen.

Caen has a large flood zone, named "La prairie", located around the hippodrome, not far from the river Orne, which is regularly submerged.

Castle, Chateau de Caen, built circa 1060 by William the Conqueror, who successfully conquered England in 1066, is one of the largest medieval fortresses of Western Europe.

At Christmas 1182, a royal court celebration for Christmas in the aula of Caen Castle brought together Henry II and his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland, receiving more than a thousand knights.

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In 1990, the agglomeration of Caen was organized into a district, transformed in 2002 into a Communaute d'agglomeration, gathers 29 towns and villages, including Villons-les-Buissons, Lion-sur-Mer, Hermanville-sur-Mer, which joined the Communaute d'agglomeration in 2004.

Caen gave its name to a 10th canton, of which it was not part.

Twisto is the urban transport network of Caen Including about sixty bus lines and 3 tramway lines.

Caen had several main and branch railway lines linking Caen railway station to all parts of Normandy with lines to Paris, Vire, Flers, Cabourg, Houlgate, Deauville, Saint-Lo, Bayeux and Cherbourg.

Caen is served by the large port of Ouistreham, lying at the mouth of the Caen Canal where it meets the English Channel.

Caen is connected to the rest of France by motorways to Paris, Brittany and Southern France and to Le Mans and central France .

Theatre de Caen is the home of the Baroque musical ensemble Les Arts Florissants.

From 1947 to 2006, Caen was a stage of the Tour de France a total of 15 times.

In 2014, Caen was the location of the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games.

Today, Caen has no motto, but it used to have one, which did not survive the French Revolution.

Caen has an oceanic climate that is somewhat ameliorated due to its slightly inland position.