Best What to See in Bayeux France 2023

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Greetings, Internet Stranger! I’m Stella Jane, author of the travel guide Get Lost, and welcome to a perfect one day of what to see in Bayeux France. Bayeux, a small city in the Norman region of France, is probably the only city in the world that is mostly famous for a piece of fabric. Specifically, the Bayeux Tapestry that depicts the Norman conquest of England back in 1066.

Well, on this one day of what to see in Bayeux France, we will absolutely learn all about the Bayeux Tapestry. After all, it might be the only piece of fabric in the world that has a museum entirely dedicated to it. But there’s so much more to see in Bayeux than old Tapestry Jones.

There’s a gorgeous and historical cathedral, there are other fantastic museums, and there’s amazing food. After all Miss, this is France, and a dinner here is never second best, as a candlestick once told me. A day of loveliness awaits, so follow me.

what to see in Bayeux France

Since it’s such a famous attraction, I must insist that for the beginning of our one day of what to see in Bayeux France, we stop in at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum. There are two other museums connected with the Tapestry Museum that we will visit later on this itinerary, so I suggest buying the combination ticket so that you can save money by visiting all of them on one trip.

Unless you’re coming as a large group, you can’t buy these tickets in advance. There was no long line when I was there, so I suggest just walking up and buying your ticket at the museum. You won’t have any trouble getting in. Then get ready for…

Three Fascinating Facts: Bayeux Tapestry Museum

1) What’s the story of the Bayeux Tapestry?

The Tapestry, which is sometimes called the world’s oldest comic book, was made to commemorate the victory of William I, aka William the Conqueror, aka the Duke of Normandy, over the army of Harold Godwinson, aka King Harold II of England, aka the last Anglo-Saxon King, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Harold had been declared King of England after the previous king, Edward the Confessor, died childless. William claimed that Harold, who had once gotten shipwrecked in Normandy, had promised William that he would let William be king after Edward died. I personally have never thought this was a binding promise because even if Harold did make it, it was while he was William’s captive and under duress.

Anyhoodle, William took the opportunity to invade England and take over the throne. Harold’s army was weakened because they had recently beaten an invasion by the Norwegian army at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

William the Conqueror conquered the Anglo-Saxons and set up Norman rule that lasted until…this day. (The current monarch, King Charles III, is descended from William the Conqueror.)

2) How was the tapestry made?

That’s a great question, and no one exactly knows the answer. I mean, it was made shortly after 1066, and Twitter records from that time period weren’t well preserved. However, historians do believe that it was made in England, probably by women. (Historians also don’t really think it was the world’s first comic book, but that’s still fun to say.)

You are not allowed to take photos of the tapestry while you are in the museum. They say that this is to protect the fabric, but I think it might just be so that you need to go to the museum to get a good glimpse of the tapestry. I mean, it’s already survived for 1000 years, so how delicate can it be?

3) Is there anything else at the museum?

Of course! You can make friends with this kind monk, but don’t expect him to talk back to you much. I think he has taken a vow of silence.

Aside from wax monks, there’s an interesting film about the making of the tapestry that gets shown throughout the day, alternating between English and French. There are also displays featuring many different objects from medieval France, like chain mail and a Viking ship.

You can fill out a survey asking you if you have any suggestions for improving the museum. I said that they should let me try on the chain mail, but so far no one has gotten back to me about this.

what to see in Bayeux France

Afternoon: Explore Bayeux

We’ve seen the tapestry, so you might think that’s all there is to do in Bayeux. But you’d be wrong. As wrong as Harold II was when he woke up on the morning of the Battle of Hastings and said to himself, “Aha! Today’s a fine day to defeat William the Conqueror!”

There’s actually plenty to in Bayeux. I recommend taking this excellent walking tour that will show you the prettiest parts of the city and teach you about the history of the town. It’s very affordable and only accepts a small group of tourists at a time.

You can book the tour for yourself by clicking here.

In the meantime, I will show you some of my favorite parts of Bayeux. (Obviously lunch and the museums aren’t included with the tour, but there’s enough time in the day to do all of them.)

We’ve got so much to see on this one day of what to see in Bayeux France, so let’s not waste any more time!

Approximately Top 5: what to see in Bayeux France

1) Lunch at Chez Paulette

Chez Paulette is the cutest little toy store/cafe in all Normandy. I didn’t buy any toys here, but I did eat one of their amazing “big salades”, and yes, even in French, they refer to it as a “big salade”. I got one with a ton of ham and cheese and fresh veggies, and it was absolutely enough to tide me over until our amazing dinner.

For dessert, I got the tarte of the day, which happened to be blueberry. The blueberries were just as flavorful as the salad veggies had been, but my favorite part of this was the dinosaur gummy on top of the tarte.

I have no idea why it was there, but I am a gummy candy addict, so I won’t look a gift gummy dinosaur in the mouth.

2) Conservatoire de la Dentelle de Bayeux

The lace industry has historically been one of the biggest industries in Bayeux, and when we go to the art and history museum later today, we can see some examples of local lace. But wouldn’t you rather pick up some non-historic lace as a souvenir? Of course you would.

Then I suggest stopping by the Conservatoire de la Dentelle, which is just by Chez Paulette. (Dentelles is French for lace.) You can actually see lace workers engaged in their craft here, which is quite beautiful. I bought some lace earrings here because I am an avid earring collector, but you can get any type of lace you want.

I speak French, so I had an easy time making a purchase, but even if you don’t, I’m sure they’ll be glad to take your money.

3) Bayeux Cathedral

Even though there are so many churches in Normandy that it’s possible to get churched out, you’ll want to make a stop at Bayeux Cathedral. Isn’t she a stunner? I was just taking dramatic photos of her curves all over town. And the inside is almost as striking.

This cathedral was built during William the Conqueror’s lifetime for his half-brother Odo, who was a bishop. They were half-siblings because they had the same mother. (William was illegitimate because his father, Robert of Normandy, got around a whole bunch. They called him Robert the Devil for a reason.)

Most of the remaining cathedral is not original to Robert’s lifetime because this whole area has been through a lot. But even though it’s a reconstruction, it’s still an amazing building and one you have to see during your one day of what to see in Bayeux France

4) Museum of Art and History

The Museum of Art and History is the second museum on your combination ticket, and it has many beautiful treasures. If you want to learn about the entire history of Bayeux, not just the Norman Conquest and D-Day, which are the two most famous events, then this is the place to go.

The progression of the museum’s artifacts goes from the earliest days of Bayeux, which was founded by the Romans, like many cities in Europe. The city was originally named after the Emperor Augustus; and I’m sure knowing that information will come in handy on trivia night at the Bayeux pub.

You can also learn about the history of Bayeux from the history of the building. This room was part of the Bishop’s Palace in Bayeux. However, after the French Revolution, which had a lot of anti-church sentiment, the room was converted into an administrative room that was used as a town hall, courtroom, things of that nature.

I used to work for a French employer and I can vouch for a fact that the French LOVE bureaucracy.

However, I regret to inform you that the museum might be haunted. I can’t think of any other possible explanation for what is going on with these chairs.

5) Museum of the Battle of Normandy

This is the last of the three museums in Bayeux, and it’s a little bit of a walk outside of town. You might be a little tuckered out at this point, so it would be okay to save this museum for the morning of your next day. The combination ticket will still be valid!

However, it’s definitely doable to fit the Museum of the Battle of Normandy into the same day as the other three museums. As anyone who is familiar with the history of World II already knows, Normandy was the landing point for the Allied troops when they made their famous D-Day invasion to begin liberating France from the German army.

The best way to learn about D-Day is to take a day trip from Bayeux that will show you all the D-Day beaches. (I did that, and it was an amazing experience.) However, this museum has information about all the battles involved in the liberation of Normandy, not just D-Day itself, which was on June 6th, 1944.

You’ll learn about how all the Allied forces, including the Canadians and French, as well as the British and Americans, were important to the victory against the Nazis.

The Canadians often get ignored in popular accounts of World War II in the United States, so it’s great to see them get their due here. If you love seeing jeeps, tanks, and other World War II vehicles, you will absolutely adore this museum.

what to see in Bayeux France

Evening: Dinner at La Rapiere

In some countries, a small city like Bayeux wouldn’t have a fine dining restaurant. But once again, we’re talking about France here. They invented fine dining. That’s why you’ll be able to have a wonderful gourmet experience at La Rapiere. (You definitely need to go to their website and make a reservation if you want to dine here.)

La Rapiere isn’t a tasting menu restaurant; it has an a la carte menu. That means you can choose an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert from a small list.

For the appetizer, I selected foie gras. Foie gras is such a rich treat that you don’t want anything too elaborate to go with it. However, something sweet always goes well with foie gras, so I enjoyed the fruit and nut rounds that came with the foie gras.

Always remember not to spread the foie gras around on the bread like butter. Just cut it into small pieces, place a piece of a morsel of bread the same size as the foie gras and enjoy!

I suggest getting the optional “trou normand”, which is a local treat. It literally means “Norman hole”, and it’s a palate cleanser made by topping apple sorbet with a Norman apple brandy called Calvados.

Apples are a big deal in Normandy, and I believe they were the local currency for a while, so definitely don’t miss this treat while you are in Bayeux.

For the main course, I ordered the sea bass with cherries and fennel. When I travel for long periods of time, as I did on this trip around Paris, Normandy, and London, I can get a little overwhelmed with all the rich food I have to eat. (I know, such a tough problem.)

That’s why it was pleasant to eat something on the healthier side, like this fish and vegetables. French food proves that you don’t need to dump a whole bunch of sauce on something to make it taste delicious. You just need to choose high-quality ingredients and prepare them so the flavors shine through.

And now the final treat on our one day of what to see in Bayeux France! It’s a gorgeous apple tart with caramel ice cream. Apple and caramel is always a satisfying combination, isn’t it? And I love how they put the apple tart together so it almost looks like a beautiful little apple.

The square of white chocolate featuring the name La Rapiere and a musketeer holding a rapier is just the icing on the cake. Or rather, the white chocolate on the apple tart.

what to see in Bayeux France

Where to Stay?

Bayeux is a little bit spread out, but you’re going to want to stay in a hotel that’s as close to the historic part of town as possible. That’s why I recommend Le Castel Guesthouse. It had a great location, just a short walk away from all the attractions on this itinerary.

On top of that, I loved my cozy room which was away from any noise, as well as the tasty breakfast served in the breakfast room every morning. This was the perfect place to stay in Bayeux.

If you want a great deal on this hotel, click here.

And if you want to explore great deals on other hotels in Bayeux, just click here. This search engine will help you find the perfect place to stay during your one day of what to see in Bayeux France. With plenty of options to choose from, I’m sure you’ll find something for your schedule and budget.

That’s a Perfect what to see in Bayeux France

What would you do on a one day of what to see in Bayeux France? Are you ready to start booking your hotel in Bayeux right now? And why were those chairs at the museum floating? Email me at stellajane@aroundtheworldin24hours.com and let me know!

Note: If you want to know how I put my travel itineraries together, just click here. Keep in mind that while each article is about how to spend 24 hours in a place, that doesn’t mean you should ONLY spend a one day in Bayeux itinerary.

Add a one day in Rouen itinerary. Try the best D Day tour Normandy. Or why not experience a day of what to do at Mont Saint Michel? Find all the best tours of Marseille France.