Operation Overlord, Bayeux France
August 16, 2023 - by Muriel Dassen
You will be surprised by the lovely city of Bayeux, a town in Northern France in the department of Calvados and the region Normandy, very near to the English Channel. Enough to see and do in Bayeux itself with plenty of nice facilities. So Bayeux is a perfect central point to go and explore the area where the D-Day landings during Operation Overlord took place.
The rides will of course take you to the main highlights of the Operation Overlord sights, but will also show you that this part of Normandy has more to offer than just WW II related memorials.
Of course you can download the GPX / ITN files and full e-books of the 2 rides we have in this tour via our roadtrip planner but you can already find the info in this blogpost.
You will easily find the medieval centre of Bayeux as it is built around its beautiful and famous cathedral. Besides nice bars and restaurants you can visit the Cathedral itself and the Musee de la Tapisserie in the centre of Bayeux. This museum has the actual Bayeux tapestry, telling the story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, on display. If you are interested, find more information about the Musee de la Tappisserie on the Bayeux museums combined website.
Just outside the centre you can visit the Musee de la bataille de Normandy and the Bayeux War Cemetery. Again, for more information on the museum, visit the Bayeux museums combined website.
For the Operation Overlord tour we want to recommended the following accommodations – all with suitable parking for your bike. If you want to support us to keep supporting you, we do ask you to book the accommodation via the links that we provide as an affiliate of Booking.com.
Recommended hotels:
Rating on Booking.com: Very good 8.3
With on site secured - not covered - parking, fee applicable
5 minute walk to centre Bayeux
Rating on Booking.com: Very Good 8.0
With on site secured parking, fee applicable
With bar and restaurant
In city centre Bayeux
Rating on Booking.com: Fabulous 8.7
With on site secured – and covered – parking, fee applicable
In city centre Bayaux
Rating on Booking.com: Superb 9.0
With free on site secured – and covered - parking
In city centre Bayeux
Rating on Booking.com: Fabulous 8.8
With free on site secured - not covered - parking
20 minute walk to centre Bayeux
Rating on Booking.com: Fabulous 8.6
Rooms, but also camping, self-catered gites and tents to rent
With free on site parking
With bar and restaurant on site
8 km/ 5 miles outside of Bayeux
Ride 1
Ride 1 of the Operation Overlordtour is 160 km / almost 100 miles long and will take you to 3 Operation Overlord related highlights here in Normandy. With some nice riding in between and a stop to show you that Normandy has more to offer than just WW II related museums and memorials. We think it's a perfect day to spend your time here in Normandy!
Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
This American cemetery and memorial is the most visited cemetery run by the American Battle Monuments Commission. The memorial honours all the American troops who gave their lives in Europe during WW II. With over 9,000 burials and 700,000 square metre or 172 acres this is a very impressive site to visit. For more information visit this website.
Point du Hoc
In the middle of Omaha Beach and Utah Beach you can visit Point du Hoc. The place did hold a series of German bunkers and machine gun posts to defend the beaches. Follow the path to see all the memorial and remaining fortifications.
Sainte Mère Église
This is one of the towns that were liberated on 6 June 1944. You will find some museums, gift shops and cafes and restaurants. But also look for the dummy paratrooper, commemorating John Steele, whose parachute got caught in the church spire. Watch the video to hear more about his story. More information on the Airborne museum can be found on its website.
Chateau de Balleroy
To show you that Normandy has more to offer than just WW II related museums and memorials, we are taking you to the village of Balleroy and its Chateau for the last stop in this ride. The Salon du Thé is only open from Wednesday to Sunday outside July and August. If it is open, you can enjoy a drink here. And why don't you try the local cider? For more information on the Chateau and Salon du Thé, visit this website.
Ride 2
With ride 2 of the Operation Overlord tour we are going to take you for some nice riding and bring you to other sights than just WW II memorial. The ride is 190 km / 118 miles long. But don't worry, we haven't forgotten the theme of this tour. So we will bring you to 2 other Operation Overlord highlights at the end of this ride. Another full day of fun and sightseeing in Normandy!
Chateau de Canon
Our first stop of this ride is is at the Chateau de Canon. The Chateau, gardens ánd Salon du Thé do have limited opening hours. You can find more information on
this link. Therefor we have also added the Hotel de la Gare in Mézidon- Canon to your GPX / ITN file that you can download via our roadtrip planner if you fancy a drink or bite to eat.
Beuvron on Auge
The ride then takes you on a part of the Route du Cidre with some lovely winding roads. We have added a stop in Beuvron on Auge: part of Les plus beaux villages de France: the most beautiful villages of France! Please don't park ON the square, but on the free parking just behind the square.
Pegasus Bridge
The successful taking of this Pegasus bridge on the nigh of 5 June 1944 played an important role in limiting the effectiveness of a German counter-attack in the days and weeks following the Normandy invasion.This is the modern replacement, but you can see the old bridge in the Musee Memorial Pegasus. More information on the museum on this link. You can also have a refreshing drink at the Cafeé Gondrée, the first house in occupied France to be liberated. So therefor this is a good stop in your ride 2 of the Operation Overlord tour.
Arromanches les Bains
The last stop of this ride 2 is in Arromanches les bains where the artificial port Mulberry harbour was created in the days after D-Day. The Musée du Débarquement is definitely worth a visit, but you might want to consider adding some time if you'd want to explore it all. For more information on the museum, visit its website.
Go on your own QUAZY RIDE
You can download the GPX / ITN files of the rides and the full e-books via our roadtrip planner and then we hope you will enjoy the rides you will be doing in this Quazy Rides Operation Overlord motorcycle tour and your stay in Bayeux.
If you are posting on social media, don't forget to tag Quazy Rides or use the #QuazyRides, because we LOVE to see you having fun with our rides.
