Bayeux, France

Bayeux, France

Scene from the Bayeux Tapestry in Bayeux, France

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Bayeux Travel Guide

Introduction

Bayeux is mostly famous for the Bayeux Tapestry which fairly recounts the historic events leading up to the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Originally housed in the large, 11th-century Gothic Notre-Dame de Bayeux, it now resides in the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in the town center. In any event, the town itself is quite lovely, with some 60 handsome stone-and-wood mansions, dating from the 15th century on, scattered all over town, and with an historic core that is small enough to meander around and discover on foot. The town center is actually quite colorful and lively, draped in banners and bustling with tourists popping in and out of the small, quirky shops and offbeat fashion boutiques. There are good options for dining too. And lest we forget, Bayeux is also significant as the first city to be liberated in the Battle of Normandy in World War II, with a cemetery devoted entirely to the fallen British soldiers.

Location

Bayeux is situated on the River Aure in Normandy in northern France, just 4 miles (7 km) from the coast and thus the English Channel.

How to Get There

Sightseeing

Neighborhoods

How to Get Around

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Where to Party

Essential Information

Nearby Destinations

How to Get There

Sightseeing

Bayeux's principal draw is of course its Tapestry Museum which hard to mis and which gets special attention from British visitors. Besides which, the picturesque, 11th-century Bayeux Cathedral offers in itself a fabulous example of Norman-Romanesque-Gothic architecture, while the 19th-century botanical gardens, Jardin botanique de Bayeux, lend another perspective to the visitor. There is also a unique memorial here – one dedicated to all the journalists killed while reporting, with a manifest of 1,889 names of journalists who lost their lives between 1944 and 2007.

Main Neighborhoods