Our French Adventure - Bayeux & the Worlds Most Famous Tapestry

 One of the main things I have been desperate to see for years is the Bayeux tapestry, one of the world's most famous pieces of textile art and history. I'd read about it as a kid, and dreamed of visiting it. The great thing about being an adult is that you can go and see these things! So we planned it as a day trip from Caen. The trains were faster than the bus, and there was not much difference cost wise. And, like everything in France, even the trains were chic. We got to sit on a fancy curved sofa on the train!

The French really do know how to make a train ride tres bien! 

The train takes about 15 minutes, and was only a few euros for a timed return. We got off the train, came out the station and was greeted with this wonderful view of the cathedral through the tree lined path. Can't get any better than that! 

You walk past the coach park and into the town, passing this aged but charming waterwheel, but we didn't see any ducks though!

Devastatingly, but understandably there's no pictures allowed of the Bayeux Tapestry. You're given an audio guide and you just sort of file past it. Within two minutes I was in the wrong place for audioguide, I was so taken by the colours and detail that I couldn't move on fast enough and it was almost pointless rushing to try and catch up. Quite how something nearly a thousand years old can almost look like new is astounding.

The tapestry depicts the build up & the Norman invasion of England, with particular emphasis on the Battle of Hastings, King Harold's final stand against William the Conqueror. Widely believed to have been made in England only a few years after the battle, the tapestry tells the story of William's journey from Normandy into England. It's so full of intricate details, such as the earliest known image of Halley's Comet, the coronation of King Harold, as well as many different flora & fauna that decorate the banners around the tapestry. The tapestry is strikingly accurate, both in it's story telling or the events as they unfold, but also of general life of the period too. 

It's a shame you are herded around it like sheep, I would have loved to have spent hours stood gazing at it, pouring over the intricate details and designs. The tapestry itself is perhaps one of the greatest things I have ever seen, and I was blown away by it, the pictures you see of it in the media do it no justice. Something is also to be said about the craftsmanship of it, while we do not know exactly who made it, it must have been made by people (most likely English women) with incredible skill and attention to detail, not to mention an eye for colour. Perhaps the Bayeux tapestry helped to inspire comic books, with the way it flows from scene to scene with it's bright colours and simple but effective spacing between it's designs.

I could talk about it for hours, but I won't bore you anymore than I already have! The museum itself is quite dated, and feels like it needs a re-vamp, which is actually on the cards. So from the 1st of September 2025 to October 2027 the museum will close, while a new case and display is built for the tapestry, as well as the rest of the museum receiving a full renovation. It's a maddening thought to think it will be kept off display for so long, but it the museum will definitely benefit from a revamp, particularly with respect to it's crowd control. There were parts of the museum where you couldn't move, yet others we were the only ones there! The Tapestry is coming back to England, and I cannot tell you how excited I am to see it back here, even for a short while. It will be housed at the British Museum. Book tickets as soon as you can, because this is possibly one of the most famous temporary exhibitions the museum will hold. Find out more details at their website @britishmuseum.org

There's a museum as well, which was empty. It's like everyone came for the tapestry then left. The museum feels very dated though, and there wasn't an awful lot of information about the exhibits. Like with the display of East Meon, a village in Hampshire, not far from where we live. There was very little information as to why there was a model of East Meon, only that it was owned by William the Conqueror at the time the Domesday book was written. There were a few other exhibits and information boards to read, and also a short movie explaining the history of the Tapestry.

As we were leaving the museum, we spotted this little chapel tucked away in a side building, it was all behind glass, but had this beautiful tiled floor. Tickets for the tapestry can only be brought on the day, but there is a combination ticket which also gives you entrance to the Museum of Art & History, as well as the Battle of Normandy Museum. The ticket costs 16 euros per person, which for three museums I thought was very good value. James already wanted to do the Battle of Normandy Museum, so that was a winner. Just be aware, that price might jump up a bit once the museum re-opens again!

We headed back into town towards the cathedral, and treated ourselves to a proper French Croc Monsoir from one of the little cafes we passed.

It was delicious, and was far more tastier than the Cathedral was!

Bayeux Cathedral is dramatic yet charming, with a mixture of coloured stones in it's façade, ranging from cold greys to light creamy tones, coupled with it's mix of straight lines and curved ends, you'd think it was two designs of Cathedral mixed together! 

Inside its light and airy, except for the very end, which creates this sort of dark spot at the end of the sightline. At times, it's intriguing, other times, almost horror movie!

The arches are beautiful and tall, and give excellent frame to the building while giving lovely views through the cathedral.

If you're a lover of stained glass, then there's something for you as well. This was inside one of the little chapels off the nave, which was rather peaceful from the throng of tourists that seemed to arrive at the same time as us. There was also this slightly misaligned window too, with it's glorious pattern running down.

Perhaps more curious, was the crypt, containing these painted angels on the pillars, all looking down on a small altar in the middle of the room. The mix of dark orange painting and the dramatic mood lightening gave us chills, not just because it was cold down there!

Peeking back into the crypt, I almost thought I might see a holy apparition watching us leave!

And finally, something that I've never seen before, was this piece of art in the Nave, depicting a saint riding on a cloud supported by cherubs while golden lightening rains down.

It was an incredibly striking image, full of symbolism and power, quite what it was depicting, I couldn't tell you. But I certainly know a good piece of art when I see one!

The cathedral is completely free to visit, although I would always implore you to give a donation, no matter how small to help with the upkeep of this magnificent building. It cannot be cheap to maintain a church or cathedral, particularly as the man they are dedicated to has very empty pockets. So it's up to us, mere mortals to ensure they remain standing & beautiful.

We then headed across to the Museum of Art & History, which was on our combo ticket. It's a small museum, with a nice little collection of artefacts and art work. By no means is it Le Louvre, but it's worth having a little look around. It contains a wide array of objects, like this selection of pottery from the Roman era.

The museum is inside the palace for the clergy, so naturally it was very well decorated, like this room at the back, with it's dark stained wood, stained glass & beautifully painted ceilings. You can imagine many powerful people had discussions around this table!

The flying chairs in this room made no sense, even with the English translation!

But something that did make sense was this haunting picture of Sappho, leaping to her death from a cliff. I didn't know much about her, but something in this painting struck a chord with me. It's almost elegant, and with equal measures tragedy & romance. It really is a curious painting, and how on earth the painter, Antoine-Jean Gros quite managed to express so much emotion in the brush strokes is really rather captivating. The story of Sappho is one a mixed one, she is known for being perhaps the greatest female poet of the age, composing thousands of lines of poetry, and was well known & regarded in Ancient Greece. She spoke of love often, yet tradition says she threw herself from the cliff after being rejected by a boatsman. It's probably a myth, but helps to explain how strong the feeling of love can be. Of course now, Sappho is almost the patron saint of Lesbians and Gay women, and has become something of a cult figure for LGBTQ+ community in recent years. I wonder, with some amusement, if Sappho ever thought that 2,500 years after her death, she would be more famous than ever? 

We then walked in the heavy afternoon heat up towards the outskirts of the town to visit the Battle of Normandy Museum. For James, this was his Bayeux Tapestry moment. He loves his World War History, and watches a lot of documentaries about it. My knowledge is basic, but I glad to see him being passionate about what we were seeing. I think sometimes he switches off when I start going on one of my education rants about something we are seeing! 

The museum was nicely laid out, you started one side and worked your way through chronologically. It was a little dated in places, the building was a bit like a greenhouse, but there was some really interesting information on display.

The WW2 tanks don't look like they would stand up to the modern ones we have now, but they were cutting edge technology during the war. We finished off our visit by grabbing a drink from the little shop there, and spending some time sat in the shade of the trees on a bench. 

Our final stop was just across the road, and it was a rather sombre one. It was the War Reporters Memorial Garden, also known as Liberty Alley. It documents the deaths of every Journalist reporting in war and conflict zones from 1944, with a new store erected every time the last becomes full. Some years, there are lots of names, other years very few. But something that struck me was that I had never truly realised how much reporters put themselves on the line for the story. And how often they pay the ultimate price for it.

Stone after stone through the park, containing the names of thousands of journalists killed on the front lines. It made me think how little recognition they often get, we have military parades and armistice day for soldiers, yet nothing for those that report both the heroic and evil acts committed in humanities lowest points.

I don't quite know how to change that. Perhaps we should have a dedicated day of remembrance for journalists. Some countries celebrate World Press Freedom Day on May 3rd each year, others use December 15th to memorialise Journalists killed while on duty.

What I do think, is that we need more memorials like this one. Perhaps if we made this a more well known and recognised issue, we could do something about stopping it. But I think it's going to be a similar issue to stopping war. Unless everyone wants to, then it will never happen.

By now, it had gone past teatime, and with only a Croque Monsieur since breakfast, we were getting very hungry. So we made the walk back to the train station, passing this rather humorous rendition of William the Conqueror sat on his noble steed. I wonder if he would have seen the humour in this like we did? Or perhaps not! 

So we caught the train back to Caen, and treated ourselves to some dinner. I can't remember what we had, but I do remember the dessert. It was a warmed type of scone, with cream and covered with molten chocolate. It was divine, and just what was needed after a very busy day!