This is the third and final post on Normandy. In the first post, I told you more about gardens in Normandy, in the second post, I took you to the D-day beaches and this third post is about the harbour towns of Deauville, Trouville and Honfleur.

It is possible to visit these 3 towns in just one day as we did, but then you’ll just have time to get an overall feel and do some sightseeing… and you better start quite early !

In the morning we visited Deauville. We strolled around the beautiful streets, admiring the fantastic villas and the beautiful facades in the shopping streets. We walked on the beach and saw the beach cabins with the names of famous actors and actresses. We watched the world go by whilst having morning coffee in Café de Paris at Place de Morny. A bit later, we bought some cheese, bread and fruit on the market for our picnic.

After our picnic, which we took near the harbour, we crossed the ‘Pont des Belges’ and visited Trouville, which is the neighbouring town. This is so different from Deauville, to me it looked more real, more authentic. It has a lot of steep narrow streets. We walked in the town centre up until the Escalier Marguerite Duras, which we descended to go to the beach. A lot of beautiful grand villas from the beginning of the 20th century face the beach. Some of them could do with some renovation here and there, but you can still see the grandeur this town once must have had.

After a stop in one of the many café’s (to have a wine refill…), we headed to Honfleur, a 20 minute drive away. In my tourist guide Honfleur is described as the most beautiful town in Normandy and I think that might be just right ! The many beautifully restored buildings, the harbour and quayside, the narrow streets filled with historical buildings where this painter or that poet used to live,… all is so entrancing and beautiful. We just strolled around the town and soaked up the atmosphere. At the Quai Saint-Etienne, we spent l’heure de l’apéro enjoying some live jazz. After that we could have had diner at the busy Quai Sainte-Cathérine, but we opted for the more tranquil Place Arthur Boudin where we had a lovely meal to conclude our harbour town day. Just a bit more time to take a few pictures of the harbour and ferris wheel and off we went…

So… three different posts on Normandy : gardens, D-day and harbour towns… to each his own ! But there are so many more things to explore in Normandy. Have you already visited this beautiful part of La Douce France ? What sights did you do ? Feel free to share your experiences…

For now I say… au revoir… et à bientôt !

Love, Kathleen