Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry is embroidery, not tapestry: wool thread worked onto linen in eight colours, about seventy metres long and half a metre high, made probably in England in the 1070s and telling the events leading to the Norman conquest of 1066 across fifty-eight scenes with Latin captions, ending abruptly with the English in flight, the final section lost. It shows Halley's comet, which appeared in 1066 and was read as an omen. It survived the Revolution, when it was nearly cut up for wagon covers, and the Second World War, when it was moved repeatedly. UNESCO added it to the Memory of the World register.

What you actually see

• The seventy-metre strip - the whole narrative shown in one continuous run.
• The comet scene - Halley's comet recorded as an omen in 1066.
• The border figures - animals, fables and bodies running above and below.
• The lost ending - the final section missing, cutting the story short.

When to go

Year-round; the museum is closing for a major renovation expected to run into 2027, with the tapestry moved, so its current display location must be checked before travelling.

Honest expectations

The museum is closing for renovation and the tapestry's display arrangements are changing; check status before going. The viewing route is one-way with an audio guide and moves at a set pace.

Nearby

The D-Day beaches lie north; Caen is southeast.