Caen

Monday was our last full day in Caen, so we spent the day walking around and visiting Le Chateau, Abbaye aux Hommes, and an antique shop we had passed while out earlier in our trip.  Much of Caen was hit hard during WWII and Le Chateau was used as a bunker during the war and took a beating during the fighting.  Le Chateau was built in 1066 by William the Conqueror; today there are still parts of the castle up, a history museum and an art museum on the property.

View of a cathedral from the front of Le Chateau

Castle residence, today used for the Musée de Normandie

Foundations from the original buildings

View from the top of Le Chateau

After Le Chateau we walked over to Abbaye aux Hommes where we saw William the Conqueror was burried.  The Abbaye aux Hommes and Abbaye aux Dames (which we did not make it over to) were payment from William and his wife Matilda because their marriage was not approved by the church.  The Abbaye aux Hommes is beautiful we even were able to witness organ practice for the next service.

Courtyard outside the Abbaye

Today the Abbaye is also used as city hall and government offices

William the Conqueror's burial site

Beautiful carvings around different sections of the cathedral

An excellent view for the service

Organ practice is what kept us there after we had explored the cathedral

We then walked around town and stumbled upon this gem:

Original house-fronts built in the 16th century