The cathedral was built back in the time of William the Conquerer and still stands over the town. This helps to keep a traveler´s bearings and find their way around.

The Bayeux Tapestry is here and it is a definite must see! It is a 70m long story sewn together to tell the story of Harold and William and the battle for the thrown. There is a descriptive movie and a museum to help understand all of the minute details better. Quite impressive.

The pizza at Pizza Milano is just out of this world. Try the mushroom, cheese, and ham one. One is big enough to split but if you´re really hungary, you might be able to finish one by yourself. Be sure to get the icecream dessert here as well.

Right across the street from Pizza Milano is the hotel-restaurant that we stayed at - Hotel Marpassant which was pretty nice. With a street side view, we had a sink and a shower in our double room. A tight winding stairway leads you up to your floor with the toilets and extra showers in the hall. Not a bad price for the location either.

The best way to really appreciate this town is to just walk around. Tiny little shops with excellent taste in clothes and shoes -they are reallz big into shoes over here- they dress with class. A laundry mat and tourist office are also in the main center of the city.

Right next to the train station is Hotel de la Gare. We stayed here the second night to make sure we didn´t miss our 7:45 train. But it was really nice. A little bit more expensive than the others but we got breakfast - which consisted of hot chocolate, bread, and jelly- for free. The beds are pretty nice and you get a sink in your room. The hotel runs a tour to the Beaches of Normandy for 33 euro a person right out of the lobby, so that adds some convenience. Overall, a good place to go.

If you want to see the Beaches of Normandy, I highly recommend shelling out a couple more euro - there are three different tour companies in the town, and they all cost the same, students get a discount - and do a tour. They take you everywhere you probably want to go and give you brief descriptions in English at each stop. It would be a hassle to take a train or bus out there and only getting to see one spot because the different areas of highlight are too far apart to walk to.

Our tour from our hotel took us to Arromanches and Port Winston. US government was pretty impressive by building a highly functioning and efficient port in a couple months when it usually takes several years. Too bad the bad weather back then destroyed some of it on the ONE day they needed it to work right... bummer. Then off to the American Cemetary where the perfectly aligned tombstones surround you as you walk between monuments situated down the center of the overall Latin cross design. France gave this land to America for free and it sits right above the Omaha Beach. We walked down to the beach as well and it is soooo long! I can´t imagine fighting on such open ground. They showed us where the 1st and the 29th divisions landed and we were given time to soak it all in. The lifeless seaweed washed up on shore was symbolic for me and helped to set me in the right frame of mind. Very powerful. We then went up to Pont du Hoc where the men had to scale the cliff carrying all of their stuff. 250 people made it up this insanely steep cliff, one slip and you were done for!

The tour was a great 5 hours and we learned a lot of history. It is a good place to visit and appreciate the efforts of D-day a lot more.

Overall, Bayeux and the Beaches of Normandy were definitely worthwhile visits and let us see a lot of French countryside.