The Region of Lower Normandy
Town Information & the Towns of Lower Normandy

Alençon Bayeux Bayeux is a town on the Aure River, in the Departement of Calvados, not far from the English Channel.  It is located 16 miles west-northwest of Caen on Route National 13, at its juncture with D572 and D6.  It is 166 miles northwest of Paris. The site was first known as Baiocasses to the Gauls.  To the Romans, it was first known as Augustodurum.  Subsequently, as an important Roman city, it was called Civitas Baiocassium. In the 4th century Bayeux became a bishopric.  Rollo, the Viking, captured the town in 880.  Subsequently, it became a Norman stronghold.  In 1106, Henry I of England pillaged the town.  During the Hundred Years’ War, from 1337 to 1453, and during the Wars of Religion, from 1562 to 1598, the town was besieged and taken various times.  The Germans occupied Bayeux in 1940.  The Allies took the town on the day after D-Day, June 7, 1944.  It was the first town liberated, and it was the first to greet General de Gaulle on his return to France, June 14, 1944.  On June 16, de Gaulle set out, in a broadcast speech to the French people, his principles for a new constitution. Although Bayeux is only a short distance behind the D-Day invasion beaches of Omaha and Gold, it was spared a bombardment.  Today, it is a sleepy, small town with cobblestone streets lined with small shops and Norman style timbered houses dating from the 17th century. Bayeux’s 13th through 19th century Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Bayeux is in the town’s center.  It has 11th century Romanesque towers, a groin-vaulted crypt, which is decorated with 15th century frescos of angles, and lower nave.  The City Hall [Hotel-de-Ville] was once the 11th through 14th century Bishop’s Palace.  A museum and the law courts are housed in the Hotel-de-Ville.  The Musée de la Reine Mathilde displays the Bayeux Tapestry.  This large embroidery tells the story of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. The medieval Tapestry [Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde] is probably the world’s most famous embroidery.  It is remarkable both as a source of 11th century history and as a work of art.  It is an invaluable historical representation of the arms, costumes, manners and ships used by the Normans prior to the invasion. The Tapestry is 231 feet long and 19.5 inches wide.  It was made of a seamless strip of linen, embroidered with 8 colors of woolen thread.  It is a needlework panorama of 72 scenes, and 1512 figures [with identifying Latin inscriptions], of the Norman Conquest.  It tells of Harold’s failure to honor the oath, he gave at Bayeux recognizing his cousin William’s right to succeed Edward the Confessor, and its consequences.  The borders are decorated with animals and scenes taken from fables.  It was probably made in England soon after the conquest.  But, it wasn’t used until about 1476, when it decorated the nave of the Bayeux Cathedral. Some believe that the tapestry was the work of William the Conqueror’s wife Matilda of Flanders.  However, her involvement with the Tapestry is in doubt.  Others believe that it was commissioned by Odo, the bishop of Bayeux and half brother of William.  Odo is depicted in some of the latter scenes.  The work is dated no latter than 1092. Across from the cemetery is the Musée Memorial de la Bataille de Normandie.  The museum houses the story of the Battle of Normandy that took place between June 6 and August 22, 1944. Bayeux products include dairy foods, lace, plastics and pottery. Return to top Caen The capital of the Calvados Departement and of  the region of Basse-Normandie is Caen.  It is located on the Orne River, 9 miles from the Channel, within an agricultural region.  The city is 51 miles southwest of Le Havre, 63 miles east-southeast of Cherbourg, 60 miles west-southwest of Rouen and 147 miles west-northwest of Paris.  It is at the juncture of the Autoroute A13 and Routes National 13, 175 and 158 and D562. The area, of which Caen is a part, was invaded by the Norsemen during the 9th and 10th centuries.  In the 10th century, Caen first became important under the dukes of Normandy.  It was William the Conqueror’s favorite city in the 11th century.  During the Hundred Years’ War, 1337 through 1453, the English, under Edward III, captured the city in 1346.  The English again occupied the city, led by Henry VI, from 1417 to 1450.   During the occupation, in 1432, Henry VI of England established a university in the city.   Following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, in 1685, the Protestant city’s prosperity plummeted with the emigration of its populace.  During the French Revolution [1789 to 1799], Caen was the focal point for the anti-Revolutionary Girondist movement. In about 1050, William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders were married.  Because they were distant cousins, the pope excommunicated them.  In 1059 they managed to ‘atone’ for their sin by each founding an abbey.  The late 11th century austere Norman Romanesque Church of Saint-Étienne, at the Abbaye-aux-Hommes [on the east side of Caen], was founded by William.  His tomb is located there.  The Norman Romanesque Church of La Trinité, at the Abbaye-aux-Dames on the west side of the city], was founded by Matilda.  Her tomb is located there.  Both structures were unscathed by the war.  Both abbeys are beautiful structures done in the Norman Romanesque style, and both were constructed of ‘Caen stone’, a light creamy-yellow Jurassic limestone.  This stone was also a popular building material with the Normans in England.  The château-fort that overlooks the city was built by William in 1060.  The Romanesque Church of Saint-Étienne, which was started in 1066, was also constructed using ‘Caen stone’.  It has two, 295 foot towers.  The towers are topped by 13th century octagonal spires.  The church’s lantern-tower is considered a masterpiece. The Church of Saint-Pierre is principally of Gothic design with French Renaissance embellishments.  It is located at the southern base of the château, between the churches of Saint-Étienne and La Trinité. In the 19th century, a 9 mile long ship canal was constructed between the city and the English Channel at Ouistreham.  During the Battle of Normandy, June 6 to August 22, 1944, Caen became the center of German resistance to the Allies.  During the British-Canadian advance, over two-thirds of the city was destroyed. In 1957, the University of Caen was reopened at a new site.  The city also has several noteworthy trade schools. The city’s products include automobiles, electrical appliances, electronics, gloves, lace, steel [that is exported via the canal] made of iron-ore from the nearby Orne Valley, and textiles. Return to top   Cherbourg   Coutances The hilltop town of Coutances overlooks the Cotentin peninsula in the Manche Departement of the region of Basse-Normandie.  It lies near the English Channel, on the Soulle River, about 170 miles west of Paris and 16 miles west-southwest of  Saint-Lô.  It is at the intersection of D2, from Cherbourg, D971 from Carentan and Granville and D972 from Saint-Lô.  The area was originally inhabited by an ancient Celtic tribe called the Unelli.  When the Romans came they called the town Cosedia.  They latter changed the name to Constantia, in the 3rd century, to honor the emperor Constantius I. Coutances became an Episcopal see during the 5th century.  During the Middle Ages it became the seat of a viscount.  Over the course of the centuries, the town was subjected to a long history of sieges.  In 1940, it was occupied by the Germans.  Coutances was one of the first towns to be taken by the Allies after the July 44 breakthrough at Saint-Lô.  The small town was badly damaged during World War II battles between the liberating Americans and the retreating Germans, but the cathedral escaped serious damage.  Work started on rebuilding the town, according to a master plan, in 1950.  The master plan was oriented towards accentuating the town’s old churches and other monuments.  The mainly 13th century Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame dominates the town.  It was originally built upon the site of an older church that was begun by a prominent local family around 1040.  The present building, which was constructed between 1220 and 1275, used the remains of the old church.  It is a slender example of local Norman architecture and the Gothic style with Gothic stained windows.  Its octagonal lantern tower raises to 135 feet and is flanked by turrets.  It wasn’t until the 13th century that its double flying buttresses were added.  Several blocks directly west is a Botanical Gardens [Jardin des plantes].  A court of assizes, and tribunals of the first instance and of commerce, are located several blocks to the north of the cathedral. Coutances’ is a market town for the Manche Departement.  Its products are mainly from the tanning and manufacturing industries.  The breeding of Normandy dairy cows is centered here. Return to top Honfleur Honfleur is a charming small fishing town, yacht harbor and tourist center situated on the southern bank of the Seine River Estuary in the Departement of Calvados.  It is directly south of, and across the Bassin de Retenue from, Le Havre and is directly linked to that city by the Normandie suspension bridge.  It is about 45 miles west of Rouen, 39 miles northeast of Caen and 125 miles west-northwest of Paris.  It is at the crossroads of D513, from Trouville and Deauville and D579 from Pont-l’Évéque. Honfleur was founded in the 11th century.  During the Hundred Years’ War, which lasted from 1337 to 1453, Honfleur changed hands many times.  The English last occupied this major defensive port from 1418 to 1450.  Over the course of the 16th through 19th centuries, the port’s importance increased as a result of its substantial trade with Asia and North America. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain sailed from the port to found Québec.  During the 19th century, Le Havre became much more important than Honfleur as a seaport.  Instead, Honfleur, because of its colorful charm, became a Mecca for artists and writers.  Boudin, Cézanne, Courbet, Pissarro, Renoir and Sisley all painted there. The picturesque 17th century Vieux-Bassin is encircled by 15th and 16th century buildings, with six and seven story houses on the western side.  On the east side is the town’s old fortified area, l’Enclos.  Surrounding the Vieux-Bassin are many varieties of colorful flowers. The 14th through 15th century Church of Sainte-Étienne houses the Musée de le Vieux-Honfleur.  The museum holds folkloric and maritime displays. The 15th century Church of Sainte-Catherine, located on the northwest side of the Vieux-Bassin, was constructed of timber, by ship carpenters, and appears as an upside down ship.  Nearby, is the Musée Eugène Boudin housing many Boudin works and paintings by the likes of Raoul Dufy. Honfleur is known as a tourist center and as one of Normandy’s most appealing harbors.  Its main manufacture is furniture. Return to top Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel is a small, rocky, cone-shaped island in the Gulf of Saint-Malo, located just off the cost of the Departement of Manche.  It is situated at the far northwestern edge of Basse-Normandie where it borders Brittany.  It is about 11 miles west-southwest of Avranches, 32 miles east of Saint-Malo, 63 miles southwest of Caen, 41 miles north of Rennes and 201 miles west of Paris.  The island is the northern terminus of Departemental route 976 from Rennes, just 5 miles north of its intersection with Route National 175. Originally, the islet was known as Mont-Tombe.  In the 8th century, the bishop of  nearby Avranches, Saint-Aubert, had a vision of  the archangel Saint-Michel.  In commemoration, he built an oratory on the 256 foot high granite outcropping and named it Mont-Saint-Michel.  The Benedictines built an abbey, on this spot, in 966.  King Philip II of France tried to capture the Mont in 1203, but merely succeeded in partially burning down the abbey.  Philip paid for his folly by underwriting the construction of the three-tiered La Merveille buildings, on the north side of the Mont.  These buildings rise majestically to the pointed spire of the abbey church.  In 1256, the island was fortified.  From 1337 to 1453, during the Hundred Years War, and from 1562 to 1598, over the course of the Wars of Religion, the fortified island resisted many sieges.  During the Hundred Years’ War it was the only part of northwestern France to remain constantly in French hands. During the 18th century, the monastery substantially declined.  By the beginning of the French Revolution, in 1787, the French government had dissolved the monastery.  At that time there were but seven monks in residence.  Under Napoléon I, who reigned from 1804 to 1815, Mont-Saint-Michel became a state political prison until 1863.  In 1874, the French government designated it as an historic monument and restored it.  It was connected to land by a 3000 foot long causeway built in 1875. During the Middle Ages, the island was completely surrounded by water.  Prior to the causeway’s construction, it was only surrounded by water at two high-tides per month.  Today, its tides are the highest on the continent, with a low-tide/high-tide differential of 50 feet at certain times of the year. A massive wall, more than ½ mile in circumference, encircles Mont-Saint-Michel.  The narrow Grande-Rue cobblestone street circles up to the monastery in three steep spirals.  It is bordered, at its lowest level, by old houses, some of which are from the 15th century.  Today, they are mostly hotels, restaurants and tourist shops. La Merveille was built in 1228.  Its powerful walls combine the robustness of a fortress with a religious simplicity.  On the southern and eastern sides of the medieval walls is a panoramic view of the bay.  On La Merveille’s second terrace is the Salle des Chevaliers.  It is a 13th century banquet hall and one of the largest and most beautiful rooms at Mont-Saint-Michel. The 11th through 16th century Romanesque and Gothic style Église Abbatiale is perched upon the top of the granite outcropping, overlooking the bay.  In the 19th century the tower, spire and the statue of Saint-Michel were added. In 1979, UNESCO designated Mont-Saint-Michel as a World Heritage site.  It is  France’s most splendid abbey and one of France’s greatest tourist sites.  Because of its combination of history and architecture, it has been called ‘the Wonder of the Western World’. Return to top Saint-Lô     The Region of Lower Normandy is composed of three Départements:  Orne [61], Calvados [14] and Manche [50]. The following links to lists of the towns and villages, by Départements [with population], with a link to each location's tourist office for phone, fax and address:  The Département of Calvados [14];  |  The Département of Manche [50]; | The Département of Orne [61];       Region of Lower Normandy Département of Calvados Bayeux Bayeux Beuvron-en-Auge Town of Beuvron-en-Auge Cabourg Cabourg Caen Caen Caen In2p3 Caen The town of Caen Town of Caen The District of Grand-Caen The area of Caen Greater Caen The ways to enter Caen Sites in Caen GANIL Deauville Deauville Deauville International Center Film Festival Evrecy Evrecy City Hall Herouville Herouville City Hall Honfleur The town of Honfleur   Honfleur City Hall Lion-sur-Mer Lion-sur-Mer City Hall Lisieux Town of Lisieux Lisieux, capital of Auge Lisieux, our town Louvigny Louvigny City Hall Mondeville Mondeville City Hall Orbec Orbec City Hall Reux Reux City Hall Saint-Martin-de-Bienfaite Saint-Martin-de-Bienfaite City Hall Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives City Hall Vendeuvre The chateau Verson Verson City Hall Villers-sur-Mer Villers-sur-Mer City Hall Vire Vire City Hall   Region of Lower Normandy Département of Manche  Avranches Town of Avranches Barfleur Town of Barfleur Bricquebec Town of Bricquebec Cherbourg Cherbourg Cherbourg Channel Cherbourg City Hall Equeurdreville-Hainneville Equeurdreville City Hall Granville Granville City Hall Le Mont-Saint-Michel Le Mont-Saint-Michel Pontorson   Tourism Pontorson City Hall Port-Bail Port-Bail City Hall Saint-Jean-le-Thomas Saint-Jean-le-Thomas City Hall Valognes Valognes City Hall   Region of Lower Normandy, Département of Orne  Alencon Animal clinic Another Alencon site Town of Alençon Bresolettes   Bresolettes City Hall Bresolettes, a small town in western France Camembert The town Camembert area Camembert: a village and a cheese Saint-Germain-des-Grois The town Saint-Hilaire-sur-Erre Saint-Hilaire-sur-Erre City Hall Tinchebray Tinchebray City Hall Vimoutiers   Vimoutiers City Hall Vimoutiers City Hall