While much of Normandy and the Calvados region suffered greatly during World War II, Bayeux was somewhat miraculously spared and thus remains one of the only medieval sites in Normandy, home to a great variety of medieval architecture, including the 11th-century Notre Dame Cathedral.
Bayeux's paved streets welcome visitors to duck into its boutiques and examine its museums and architecture. Of its tourist sites, two stand out in particular, testaments to perhaps the two most important events in the city's history. The first is the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066 by Normandy's son, William the Conqueror. The second, of course, is the World War II D-Day landings, commemorated with the Museum of the Battle of Normandy. Bayeux was the first Norman city to be liberated after the Allied landings, making it a very important site in the history of the liberation of France.
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