Bayeux, Medieval town in Normandy, France
Bayeux is a town in Normandy in northwestern France, roughly ten kilometers from the English Channel coast. The old town preserves a medieval street pattern with half-timbered houses from the 15th and 16th centuries around the Gothic cathedral of Notre-Dame.
The Romans established a settlement here in the 1st century, which became a Norman bishopric in the Middle Ages. In June 1944, the town was spared from bombing and was liberated as the first French town after the Normandy landings.
The 11th-century tapestry stitched on linen stretches nearly 70 meters and shows scenes of the Norman conquest in embroidered panels. Visitors today follow this narrative work through a purpose-built museum in the town center.
The tourism office near the cathedral distributes maps of the old town and gives information on accommodation and guided tours in several languages. Most sights lie within walking distance of each other inside the compact historic core.
General de Gaulle delivered his first speech on French soil after the liberation on 14 June 1944 in the Place du Château. The Maison du Baron Gérard in the old bishop's palace displays archaeological finds and regional lace-making side by side.
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