As one of Normandy's most important tourist destinations, Bayeux is well equipped with accommodation . On the whole, however, the hotels are more expensive than usual. There's a large three-star campsite on boulevard d'Eindhoven (tel 02.31.92.08.43; closed mid-Nov to mid-March), on the northern ring road (RN13) near the river.

Hotels

d'Argouges , 21 rue St-Patrice (tel 02.31.92.88.86, fax 02.31.92.69.16, argouges@mail.cpod.fr ). Quiet, central and very stylish hotel in an eighteenth-century building, with an imposing courtyard, and a well-kept garden around the back. 220-600F/a?¬34-91.

Family Home , 39 rue GA©nA©ral-Dais (tel 02.31.92.15.22, fax 02.31.92.55.72). Central seventeenth-century house which describes itself as both maison d'hA?tes (guesthouse) and an auberge de jeunesse (youth hostel). Its prices are a little over the usual odds (hostel accommodation is 95F/a?¬14.48 per person) and it's a bit self-consciously jolly - but people return again and again. Rates include breakfast. Meals are taken communally, Madame LefA?vre presiding at the head of a long table in an old oak-beamed dining room, with dinner for 65F/a?¬9.91 at 7.30pm. They also rent bikes and run D-Day tours. Under 160F/a?¬24-300F/a?¬46.

de la Gare , 26 place de la Gare (tel 02.31.92.10.70, fax 02.31.51.95.99). Old but perfectly adequate basic hotel, with a simple brasserie, beside the station, on the ring road a 15min walk from the cathedral. Tours of D-Day beaches arranged. Under 160F/a?¬24.

HA?tel-Restaurant Lion d'Or , 71 rue St-Jean (tel 02.31.92.06.90, fax 02.31.22.15.64). Grand old coaching inn set back behind a courtyard, just beyond the pedestrianized section of the rue St-Jean, outside Les Halles des Grains (now the assembly rooms). The rooms themselves are brighter and newer than the exterior might lead you to expect. Menus from 150F/a?¬22.87. Closed mid-Dec to mid-Jan. 400-500F/a?¬61-76.

HA?tel-Restaurant Notre Dame , 44 rue des Cuisiniers (tel 02.31.92.87.24, fax 02.31.92.67.11). Friendly and very pleasant logis , with a magnificent view of the cathedral. Menus from 95F/a?¬14.48 (with rabbit in cider), with a special Norman one at 145F/a?¬22.11. Closed mid-Nov to mid-Dec, plus Sun evening & Mon in winter. 160-300F/a?¬24-46.

Reine Mathilde , 23 rue Larcher (tel 02.31.92.08.13, fax 02.31.92.09.93). Simple but well-equipped hotel - all rooms have showers and TV - backing onto the canal, between the tapestry and the cathedral. No restaurant as such, but there's a nice open-air summer-only brasserie downstairs, with the cheapest menu at 49F/a?¬7.47 and a good four-course meal for 100F/a?¬15.24. Closed Jan. 220-300F/a?¬34-46.

Le Relais des CA?dres , 1 bd Sadi-Carnot (tel 02.31.21.98.07). Pretty guesthouse, not far from the station but within sight of the cathedral. The rooms are fine, and good value, although the atmosphere is not all that welcoming. 160-300F/a?¬24-46.