Notre-Dame Cathedral of Bayeux (Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Bayeux)

The cathedral's crypt was lost for 200 years. Filled in and sealed during 13th-century choir construction, it was rediscovered in 1412 when workers attempted to bury a bishop. The excavation revealed 11th-century Romanesque pillars with Corinthian capitals, later decorated with 15th-century star-painted ceilings and angel frescoes by patron Gervais de Larchamp, whose tomb still occupies an elaborately painted recess.

The chapter house floor contains a small labyrinth made from locally produced tiles in the early 13th century. Similar to the famous labyrinths at Chartres and Amiens cathedrals, it represents a symbolic pilgrimage path that medieval worshippers would walk on their knees as a form of penance or spiritual meditation.

Bishop Odo de Conteville, who consecrated the cathedral in 1077, likely commissioned the Bayeux Tapestry specifically to hang in the nave. The 70-meter embroidery depicting William the Conqueror's invasion of England was designed to be displayed during the consecration ceremony, making the cathedral the tapestry's original home for centuries before it was moved to a dedicated museum.