The old harbour of Honfleur

Honfleur – Introduction

Following Normandy’s best kept secret (Veules-Les-Roses), here’s the least best kept one; Honfleur. Honfleur is one of the prime tourist destinations in Normandy, second only to the Mont St. Michel. It’s not only popular with the foreign tourists but also with local French ones. Day trippers from Paris, even from within Normandy, will be visiting this very pretty and scenic fishing village. And even if you have never visited Honfleur, it’s likely you’ll have seen it, since many artists, past and present, have painted/drawn/captured the town.

It’s been popular from the beginning. The first mention of Honfleur was already in the year 1027, and it was the Duke of Normandy, Richard III, who mentioned it. In those times, Honfleur was an important harbour, not only for cargo but also fishing. And today, it still is a very active fishing village.

Honfleur totally survived the Second World War, with not a single bomb falling on the town (one of the few that escaped unscathed). It was liberated by the Belgians in August 1944.

Fishing fleet at Honfleur
Fishing fleet at Honfleur

The coastal fishing fleet have their own, dedicated, harbour:

Fishing fleet at Honfleur
Fishing fleet at Honfleur

But the most visible harbour, the one taking a central place in the town is the pleasure boat harbour, also known as the “vieux bassin” (the old harbour), built in 1681:

Pleasure boat harbour of Honfleur
Pleasure boat harbour of Honfleur

This harbour is the central place for your visit. Most of the restaurants are located alongside the quai. People meeting up with each other, usually meet up here.

Pleasure boat harbour of Honfleur
Pleasure boat harbour of Honfleur

This is where you’ll find the painters making painting of the harbour, strollers, hikers, and even fishers. But the main attraction for visitors is during lunch or diner:

The harbour restaurants of Honfleur
The harbour restaurants of Honfleur

Every house alongside both sides of the harbour is either a restaurants, an ice-cream shop or an establishment where you can get some sort of food. But the restaurants dominate this area, and at lunch/dinner time, it gets very crowded.

But this area, although very nice to look at, is very touristy. Food quality leaves a lot to desire.

Restaurants of Honfleur
Restaurants of Honfleur

Through the town you will find other restaurants which are better and not so touristy. In fact, anywhere you go there are restaurants. For a town with some 8,000 inhabitants, they have over 150 restaurants.

Restaurants of Honfleur
Restaurants of Honfleur

TIP: If you’re planning to eat in Honfleur, don’t take the first one you see at the harbour, instead wander through the town first.

At the other end of the harbour, you will find an imposing and very old building:

The King's Lieutenancy building at the Honfleur harbour
The King’s Lieutenancy building at the Honfleur harbour

This was an official house of the King’s Lieutenancy, the official representative of the King. The house was part of the town’s defence and was in the 17th century surrounded by fortified walls, that have all since disappeared. If you look closely at the wall, you’ll see where the fortified walls were knocked down.

Honfleur lighthouse – Phare Jetee Est

Honfleur harbour lighthouse Phare Jetee Est
Honfleur harbour lighthouse Phare Jetee Est

There is an older lighthouse, but it’s more inland and decommissioned. The lighthouse “phare Jetee Est” is just on the outer limited of the harbour.

The lighthouse was built in 1843 and measures 12 meters high.

The Old Lighthouse

Towards the other side of Honfleur, towards the Buton beach, you will find an old lighthouse, dubbed the Hospital Lighthouse, or Old Honfleur Lighthouse.

The Old Hospital Lighthouse of Honfleur
The Old Hospital Lighthouse of Honfleur

The lighthouse was built in 1853 replacing a wooden lighthouse. In 1908 the lighthouse was upgraded. It is still in use.

Sainte-Catherine church

One of the main tourist sights of Honfleur is the Sainte-Catherine church.

Sainte-Catherine church of Honfleur
Sainte-Catherine church of Honfleur

From the photo above, it looks small, but it isn’t:

Sainte-Catherine church of Honfleur
Sainte-Catherine church of Honfleur

And that is because the steeple was built away from the church to protect the villagers from the lightning strikes. The initial construction of teh steeple and then the church was started in the 15h century.

It was built using local expertise, which in this case came from the fishing boat builders. Therefore the church resembles an overturned ship’s hull, a construction you can see along the coastal areas in France for either churches or market places. The Sainte-Catherine church is France’s biggest wooden church.

Entrance and porch of the Sainte-Catherine church of Honfleur
Entrance and porch of the Sainte-Catherine church of Honfleur
The bell tower of the Sainte-Catherine church of Honfleur
The bell tower of the Sainte-Catherine church of Honfleur

This is the steeple of the church, separated from the church itself. The tower had indeed been hit by lightning several times.

NOTE: For more information and photos of the Saint-Catherine church read our review, click here.

Saint-Etienne Church/Maritime Museum

On the other side of the old harbour you’ll find this museum:

Marine museum of Honfleur
Marine museum of Honfleur

The Maritime Museum is located inside the old Saint-Etienne church, built in the 14th century. After the French revolution it served as theatre, storage (especially for herring), trading floor and in 1976 it became a museum for maritime objects.

On the right, in the small alley way is the “salt alley”, accommodating storage areas for salt. There used to be three of them, built in 1670, now there are only two left. The salt was used by the fishing industry to salt the fish. Each storage could contain 10,000 tons of salt. Today the old storage buildings are used by the town for receptions, exhibitions and presentations.

The Town Centre

Walking on the narrow cobblestone streets will give you a good impression what the town looked like during the Middle Ages.

Cobblestone streets of Honfleur
Cobblestone streets of Honfleur

Most houses are still in their original state, and most are classified as “National Monuments” (meaning the owners can only change interior or exterior with governmental permissions).

Old houses of Honfleur
Old houses of Honfleur

Although most houses are now restaurants or shops, many are still used for living.

Restaurants in an old square of Honfleur
Restaurants in an old square of Honfleur

The details of many of these houses are amazing. Glancing up to the rafters, you’ll be surprised what you see:

House decorations in Honfleur
House decorations in Honfleur

But not everything is old..

Tourist office of Honfleur
Tourist office of Honfleur

This is part of the tourist office of Honfleur. But the vast majority of the town are very old and delightful scenic.

Old houses and shops of Honfleur
Old houses and shops of Honfleur

There are quite a few shopping streets, but none are pedestrians only, this due to the fact that streets are narrow and there is no space for pedestrians only. Many of the shops are for art and antiques.

Old house of Honfleur
Old house of Honfleur

Houses are built in the traditional Normandy way; wood and in between “torchi” (a straw and mud mixture).

Old house of Honfleur
Old house of Honfleur

The more well-to-do houses were built out of stone, often flintstone.

Town Hall of Honfleur
Town Hall of Honfleur

The town hall is very recent and lies slightly away from the touristy areas.

Merry-go-round at the old harbour of Honfleur
Merry-go-round at the old harbour of Honfleur

The old merry-go-round that has been in Honfleur as long as I can remember(in fact, it started in 1995). During the winter, the carrousel moves to another city, but when it returns, you know the tourist season has started. This merry-go-round is allegedly from 1900, but somehow I doubt it.

The Mont-Joli Panorama

After a slight hike uphill (you can use the hike to go and visit the Notre-Dame de Grace chapel), you can have a spectacular view over Honfleur. This is the Mont-Joli panorama.

ViewAreaMemorialCloseUpMap
View over Honfleur at the Mont-JoliView over Honfleur at the Mont-Joli
Mont-Joli area of HonfleurMont-Joli area of Honfleur
Memorial at the Mont-JoliMemorial at the Mont-Joli
Closeup view over Honfleur at the Mont-JoliCloseup view over Honfleur at the Mont-Joli

The Artists

Honfleur was (and is) a very picturesque town, so it saw many artists capturing the beauty of this very scenic town. The reason it has so many tourists is obvious…. it’s very pretty. Here are some of the artists that have come to apply their art in the town (a link, symbolized by a ““, to the artist’s works will appear when published. A “*” indicates that the artist did not work directly in Honfleur but instead worked outside of Honfleur in a nearby town).

Summary

Honfleur is a great place to spend the day. BUT!! No matter what time of the year, winter or summer, sun or rain, it’s always full. There’s a reason there are so many restaurants! So arm yourself with patience, particularly when looking for a place to park your car.

On a side note, Samuel de Champlain left from Honfleur and founded the city of Quebec in Canada.

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