Calvados (UK: /ˈkælvədɒs/, US: /-doʊs, ˌkælvəˈdoʊs, ˌkɑːlvəˈ-/, French: [kalvados] ⓘ)[needs Norman IPA] is a department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

[4] Calvados is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, in application of the law of 22 December 1789.

One popular legend ascribes its etymology to the Salvador, a ship from the Spanish Armada that sank by the rocks near Arromanches-les-bains in 1588.

It is more likely, however, that the name Calvados was derived from calva dorsa, meaning bare backs, in reference to two sparsely vegetated rocks off its shore.

The most notable places in Calvados include Deauville and the formerly elegant 19th-century casino resorts along the coast.

The President of the Departmental Council is the centrist Jean-Léonce Dupont, the former dominant figure of the right and centre in the department.

Calvados is one of the most visited areas in France because of its seaside resorts which are among the most prestigious in France with their luxurious hotels, casinos, green countryside, manors, castles, the quiet, the chalk cliffs, the typical Norman houses, the history of William the Conqueror, Caen, Bayeux, Lisieux, the famous D-day beaches and numerous museums about the Second World War.

One of the advantage of Calvados is to be fairly near large urban centers (Paris, Ile de France).