9 Best Sights in Normandy, France

Essentially a 225-foot-long embroidered scroll stitched in 1067, the Bayeux Tapestry, known in French as the Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde (Queen Matilda's Tapestry), depicts, in 58 comic strip–type scenes, the epic story of William of Normandy's conquest of England, narrating Will's trials and victory over his cousin Harold, culminating in the Battle of Hastings on October 14, 1066. The tapestry was probably commissioned from Saxon embroiderers by the count of Kent—who was also the bishop of Bayeux—to be displayed in his newly built Cathédrale Notre-Dame. The extremely detailed, often homey scenes provide an unequaled record of the clothes, weapons, ships, and lifestyles of the day. It's showcased in the Musée de la Tapisserie (Tapestry Museum); free audio guides let you listen to an English commentary about the tapestry.

Occupying an innovative 1960s glass-and-metal building, the city's art museum has soaring plate-glass windows that bathe the interior in the famous sea light that drew scores of artists to Le Havre. Two local painters who gorgeously immortalized the Normandy coast are showcased here—Raoul Dufy (1877–1953), through a remarkable collection of his brightly colored oils, watercolors, and sketches; and Eugène Boudin (1824–98), a forerunner of Impressionism, whose compelling beach scenes and landscapes tellingly evoke the Normandy sea and skyline.

Housed in the Bishop's Palace beneath the cathedral, the Musée Baron-Gérard (also known as the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Baron Gérard or MAHB) displays a fine collection of Bayeux porcelain and lace, plus ceramics from Rouen, vintage pharmaceutical jars, 16th- to 19th-century furniture, and paintings by local artists. Note the magnificent plane tree out front—dubbed the Tree of Liberty, it was planted in 1797.

A superb array of local pottery and European porcelain can be admired at this museum, housed in an elegant mansion near the Musée des Beaux-Arts.

Set in a mansion built for the castle governor, this museum is dedicated to regional arts such as ceramics and sculpture, as well as local archaeological finds.

One of Rouen's cultural mainstays, this museum is famed for its stellar collection of paintings and sculptures from the 16th to the 20th century, including works by native son Géricault as well as by David, Rubens, Caravaggio, Velázquez, Poussin, Delacroix, Degas, and Modigliani. Most popular of all, however, is the impressive Impressionist gallery, with Monet, Renoir, and Sisley, plus the Postimpressionist School of Rouen headed by Albert Lebourg and Gustave Loiseau.

Within the castle's walls, the Musée des Beaux-Arts is a heavyweight among France's provincial fine arts museums. Its collection includes works by Monet, Poussin, Rubens, Brueghel, Tintoretto, and Veronese; there's also a wide range of 20th-century art on view.

St-Lô has the perfect French provincial art museum. Its halls are airy, seldom busy, and not too big, yet full of varied exhibits—including an unexpected masterpiece: Gombault et Macée, a set of nine silk-and-wool tapestries woven in Bruges around 1600 relating a tale about a shepherd couple, exquisitely showcased in a special circular room. Other highlights include brash modern tapestries by Jean Lurçat; paintings by Corot, Boudin, and Géricault; and court miniatures by Daniel Saint. Photographs, models, and documents evoke St-Lô's wartime devastation, as does a Fernand Léger watercolor, given to the museum by his wife in memory of his work on the town's postwar reconstruction.

This excellent small museum, dedicated to the work of Honfleur-born Eugène Boudin, traces a career crucial to the development of Impressionism. His friendship with, and influence on, Claude Monet is visible in his masterful depiction of the region's skies and seaways.