Experience Normandy
The Attraction of Normandy
Writers
Many writers were born or have written about Normandy. To English speakers perhaps the best known are Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880)who was born in Rouen, his great novel, ‘Madame Bovary”, takes place in a small village outside Rouen and in Rouen itself, and Guy de Maupassant (1850-1945) of short story fame.
Musicians
World famous musicians who were born or have made their home in Normandy are Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) born in Le Havre, Erik Satie (1866-1925) who was born in Honfleur. and Camille Saint-Saens, (1835-1920) born in Paris of a Norman father. There are actually five museums in Normandy devoted to music, including one in Honfleur in the home of Erik Satie.
Artists
South of Les Andelys near the border with the Ile de France, is Monet’s house and garden at Giverny, Monet who was born in Paris but moved with his family to Le Havre when he was 4 years old, always returning to Normandy during his lifetime, eventually making his home at Giverny.
Artists born in Normandy include Nicolas Poussin, J. F. Millet and Raoul Dufy. Eugene Boudin, whose birthplace was Le Havre, marked the link between Corot and the Impressionists as he worked directly from nature on the Normandy coast and in particular at the fashionable resorts of Deauville and Trouville. He was responsible for introducing Monet to this method of painting outdoors. Normandy has also been the source of inspiration to artists such as Courbet and Corot. The Impressionists, Sisley and Pisarro, particularly loved the Normandy light and landscape. Other famous artists associated with Normandy are Gericault, Van Dongen, Braque and Jongkind. There are eighteen Art Museums in Normandy.
More to see and Do
Parks and Gardens: There are more Parks and Gardens of beauty and great diversity to be visited in Normandy than any other area of France due to the fertile soil and mild climate.
Horse Riding: The region is renowned for its links with the equestrian world whether breeding, racing, show jumping, or trekking. You can trek along the sand on the Bay of Mont St. Michel, witness the weekly parades at the Haras du Pin National stud or enjoy an evening at the trotting races in Cabourg.
Golf Courses: Normandy has almost 40 Golf Courses which are as varied as the landscapes they occupy. Several enjoy international renown from the New Golf in Deauville to the championship course at Champ de Bataille.
Cycling and Walking: France has a well established ‘Randonnee’ network of well signposted trails of different levels of difficulty. In Normandy it covers some of the most spectacular scenery. The same applies for cycling, and there are several locations where you can rent bicycles or mountain bikes.
Events: There is a very full calendar of events throughout Normandy all the year - Carnivals, Flea Markets to Antique Fairs, Music Festivals, Exhibitions, Garden Festivals, Festivals associated with the sea, those associated with the land as the Old Style Cider Festival, Cheese Fair, Apple Fair, and more.
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Regional Food
Cream, camembert cheese, and apples, from which cider and calvados are produced, are the main specialties of Normandy. Seafood is abundant and specialties include 'matelote a la normande', a creamy fish bouillabaisse, and 'sole a la normande' (sole with shrimps). Apples are the base for the famous 'tarte normande' – try it with a little flambeed Calvados and fresh cream. There are many pork dishes such as 'pork in cider' and '‘charcuteries’ as pigs are traditionally fed on apples and dairy produce. Chicken in a cream sauce, 'Poulet Vallee d’Auge', can be found everywhere. Near Mont St. Michel sheep are reared on the salt plains, and the lamb on the menu in restaurants will often include the term 'Pre Sale' which gives it a delicate extra taste. A famous Norman dish is 'tripes a la mode de Caen' (which may not be to everyone’s taste). Rouen, the gastronomic capital of Normandy, is celebrated for its duck dishes typically 'canard a la rouennaise' (stuffed duck in red wine).
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Experience Normandy
The Eastern coastline is known as the Alabaster Coast due to its striking chalk cliffs, higher then 100 meters in places, and extends from Le Treport to Le Havre. Many artists have painted this part of the Normandy coast; the unusual formation, known as the Elephant’s Trunk at Etretat, is known the world over due to Monet’s paintings of it. Nearby Fecamp is renowned not only for its cliffs but also the Benedictine Monastery that produces the drink of the same name (tours available). At the mouth of the Seine is Le Havre, a busy port that houses a great modern museum, Musee Malraux. On the opposite side of the Seine Estuary is the lovely old fishing port of Honfleur with its tall houses. From Honfleur on 15 March, 1603, Samuel de Champlain made his first expedition to Canada to “see the country, and what the colonizers might accomplish there.” Thus began the colonization of Canada by the French.
From the mouth of the Seine westwards to the Orne is the Floral Coast. Here are the famous beaches and resorts such as Trouville and fashionable Deuville famed for its Casino, Horse Racing, and the American Film Festival. These are the seaside resorts that are sometimes called the 21st arrondissement of Paris being only about 1 _ hrs from Paris. A lovely resort is Cabourg where Proust would stay at the Grand Hotel, still with its authentic Belle Epoque ambience. His novel ‘Within a Budding Grove’ (part of the cycle ‘Remembrance of Things Past’) is a vivid portrayal of life at a seaside resort at the turn if the 20th century and of the customs of Cabourg, called ‘Balbec’ in the novel.
South-east of Rouen, is the pretty village of Lyon-le-Foret in the Foret de Lyons, the favorite hunting ground of the Dukes of Normandy and the largest beechwood in Europe. The village is located around the remains of the castle where Henry the first of England died. Maurice Ravel wrote some of his finest music in ‘Le Fresne’, one of the old mansions you can visit. Other designated beautiful and historic villages in Normandy are Barfleur, Beuvron en Auge, Saint Ceneri Le Gerei, Gerberoy, Argentan, Domfront, Granville, Eu, Forges-les-Eaux, Pont-Audemer and more.
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Landing Beach Tours
Take a private tour with our highly experienced bilingual licensed driver guide to Normandy and visit the famous sites of the D Day Invasion. Caen, Arromanches, Longues sur Mer and Port en Bessin
Private Normandy Day Tours
Discover the story of William the Conqueror and the Bayeaux Tapestry, Chateaux Gaillard where Richard the Lionheart was mortally wounded the impressionist route, and the half timbered houses of Rouen.
Discover Giverny
Let our bilingual licensed guides pick you up and drop you off at your hotel or apartment rental. Either half day or full day in a luxury vehicle from 1 to 8 persons. Or in combination with a half day in Paris or Giverny.
Normandy Overnight
You will take the train from Paris direct to Vernon in about 30 minutes. There you will be picked up at the station by our driver who will take you to Giverny and show many places of interest that most visitors never see
Le Mont St Michel
You will take the train from Paris direct to Vernon in about 30 minutes. There you will be picked up at the station by our driver who will take you to Giverny and show many places of interest that most visitors never see
Seine Cruises
Your cruise in the Seine valley will be filled with breathtaking landscapes, wonderful ports of call. Conflans Sainte Honorine: the boatmen's capital. Rouen: its cathedral and its historic districts. Honfleur and its fishing port, the Côte Fleurie.
