by Ana O'Reilly

Created on: September 18, 2009   Last Updated: November 06, 2009

Famous for two invasions across the English Channel that changed the course of History, Bayeux is located at the heart of the Calvados region in Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) in north-western France.

How to get there from Paris

By car, take the A13 towards Caen. By train, take the TGV at Paris St. Lazare station. Take the Paris -St-Lazare - Cherbourg line and the journey can take between two and two and a half hours, depending on the service. By air, fly into Caen airport.

How to get there from the UK

By air, fly into Caen airport. By ferry to St-Malo, Cherbourg, Grenville and Calais from Portsmouth, Weymouth, Poole, Dover, and the Channel Islands.

Getting around

The best way to see the city is on foot. The medieval historic center isn't very big. The streets are narrow, so driving can be tiresome. A car is ideal when visiting the beaches and war cemeteries. Car rental companies have offices both at the airport and ferry terminals, so you can book a car ahead of time and pick it up when you arrive. However, if you decide not to rent a car and wish to visit the D-Day beaches, you can always take a minivan tour.

Bayeux train station is located within walking distance of the town center (centreville.)

Where to stay

There are many different types of accommodation in Bayeux to choose from: hotels, B&Bs, furnished accommodation for rent, campsites, youth hostels, even monasteries, to suit every wallet.

The top four hotels chosen by TripAdvisor users are: Hotel Churchill (14, rue Saint-Jean), Hotel d'Argougus (21, rue Saint-Patrice), Hotel Le Bayeux (9, rue Tardif) and Le Lion d'Or (71, rue Saint-Jean). They are all centrally located.

These four star Bed and Breakfast are situated in the outskirts of town: Chateau d'Argouges (Mosles, www.chateau-argouges.com); Moulin de Hard (Subles, www.moulin-de-hard.com); and Castel Povence (Ver Sur Mer, www.castelprovence.fr).

The Abbey of La Joie Saint Benoit, Bayeux (www.lajoiesaintbenoit.com) and the Abbey of Juaye Mondaye (www.modaye.com) also provide accommodation, albeit of a more spiritual and quiet kind.

Family Home (www.bayeux-familyhome.com) and Les Sablons (also www.bayeux-familyhome.com) are two youth hostels also located in the area.

Where to eat

These two restaurants serve traditional Norman French cuisine, the most popular of which seems to be Le Petit Normand (35, rue Larcher) with Le Pommier Restaurant (38-40, rue des Cuisineres, closed on Sundays from November to March) snapping at its heels. Le Marsala

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>