Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [20]
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Honfleur | Deauville-Trouville | Caen | Bayeux | The D-Day Beaches | St-Lô | Granville | Mont-St-Michel
Basse Normandy (Lower Normandy) begins to the west of the Seine Estuary, near the Belle Époque resort towns of Trouville and Deauville, extending out to the sandy Côte Fleurie (Flower Coast), stretching northwest from the D-Day landing sites past Omaha Beach and on to Utah Beach and the Cotentin Peninsula, which juts out into the English Channel. After the World War II D-Day landings, some of the fiercest fighting took place around Caen and Bayeux, as many monuments and memorials testify. Heading south, in the prosperous Pays d’Auge, dairy farms produce the region’s famous cheeses. Rising to the west is the fabled Mont-St-Michel. Inland, heading back toward central France, lush green meadows and apple orchards cover the countryside starting west of the market town of Lisieux—the heart of Calvados country.
HONFLEUR
35 km (22 mi) southwest of Etretat via D940, A131, and D579, 80 km (50 mi) west of Rouen.
Honfleur is the most interesting of the Côte Fleurie’s little seaside towns. Much of the city’s Renaissance architecture remains intact, especially around the 17th-century Vieux Bassin harbor, which is almost as supremely colorful as in the days when the great Impressionist masters often painted it. The town has become increasingly crowded since the opening of the elegant Pont de Normandie, providing a direct link with Le Havre and Upper Normandy. (The world’s largest cable-stayed bridge, it’s supported by two concrete pylons taller than the Eiffel Tower and is designed to resist winds of 160 mph.) Honfleur, full of half-timber houses and cobbled streets, and once an important departure point for maritime expeditions, including the first voyages to Canada in the 15th and 16th centuries, remains a time-burnished place.
Getting Here and Around
To get to Honfleur, take the bus from Deauville (30 mins, €2.05); from Caen (1 hr, 45 mins; €7.20); or from Le Havre (30 mins, €4.10). Buses run every two hours or so and are operated by Bus Verts du Calvados (08–10–21–42–14 | www.busverts.fr).
Visitor Information
Honfleur Tourist Office. | 9 rue de la Ville | 14600 | 02–31–89–23–30 | en.ot-honfleur.fr.
EXPLORING HONFLEUR
Honfleur is beloved as one of France’s most picturesque ports. Its 17th-century harbor is fronted on one side by two-story stone houses with low, sloping roofs and on the other by tall, narrow houses whose wooden facades are topped by slate roofs. Note that parking can be a problem. Your best bet is the parking lot just beyond the Vieux-Bassin (Old Harbor) on the left as you approach from the land side.
Soak up the seafaring atmosphere by strolling around the old harbor and paying a visit to the ravishing wooden church of Ste-Catherine, which dominates a tumbling square. The church and the ramshackle belfry across the way were built by townspeople to show their gratitude for the departure of the English at the end of the Hundred Years’ War, in 1453. | Rue des Logettes | 14600 | 02–31–89–11–83.
WHERE TO EAT IN HONFLEUR
Le Fleur de Sel.
$$$–$$$$ | FRENCH | A low-beamed 16th-century fisherman’s house provides the cozy atmosphere for chef Vincent’s Guyon’s locally influenced cuisine centered on the daily catch. The ambitious menu usually includes at least five different fish dishes—presented with artistic panache—along with plenty of grilled meats, like salt-marsh lamb or pigeon. For starters, the sea trout tartare, with oyster, apple, and lime with a coriander vinaigrette, draws raves, followed by a delicately spiced filet of dorade with split-pea puree and oyster cream. Three fixed-price menus—at €28, €38, and €58—assure a splendid meal on any budget. Be sure to save room for one of the masterful desserts or an informed cheese course. | 17 rue Haute | 14600 | 02–31–89–01–92 | www.lafleurdesel-honfleur.com