After our stop on the Normandy Beaches, we visited the town of Bayeux. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, one of the oldest surviving complete tapestries in the world. The Bayeux Tapestry 20 in by 230 ft long embroidered cloth which depicts in extraordinary detail the story of William the Conqueror’s conquest of England. The tapestry is over 900 years old and is in excellent condition. We listened to an audio tour describing the sections and scenes of the tapestry. The story is told from the point of view of William the Conqueror, so it is different than the traditional story we hear (from the English point of view). It begins with King Edward of England, without an heir, asks his right hand man, Harold, to go to Normandy to ask the Duke of Normandy, William, if he would like to be the next king of England. Of course, William accepts. When Edward dies, Harold assumes the throne himself and betrays William. William wanted what was rightfully his so he invaded England. Thus begins Normans vs. Saxons and the great war that followed. Eventually, Harold is killed by an arrow in the eye (and the tapestry shows this in great detail). William is crowned King of England. Of course, the tapestry tells this story in much more detail and more artistry, but this is the shortened version. We were not allowed to take pictures in the museum, so the pictures below are taken from the postcards I bought at the museum shop.

After we viewed the tapestry we were able to walk around Bayeux a little. We shopped, ate at an outdoor café, and explored the local cathedral.