Carpiquet is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Calvados

Calvados

The French department of Calvados is part of the region of Basse-Normandie in Normandy. It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the English Channel coast...

 department in the Basse-Normandie

Basse-Normandie

Lower Normandy is an administrative region of France. It was created in 1956, when the Normandy region was divided into Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy...

 region

Régions of France

France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...

 in northwestern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. Caen – Carpiquet Airport is located in Carpiquet.

Geography

Carpiquet is on the western side of the Caen

Caen

Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....

 metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

. The town is divided into four distinct areas:

• the town centre;
• the commercial area along the Ligne de Paris - Caen
  Ligne de Paris - Caen
  The railway from Mantes-la-Jolie to Cherbourg is an important French 228-kilometre long railway line, that connects Mantes-la-Jolie, a western suburb of Paris, with the northwestern port city Cherbourg via Caen. At Mantes-la-Jolie, the railway line is connected with the Paris–Le Havre railway...
  
   and Route nationale 13
  Route nationale 13
  The N13 is a trunk road in France between Paris and Cherbourg.-Paris to Évreux, km 0 to km 91:The road begins at Porte Maillot, one of former gates in West Paris', in direct alignment with the Champs-Élysées. Continuing on this alignment, the road reaches La Défense after crossing the River Seine....
  
   to the north;
• the Bellevue area to the east;
• the Caen - Carpiquet Airport
  Caen - Carpiquet Airport
  Caen la Mer Airport or Aéroport de Caen la Mer is an airport located in Carpiquet and 6 km west of Caen, both communes of the Calvados département in the Basse-Normandie région of France....
  
   to the west.

History

The Carpiquet Airport was one of the objectives of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division

3rd Canadian Infantry Division

The Canadian 3rd Infantry Division was an infantry division of the Canadian Army from 1940 to c.1945.- History :The formation of the division was authorized on 17 May 1940...

 during the Normandy Campaign. The village was fought over between June and July 1944 in several battles, notably during the Battle for Caen

Battle for Caen

The Battle for Caen from June-August 1944 was a battle between Allied and German forces during the Battle of Normandy....

. It and the airport were finally taken in early July during Operation Windsor

Operation Windsor

Operation Windsor was a Canadian offensive launched as part of the Battle of Normandy during the Second World War. Taking place on 4–5 July 1944, the attack was undertaken by the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division in an attempt to capture the Norman town of Carpiquet and the adjacent airfield from...

.

Population

Attractions

• Parc Festyland
  Parc Festyland
  Parc Festyland is a relative small theme park situated within the Caen ringroad in Lower Normandy, France. Sometimes referred to as residing in Carpiquet in terms of Greater Caen, the theme park receives approximately 110,000 visitors a year...
  
  , an amusement park in Carpiquet. The park lies next to the Caen
  Caen
  Caen is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the Calvados department and the capital of the Basse-Normandie region. It is located inland from the English Channel....
  
   ring road and receives 110,000 visitors per year.

Economy

Chalair Aviation

Chalair Aviation

Chalair Aviation, previously Chalair, is an airline with its head office on the grounds of Caen – Carpiquet Airport in Carpiquet, France...

, an airline, has its head office on the grounds of Caen – Carpiquet Airport in Carpiquet.