Heading southwest from Bayeux towards St-Lô, you pass close to the remarkable Romanesque Abbaye de Cerisy-la-Forêt (Easter to mid-Nov Tues–Sun 9am–6.30pm, free; guided tours Easter–Sept Tues–Sun 10.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm, Oct to mid-Nov Sat & Sun 10.30am–noon & 2–6pm, €3), halfway along the D572 and 5km to the north of it. Its triple tiers of windows and arches and the delicate workmanship of its nave and choir are testimony to the breathtaking skills of medieval Norman masons.No less notable is the Château de Balleroy (mid-March to June & Sept to mid-Oct daily except Tues 9am–noon & 2–6pm; July & Aug daily 10am–6pm; €7; 3km southeast of the same junction, where you switch to an era when architects ruled over craftsmen. The main street of the village leads straight to the brick-and-stone Château, a masterpiece of the celebrated seventeenth-century architect, François Mansart, and standing like a faultlessly reasoned and dogmatic argument for the power of its owners and their class. It belongs to the family of the late American press magnate Malcolm Forbes, owner of Forbes magazine and pal of Nixon, Ford and Nancy Reagan. His is the enlarged colour photograph sharing the stairwell with Dutch still lifes, and he left his mark on most other aspects of the house, too – only the salon remains in its original state of glory, with brilliant portraits of the (then) royal family by Mignard. Admission also includes a hot-air balloon museum, which was one of Mr Forbes' hobbies.
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