Bayeux
Medieval Norman Town, Home Of The Bayeux Tapestry (UNESCO Memory Of The World) And The First French Town Liberated In June 1944 · Bayeux, Normandy
Bayeux is a small market town in the Calvados countryside of Normandy, a few kilometres inland from the Channel coast, and one of the best preserved old towns in the region. It is famous for the Bayeux Tapestry, the long embroidered cloth from the eleventh century that tells the story of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Be aware that the Tapestry museum closed for a major renovation, and the Tapestry itself was scheduled to go on loan to the British Museum in London around 2026 and 2027, so confirm where it is before planning a trip around it. The town is still worth the visit: a huge Norman-Gothic cathedral with a Romanesque crypt, timber-framed and stone houses, and water mills along the little river Aure. Bayeux was the first sizeable French town liberated after D-Day, on 7 June 1944, and came through the war almost undamaged. The Commonwealth War Cemetery and a museum of the Battle of Normandy stand on the ring road, and the landing beaches are a short drive north.
Centre and cathedral, Bayeux, Calvados, Bayeux, Normandy, France
The streets, the riverside paths along the Aure and the squares of the old town are open at all hours, and the cathedral is normally open daily from morning to early evening, with shorter hours in winter and access limited during services, weddings and funerals; the crypt and treasury may only be seen at certain times or on guided visits, so confirm locally. The Tapestry museum closed for a long renovation and the Tapestry was due to travel to the British Museum for an exhibition around 2026 and 2027, with a new museum planned in Bayeux afterwards; check the current situation before you go, because many visitors still arrive expecting to see it. The Battle of Normandy museum and the town's art and history museum usually open every day in the main season and close for part of winter, often in January; confirm each. The Commonwealth War Cemetery is open at all times without charge. Markets are traditionally held on Wednesday and Saturday mornings, and around the 6 June anniversary and in July and August hotels fill early and car parks are busy.