I t was art that put Normandy on the international map. By the latter half of the 19th century, Monet and his contemporaries had started regular sorties from Paris in search of pastoral and coastal subjects for their new way of seeing.
They particularly favoured the riverport of Honfleur, where the Seine meets the sea and is still picture-perfect today, and Monet eventually settled upstream in Giverny. Much of the landscape here is undulating and gentle, but it gets more dramatic in the far south of the region — the so-called Suisse Normande, where scenic rocky crags and deep river gorges are perfect for climbing, mountain biking and kayaking.
To the east is the Perche, a region of bucolic river valleys and colourful villages much loved by weekending Parisians. When it comes to the seaside there are generous, broad beaches all along the coast, particularly from the resort of Deauville, famed for its sand yachts and coloured parasols. The handsome port of Granville is the busiest shellfish port in France, and it is also the jumping-off point for the largest archipelago in northern Europe, little-known Chausey, which at low tide comprises islands — with some of them submerged when the water rises.
Towering over the same huge tides, and visible from Chausey, is Mont St Michel. The celebrated abbey-topped silhouette has more than 2. Stay overnight in one of its small hotels, though, and you will get some sense of why the monks chose it as a place of contemplation. The most popular way to access all this from the UK is via the ports of Dieppe ferries from Newhaven; dfds. Our travel journalism is written and edited by independent experts to inform, inspire and advise our readers about the best choices for your holidays.
We also feature properties and itineraries from a specially selected list of trusted operators. These buttons and adverts are clearly signposted, and provide direct links through to external sites. If you click and buy a product, we may earn revenue. Much of it is designated a natural park. There is great diversity here, in landscape and architecture, which come in a palette of colours thanks to different building materials.
