Coast
The Normandy coast is rich in natural beauty, architectural interest and cultural history. From the ancient port of Honfleur and the sands of Deauville and Trouville, to the estuary at Dives-sur-Mer where William the Conqueror assembled his fleet and the D-Day landing beaches of the Cotentin peninsula, the coast offers a multitude of experiences and memories to the discerning visitor.
Cabourg
42km
A charming seaside resort with vast sandy beaches. It's famed for its association with French writer Marcel Proust who spent many months staying in the Grand Hotel (which stands at the end of the main pedestrian street).
LOOK OUT FOR: madeleines (the little lemon-cakes made famous by Proust), Dupont ice-cream/cake shop, mini-golf course (themed upon famous buildings and great for the family).
Deauville
50km
Deauville has worked hard to win its reputation as the most fashionable resort on the Normandy coast over the past 150 years. Ever since the railway line was built from Paris in 1863, crowds from the capital have flocked to its beaches, while in the 1870s it became a destination for impressist painters eager to capture the coastal light, the seascapes and also the social scene.
This chic seaside town has a picturesque market every Saturday (see Markets).
It is renowned for its two racecourses, and during the summer hosts not only Group 1 flat races but also a major international polo championship. It also hosts an annual American film festival.
Trouville
50km
Trouville lies just across the River Touques from Deauville and shares its railway station. It has a wonderful fish market along the quais of the river and exudes a little more of the common touch than its chic neighbour. Trouville was also much loved by the impressionists and has a rich artistic and cultural history. Writer Marguerite Duras made it her home every summer for more than 30 years.
Honfleur
55km
A town of painters and poets, Honfleur is a favourite town of many visitors. Tall narrow restaurants and lovely cafés surround the historic fishing port. You can easily get lost in another world whilst wandering the backstreets filled with chic clothing and antiques shops. ​It is as as bustling today as it was when the poet Charles Baudelaire used to visit with his father-in-law.
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Honfleur was the birthplace of avant-garde composer Eric Satie, and his house is now a museum which reflects the idiosyncrasies of his character and talent. Eugene Boudin also came from Honfleur. He was one of the early precursors of the Impressionists and was mentor and teacher to Claude Monet. The town now has a museum named in his honour, with some of his works displayed.
Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches
The D-Day landings of June 6 1944 marked the turning point in the Second World War after almost 5 years of global fighting, and the start of the Allied advance in Europe that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Major memorial sites that can be visited in the area include the American cemetery at Colville, overlooking Omaha Beach where more than 3,800 U.S. soldiers were killed, wounded or reported missing on the day of the invasion. The cemetery is on the clifftops overlooking the Channel, and there is an exhibition centre recounting the events leading up to the landings, and the personal histories of those involved. The beach itself is preserved in its natural state and its wide expanses of sand are a poignant reminder of how exposed the landing troops were as they attempted to take the beach in the face of German artillery dug in along the coast.
The British cemetery at Bayeux, where rows of white crosses are set against beautifully maintained lawns, is also extremely poignant and can be visited.
For a glimpse of the extraordinary engineering and military planning involved in the D-Day landings, a visit to Arromanches is recommended. Here there is a museum detailing the harrowing events of the summer of 1944, as well a remains of the Mulberry harbour towed by boats across the Channel and constructed in the face of enemy fire and in the teeth of summer gales.
Another site giving an insight into how the landings unfolded is Pegasus Bridget at Benouville, just south of the modern-day ferry port at Ouistreham. Here gliders landed during the night of June 5, an advance guard for the bigger invasion the following day.