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350 Euros for a group 1 to 5 people 430 Euros for a
group 6 à 8 people BAYEUX BAYEUX TAPISSERY |
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From your lobby, we drive to the well-known and famous, Bayeux tapestry which tells the story of the preparation, landing, battle and victory of William, Duke of Normandy, near Hasting, UK. This battlefield is known simply today as the “Battle”. We then walk in Bayeux and you have a 1 hour tour discovering all the charming places, the streets and the cathedral of this lovely never-destroyed town. Bayeux and Honfleur are the two Norman towns which didn’t suffer any damage in 1944! You might also be interested to visit the park where President Charles De Gaulle gave his first speech to the French people, and the World, upon return from exile in England following the Allied Invasion of the Norman Coast. This is truly a historic spot for you to see. Bayeux was the first French capital re-established following the Nazi occupation of France. |
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CAEN ABBEY AUX HOMMES CASTLE OF CAEN |
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At the castle of Caen, you discover how the Normans were fortifying their strong places and you see the original castle built during the 11th Century. It’s time for lunch now, let’s spends 40-60 minutes in a nearby restaurant. Abbey aux Hommes : The Benedictine Abbey of St Stephen in Caen was founded by Duke William in an outward show of repentance for having married his remote cousin Mathilda of Flanders. Begun by Abbot Lanfranc in 1066, the Abbey-Church was consecrated on 13th September 1077 and has housed the mortal remains of its fonder since 1087. Its noble, bare style marks the height of Romanesque architecture of Normandy and was a great source of inspiration on both sides of the Channel. The Abbey was both rich and powerful and had jurisdiction over the “Bourg l’Abbé” in particular over the parish of St Nicolas, whose church was built immediately after the Abbey Church itself and closed at the time of the Revolution. Enclosed and fortified during the Hundred Year’s War, the Abbey retains two medieval buildings, the “Ducal Palace” (The guest rooms built in the lower court of the monastery), and the “Guards Room” built in the 2nd half of the 14th century (used today as the City Council Chamber). Pillaged in 1562 during the wars of religion, the Abbey was reformed and restored by the monks of Congregation of St Maur. In 1804, it became a Lycee, while in June 1944, the 18th Century monastic buildings and the Abbey-Church were used to shelter the people of the city during the battle of Caen. Today the buildings are used as the City Hall and the Abbey as a Gothic parish church. FALAISE FALAISE CASTLE |
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Driving South, the next stop is the Falaise castle, William’s father’s castle. This is a very important place which will end this very rich and interesting William the Conqueror and Medieval Tour! You’ll just love it!
Museums entrances fees not included in the Tour |
The
Tapestry of Bayeux which is one of the most historically
important, and unusual, chronicles of its day, is now located
in the town of Bayeux in Normandy. The 70m-long (231ft) tapestry
offers a splendidly vivid depiction of the events leading
up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. 
of
Wessex’s visit to Normandy and his meeting with Duke William in 1064,
and culminates with the flight of the English army at Hastings. All the
main intervening events, including the death of King Edward the Confessor
in January 1066, Harold's coronation, William's elaborate invasion preparations,
his landing at Pevensey, the Battle of Hastings and Harold's death, are
covered in painstaking detail. Along the top and bottom of the tapestry
run decorated borders illustrating scenes of contemporary warfare, hunting 
and
husbandry and also some episodes from the fables of Aesop and Phaedrus.
The tapestry is often referred to in French as La Tapisserie de la Reine
Mathilde (Queen Mathilda’s Tapestry) after William’s wife.
Although it was almost destroyed in 1792 when French revolutionaries used
it as a wagon cover, the whole tapestry (with the exception of the final
section, thought to have depicted William's coronation in Westminster Abbey
on Christmas Day 1066) has survived to this day and can still be viewed
by visitors to the town of Bayeux.
We
drive few miles East towards Caen and park near the Abbey
aux Hommes inaugurated by William and his wife in 1077.
Here we will provide you with a 1 hour lecture, so that
you can learn about the 11th Century Invasion and this
huge and impressive Abbey. An essential link to 1944 will
be revealed to you as it was a location used by many Citizens
of Caen in 1944.