Cherbourg, or as it is known officially Cherbourg-Octeville (after having merged with its neighbouring town), can be described as “quaint”. That’s the word I would use if I were to be positive. The real words that come to my mind are “drab”, “rundown” and “uninspiring”. NOTE: Click on the top photo for a bigger panorama […]

Lannion in Brittany is one of those places that you can take or leave. When you walk around the city, you do see some nice things but there is something missing. It’s probably what the French call “je ne sais quoi“, a soul to the place. The city is well kept and clean, and the […]

Watermills have been used over the centuries around the world to regulate water levels (notably in The Netherlands) or to grind wheat, corn and other products. For a watermill to exist you not only need a river, but you need especially a fast flowing river. Normandy, particularly Upper Normandy, has several fast flowing rivers, and […]

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 […]

Veules-Les-Roses in Upper Normandy is one of the best kept secrets for most tourists, especially the foreign ones, but as a place to visit, it is most interesting and rewarding. It’s a very small village (some 600 inhabitants) that is foremost a beautiful, scenic and very photogenic village. Although notable visitors like Victor Hugo stayed here, you really […]

Etretat is Upper Normandy’s most popular tourist destination, particularly with the Parisians and locals. It is a small town (some 1500 inhabitants), but very picturesque and it has survived World War II almost intact. Its age can not be determined, but it is believed that it was there before the Vikings. Like most coastal towns […]

Transport Getting There The only real way is by car/motorcycle and it will involve a bit of small road travel. There is a train service from Paris to Le Havre and from there you need to take a bus. TIP: If you are coming between April and September by car, come early and forget about […]

Dieppe is a small harbour city (some 40,000 inhabitants) with an active fishing fleet, a ferry to the United Kingdom (Newhaven), an enormous fortress/castle and a nice looking inner city. Dieppe was founded in the year 1060 as a small fishing village, but already in 910, the Vikings started a settlement. Dieppe, like most of the […]

Trouville-sur-Mer, Lower Normandy, suffers from a perceived lack of glamour because of its more famous neighbour, Deauville (known for its casino, conference centre and international star-studded film festival). But they have nothing to be ashamed of. Big and long white sandy beaches, beautiful mansions, great restaurants and also a big casino, Trouville is the prefect beachside […]

Transport Getting There Via train. There is a train link between Paris and the shared railway station of Trouville-sur-Mer and Deauville. There are several daily direct (and ones where you need to change) trains. Fastest time is 2 hours. Via Ferry: Closest ferry harbours from the UK are Ouistreham (Caen) and Le Havre Via Air: […]

Fecamp is a small coastal city with an active fishing fleet. The fishing fleet is central to the city, since the fishing boats have been going to Newfoundland for over a century to fish for cod, and another large portion of the fleet fished for herring. The city used to have several herring smoking factories, but […]

Le Havre, founded in 1517 by King Francois I, is a coastal city on the west of France, in the Normandy region. It is France’s 2nd largest harbour (after Marseilles) and Europe’s 5th biggest in terms of container ship movements. Apart from the container ships, there are many oil and gas tankers, cruise ships and […]