Of all the things to see in Le Havre, this is probably the number one item. Le Havre is not a touristy city with a lot of monuments, but the Saint-Joseph church is special, very special. The St. Joseph church is first of all the most noticeable landmark of the city, to be seen miles away. …
Transport Getting there Ferry: From Southampton and Portsmouth direct to Le Havre, or from Newhaven to Dieppe and then the A29 to Le Havre. Click here to read more about the ferry station. Air: There is an airport, but there are no scheduled flights anymore, just charters. Within Le Havre Within Le Havre, there is …
If you are not someone who likes or wants to climb stairs, this article is not for you. On the other hand, if you like a physical challenge, read on. The city of Le Havre is built partially at sea-level and partially on top of the cliffs that adjoin the sea. In the old days …
Les-Sables-d’Olonne is a nice coastal town in the Atlantic, but it’s mostly known as departure and arrival point of the grueling single handed round-the-world sail race without any stops, the Vendee Globe.
Lisieux, in the lower part of Normandy, is an interesting and different kind of place to visit. It’s a very small city (or a very big town) with a population of some 22,000 inhabitants, but despite its relatively small size it contains an enormous basilica AND a big cathedral. Because of that, and the large population of …
Lorient in Brittany is not a place you want to visit for the beauty of the city, since it’s not. But the La Base is very interesting since it was the main submarine base of the Germans during WWII. There’s even a submarine you can visit.
Lyon is a city full of contrasts, particularly in its architecture. The city is big, Lyon itself is France’s 3rd largest city, but when you add the suburbs, then the Lyon metropole is France’s 2nd largest metropole (after Paris). It is also the world capital of gastronomy, the city where many of todays top chefs have …
We’ve already shown you the wonderful Basilica, but there are many more churches in Lyon. The Lyon dioceses is one of the oldest in France, so it’s no surprise to see many churches, a cathedral, convents and many chapels. Anywhere you go in Lyon, you’ll stumble upon a church, some of them ruins with no information. …
Transport Getting There By car, the A84/E3 motorway (autoroute) comes about 10 kilometres away and it’s well sign posted. TIP: If you reserve a hotel (or restaurant) make sure you get the access code for the barriers into the area. If not you will be forced to park in the parking areas (paid) and walk …
The Fontenay Abbey, located next to the city of Montbard in Burgundy, is part of the Unesco World Heritage sites. Therefore you can expect something that is out of the ordinary, and you’ll not be disappointed. The Cistercian Abbey is old, very old. It is the oldest Cistercian abbey in the world that has preserved its …
Built: 10th centuryStatus: PublicVisitable?: Yes (grounds for free, the castle including a tour guide for a fee)Notable: –Web: – Montbard is a small city of some 5500 inhabitants, a river and a big canal flowing through it and an incredible abbey close-by. It also has a castle perched high on the hill overlooking the city. The small …
Nantes is France’s 6th largest city with some 300,000 inhabitants and 950,000 in the metropolitan area, and it was once the capital of Brittany (that was in the 15th century). Although over the centuries it was part of the Brittany region, nowadays it is no longer considered as such, much to the displeasure of its …
The Sainte-Croix church is not a church you are going to go out of your way to admire, but the bell tower is something to be seen. This also happens to be the church where the famous sci-fi writer Jules Verne was baptised. The church was built in the 17th century, but they have found …
Although the Lower part of Normandy saw the biggest brunt of the WWII battles, with D-Day and the immediate battles that followed, the Upper part of Normandy saw its fair share of fighting. And during WWI, it was one of the battlefronts. Therefore throughout Normandy, at almost any hamlet, village, town and city, you will …
Normandy (Upper) – WWI and WWII Memorials and Remnants Read More »
Pont l’Eveque had been badly destroyed towards the end of World War II, and that went doubly so for the Saint-Michel church. But the town rebuilt their beautiful city, and the 15th century church was restored to its former glory. Pont l’Eveque during WWII saw an epic 3-day battle just after D-Day. 3 days …
As stated in the Introduction article of Rouen, there are some 35 churches, abbeys, monasteries, and ruins scattered around Rouen and most of them are from the Middle Ages, so medieval. When you see the construction, you’ll be amazed they were constructed 4-500 years ago. Here are some of the religious buildings to be seen …
Built: 15th centuryStatus: Public/MuseumVisitable?: Yes (1st Sunday of the month is free)Notable: xxxxWeb: Chateau de Saint-Germain-de-Livet In a small 800 person village close to Lisieux is a castle that looks like a fairytale castle, the kind kids would draw. The village is called Saint-Germain-de -Livet, and the castle dates back to the 15th century. The castle was donated …
The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church in Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a special church, both in beauty and historic importance. The first mentions of this church were already found in the 12th century, however, the real construction of the church was in the 15th century. The church is located, like most churches, quite in the centre of the city. Back …
St. Malo in Brittany is one of those cities (population around 50,000) that shows very well why France is the #1 tourist destination in the world. It’s a medieval city, well maintained with an enormous walled city, enormous fortress towers, a big harbour, many old and majestic houses and cobblestone streets lined with restaurants. Definitely …
Normally speaking the village of Sainte-Mere-Eglise should mean nothing to most people. Unless you are a WWII buff or a movie buff. The movie in question is “The Longest Day” starring none other than John Wayne trying to get to Sainte-Mere-Eglise during D-Day. The village itself nowadays consists of some 2,500 inhabitants (that is, after …
The Basilica Saint-Martin of Tours is a modest basilica, as far as basilicas go. It’s quite recent, and replaces an old basilica that over the centuries has been destroyed.
Here are but some of the many catholic churches that you can see in Tours.
Valence, a scenic and older city, lies pretty much South on the Eastern part of France. With its 65,000 inhabitants, it’s close to Switzerland and Italy (close enough for day trips) and it is in the crossroads of the North-South and West-East traffic. It was, once upon a time, a major colony for Rome (121 …
The city of Vannes in Brittany is old, and very well preserved. The fortified walls extend all along the old city centre and merits a visit.
