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CRUISING TO NORTHERN FRANCE:
GOING ASHORE IN BAYEUX |
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A popular shore excursion during calls at Cherbourgh and Le Harve is a visit to the town of Bayeux. Such tours usually involve a drive through the French countryside, a visit to the museum where the Bayeux Tapestry is housed, a tour of the cathedral and then some free time to look around the town.
Bayeux is a charming town in the Calvados area of
Normandy. It has a number of historic attractions as well as being photogenic. The first permanent settlement at this location dates back to Roman times when a bishop and a Roman legion were based there. During the Middle Ages, Bayeux had a tumultuous existence being burned in Viking raids and repeatedly pilaged by one side or the other in the various wars between England and France. Nonetheless, the town grew and prospered. |
Not far from the British landing beaches, Bayeux was
the first town liberated by the Allies following the D-Day landings in World War II. Shortly thereafter, General Charles De Gaulle made an important speech in Bayeux regarding the direction of France. Today, the town is an important tourist center. At the same time, it is an active commercial center for the surrounding area. |
Outside the Museum is a relica of a Viking boat. The original Normans were Norsemen a.k.a. Vikings
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The town’s most famous attraction is the Bayeux
Tapestry now housed in the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux. An embroidered linen cloth 231 feet long and 19 inches wide, the Tapestry recounts the story the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, a major turning point in British history. In some fifty scenes, the Tapestry tells of William, Dule of Normandy’s claim to the English throne, how the throne was usurped by the Saxon King Harold, and how William’s Norman forces triumphed over the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings. In so doing, it is an invaluable record of the clothing, arms, ships, and life of those times. It is believed that William the Conquer’s half-brother Bishop Odo of Conteville (whose seat was in Bayeux) commissioned the work, which was probably done in Kent in England. |
Bayeux’s most visible landmark is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux. Built between the 11th Century and the 19th Century, it encompasses a variety of styles including Norman-Romansque and Gothic. It was consecrated in 1077 by Bishop Odo, in the presence of William the Conquerer and was for many years, the home of the Bayeur Tapestry
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The Bayeux War Cemetery includes the largest
British cemetery dating from the Second World War in France. Most of those buried there were killed during the Allied liberation of Normandy, June through August 1944 . Across from the cemetray is the Musee Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie, which tells the story of the D-Day landings and the subsequent battle. |
Although not far from the landing beaches in the British sector, Bayeux was spared much of the fighting. As a result, many of its historic buildings survived the war unscathed. Thus, one can still see a variety of traditional styles of French architecture when one walks the streets of the town. This includes half-timbered buildings from the Middle Ages.
Across from the Cathedral in a timber-framed house called the House of Adam and Eve is the Conservatory workshop for Bayeux lace (below left). The lace makers produce works for use in haute capture (Dior, Hermes) and for special orders. The city hall was once the bishop's palace (below right). 
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Running through the town is the
River Aure. For centuries, the power created by the river’s waters was used by the town’s inhabitants to create commerce. As a result, the riverside is adorned with picturesque mills, waterwheels, dams and stone bridges. 
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Cruise destination Northern France - Bayeux