Bayeux

Bayeux is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in north-western France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the oldest surviving complete tapestries in the world. Bayeux is located seven kilometres from the coast of La Manche and 30 km north-west of Caen. The city, with elevations varying from 32 to 67 meters above sea level – with an average of 46 meters above sea level – is bisected by the river Aure. Bayeux is located at the crossroads of RN 13 and the train route Paris-Caen-Cherbourg. The city is the capital of the Bessin, which extends north-west of Calvados.

Bayeux is a major tourist attraction, best known to British and French visitors for the Bayeux tapestry, made to commemorate events in the Norman Conquest of England in1066. The tapestry was made by Reine Mathilde, wife of William the Conqueror, and may have been woven in England. It is displayed in a museum in the town centre. The large Norman-Romanesque Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux, consecrated in 1077, was arguably the original home of the tapestry. The Jardin botanique de Bayeux is a botanical garden dating from 1864.

Bayeux is known for two famous trans-Channel invasions. The conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066 started from Bayeux, while on June 6th, 1944 the Allied D-Day (French: Jour-J) invasion force struck the beaches just north of the town. Bayeux was the first French town to be liberated from Nazi occupation during the 1944 Battle of Normandy and survived almost completely unscathed. On 16 June 1946 General Charles de Gaulle made his first important speech on liberated French soil in Bayeux. The town hosts the largest British war cemetery in Normandy and is an excellent base for visiting the Normandy beaches.

Most of the town can be navigated by foot after arriving at the train station, even with a wheeled suitcase. The 'downtown', a ten minute walk from the train station, mostly lines the main street which seemed to change names a few times as it goes along. Streets are narrow and uneven and often cobblestone or similar, so bring comfortable footwear (especially if going on local expedition tours -- see below for more information).

The Bayeux Cathedral towers over the entire town, and is interesting to circle around outside and explore inside. The exterior is surrounded by the occasional helpful informational signage on stone or wood blocks, each explaining aspects of the church's construction or architectural features. The interior has some excellent views of the architecture, statues and murals, and there are several (empty) crypts you can visit beneath the church. Open for touring during the daytime hours (when no church services are in session), and definitely worth a visit.

Internet access in Bayeux was sparse and hard to find. The only places to access the net were advised to be at the central local tourist bureau (located roughly in the center of town, on the main winding cobblestone street), or at a nearby Novotel hotel for great expense (also unconfirmed). Hotel D'Argouges (see below) now states on their website that they have internet access, but this was not present in Summer 2007. Plan accordingly for your needs.