Private Honfleur & Étretat Day Trip from Deauville

Itinerary

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   This tour takes you to discover two jewels of the Normandy coast, between a historic harbour and spectacular cliffs that have inspired generations of artists. From Honfleur to Étretat, let yourself be carried away by the singular light of Normandy that gave birth to Impressionism.

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   Honfleur — The Vieux Bassin. The beating heart of the town since the 17th century, this marina is lined with tall slate-fronted houses immortalised by Monet, Boudin and Jongkind. Their shifting reflections in the harbour water made it one of the favourite subjects of the Impressionist painters, giving rise to a whole school of painting.

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   Honfleur — Sainte-Catherine Church. The largest wooden church in France, it was built in the 15th century by naval carpenters in the aftermath of the Hundred Years' War, for lack of the means to build in stone. Its hull-shaped timber vault and its separate bell tower, built apart to limit the risk of fire, testify to a unique maritime craftsmanship.

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   Étretat — The Amont Cliff. Set to the east of the town, this cliff offers an exceptional panorama over Étretat and the Channel. It is home to the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde chapel, dedicated to sailors, and a monument honouring the aviators Nungesser and Coli, who vanished in 1927 while attempting to cross the Atlantic.

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   Étretat — The Aval Cliff and the Needle. To the west, this cliff is pierced by a spectacular natural arch and faces the Needle, a 70-metre limestone pillar rising from the sea. Sculpted by millennia of erosion, this landscape was painted many times by Monet and Courbet and inspired Maupassant's novel The Hollow Needle.

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   Étretat — The Manneporte & the Jardin d'Étretat. More imposing still than the neighbouring arches, the Manneporte, a natural gateway of white chalk, rises nearly 70 metres high. Nearby, perched on the Amont cliff, the Jardin d'Étretat — a contemporary garden designed by landscape artist Alexandre Grivko — blends sculpted topiary and works of art in an original dialogue with the wild landscape of the Alabaster Coast.