Recommended Places to Stay and Eat

An excellent central location to stay when visiting the Normandy beaches and inland battlefields is the historic town of Bayeux.

Bayeux was liberated on 7th June 1944 and, thankfully, spared the destruction wrought on many of the other Norman cities by the ensuring fighting. Besides the Musée de la Bataille de Normandie and the Bayeux Commonwealth War Graves Commission Memorial and Cemetery of direct interest to the battlefield visitor, the Cathedral and famous Bayeux Tapestry are also well worth a look.

Bayeux’s magnificent Gothic cathedral. Photo: Mark Sluman.

The town abounds with hotels, restaurants and bars and there is an excellent Leclerc supermarket on the ring road past the Cemetery.

The local Campanile is a good, reasonably priced hotel to stay in, and is just a few minutes walk from the town centre. Further information on pricing and directions can be found at the Campanile Bayeux website.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for something a bit more up-market, try the Novotel. It’s at the western end of the main street just off the ring road and has a bar and outdoor swimming pool. For further information on pricing and directions visit the Hotel Novotel Bayeux website.

Like most regions of France, Normandy has a distinctive cuisine of its own. Cattle are reared in large numbers and steaks are superb, whilst its cheeses, which include Pont l’Evéque and Camembert, are some of the most famous in France and the World. The seaside towns also have numerous fish restaurants and if you like seafood Arromanches-les-Bains and Port-en-Bessin-Huppain are well worth exploring. Normandy’s most famous crop of all, however, is the apple. They are used in many dishes and cider or Calvados brandy, make an excellent accompaniment to a meal after a long day on the battlefields (just be careful how much you imbibe – they tend to be deceptively strong!).

In Bayeux there are no shortage of eateries and the author would particularly recommend:

“Le Drakkar”, 27 Rue Saint Jean – 14400 (a traditional restaurant brassiere with pizzeria)
Tel: +33 (0)2 31 92 94 35

“La Fringale”, 43 Rue Saint Jean – 14400 (for traditional Norman cuisine)
Tel: +33 (0)2 31 21 34 40

The restaurant "La Fringale" on Rue Saint Jean, Bayeux. Photo: Mark Sluman.