la coupole

The complex is like a secret James Bond lair and seems unreal at first. The museum and the exhibition though show that the building of this amazing facility cost lives and ultimately was a futile task.The only reason this does not get 5 stars is that I felt quite a bit of the exhibition was often repeated unnecessarily. Overall this is a good place to visit and showed the wonders of Human invention but also the misery this can also bring.

Once inside the dome you expect to hear the words "I have been expecting you.....". This place is concrete pouring on a huge scale - but bear in mind the situation in which thousands of forced workers lived and died to complete this (thankfully unused) structure. This remains one of the most potent reminders of the legacy of Nazi technology. Werner von Braun was spirited away by the Americans after his capture and set to work developing US missiles post war. This evolved eventually into the Saturn V rocket and men on the moon. History literally unfolds here.

Excellent attraction to visit as part of a day trip to France as 30 mins drive from Calais. A good 2 hours is needed for the museum. We were cut short by a delayed channel crossing. Fascinating for those interested in WW2 and great to hear about this from a French perspective. We combined it with a visit to the Planaterium.

Went with 10yr old son. He's doing ww2 at school. We hardly ever see events from the perspective of the French. Couple is brilliantly renovated, the bunker is an extraordinary testimony to mans resilience and capacity to do do evil. The museum has some horrific images that they keep in a zone and advise parents to keep their children away. Sensible. My soul is still sobbing from the atrocities pictured in here. The whole place is managed to help those that need quiet reflection and space to think. It manages to do this whilst still being a good place for a small boy to see bombs and bits of war related parafanalia. A good 2 hours for a visit. It has a good cafe that makes a decent crepe. And it has a decent souvenier shop. Is about 30mins drive from Calais. And is close to a hypermarket. So possible to go here on a day trip.

A very interesting museum. Daunting! Had a very engaging and informative visit and definitely recommend. As a History nerd; I loved it! Make sure you look at the map carefully tho. ...We managed to do the exhibit backwards (still v good though).Only downsides... 1.It was very cold but there isn't any way to solve thst due to the construction if the bunker. 2. Personal one. ..I did not like the audio tour. Simple in theory but it gave me a headache.

Visited with the family as part of a day trip to France, as it is only 1/2 an hour by car south of Calais. I have always been fascinated by V1 & V2 rockets, this was an opportunity to see both up close, while not being too much to bore the family.We were surprised at the enormity of the underground complex together with the exhibition beneath the 'Dome'. Lots of reading about the German occupation during the war, D-Day, French Resistance and the slave labor used to build the complex. A first hand experience of just what the British people were subjected to in the last war. Spent approx 3 hours there.Downside, we found the headsets somewhat temperamentalA good place of interest just a short drive from Calais, while still giving time for lunch in Saint-Omer and shopping at Citie Europe.

This WWII museum was really interesting and the exhibitions were information packed and the photographs and exhibits were poignant and haunting.

I visited here twice last year, the first time was only for 45 minutes in May so returned on the way back from touring in August. I think that's one of its real benefits, not only is it really interesting and an insight into how different the war (& London) could have been if they were successful, but it's an ideal rest spot on the way to or from calais as its so close, and better than sitting in calais waiting for your ferry/train!The parking is free and there is a cafe inside I think it was only 10 euro for the audio tour which automatically picks up the broadcasts from the markers you point at which seemed really good value. As my title mentioned, the dome is massive, the labour used to construct it would have been phenomenal, and the technology used to built the v2 rockets advanced modern travel. There are other models inside explaining the history of the site and the v1 rocket too. Really glad I stopped, it's an eye opener as to the devastation these were to bring, especially coming from London to think how the the war would have affected my family living through those times.

Having lived through the time of the v-weapons, though fortunately only experienced through radio and cinema news. It was quite a sobering visit, to see what had been built, to try to further the ambition of Hitler. How many lives were lost in the forced labour construction of such places? The snack bar did provide a decent coffee, we were not requiring more. Cannot report on the planetarium aspect, as we made our visit on route to a ferry port, so time was not unlimited. There seemed to be plenty of parking, though we were possibly not there at one of the busiest times of year.

The museum tells the story of the V-bombs (mostly V1 and V2, very little about V3) and the war in the region of Nord-Pas-De-Calais in an interactive way. Very interesting.We though missed information on the construction of the coupole itself, and what it's made for, why they made it there, how long the construction works took, why they used so much concrete, how they organised the logistics, ...

I've been here twice and it's a good visit. The purpose of this place was to rain terror on England and thankfully it was never used.but you have to admire the ingenuity of construction. I don't mean using slave labour and the terrible, disgusting conditions that workers toiled and died in, but the determination to build such a montrous edifice to war.You can take an audio tour or not - the tour adds a little bit to the experience, but not a great deal. There's exhibitions and video presentations all designed to remind you how awful war is and what a horrendus bunch te Nazis were.The gift shop is overpriced, badly stocked and has almost no local ware.The cafe requires a mortgage! But if you're visiting a place to be educated, giftshops and cafes are secondary.Well worth a visit - allow 3 hours. It's well signposted on all main routes...

Given the history of WW2 and the V1/V2 development this museum offered very little of interest to me other than the actual concrete bunker construction itself. It definitely was not value for money.

Found this quite an interesting visit, with history and information about the actual site, but also they have other exhibitions through the year on other subjects, currently there is a display on D-Day and the liberation of France....Decent range of exhibits associated with the site, also information video of about 1/2Hr on the V1 / V2 rocket programme.The planetarium also has 3d movie shown 3-4 times a day (currently about D-Day).It was quite a cold day when we visited, most of the displays are underground, but it was still chilly, so probably best to wrap up warm for any visit....Would recommend allowing at least 2-3Hrs for your visit, especially if you want to take in the Planetarium (which is an extra cost).Worth checking out http://www.lacoupole-france.co.uk/ for more information.

The museum shows it like it was. Impressed with the exhibits, and the very professional staff.Reasonable value for money.

About 4 miles from St Omer and well sign posted. This is a fantastic opportunity to visit a World War 2 site. The building itself houses a range of different exhibits, including a number of video feeds. There are two themes 1) World War 2 ..........this includes a superb 30 minute film which is very thought provoking for any Brit who (like me) has only ever really been taught about the war from a British perspective. I learnt so much and have come away keen to find out more.2) The V1 and V2 rockets. Also fascinatingHOWEVERMy visit was spoilt by the rather poor quality headsets which are issued free for translation of films and commentaries into English. Basically the headset automatically picks up the feed from each station as you pass it and plays it, but if you turn your head, look away or down (at an exhibit!) the thing stops. Or worse still it starts playing a different commentary from a nearby exhibit. Very very poor and quite frustrating. I would have happily paid a couple of euros for something more robust and better thought out.A different headset was provided in the planetarium and thankfully this was excellent. For planetarium read 3D cinema...the film shown varies during the day so if you want to see something particular it would be as well to phone ahead and plan your visit accordingly. I would allow 3 hours for a visit and remember to dress warm as the coupole itself is very cold.