Honfleur
The Normandy coast has some interesting towns to visit during your holiday, among which Honfleur should be among your priorities. It is located just south of Le Havre, which is now easily accessible by the new bridge the 'Pont de Normandie'. This elegant bridge briefly held the record as the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge.
Honfleur is found on the estuary of the Seine, close to the modern new bridge, the Pont de Normandie. The pretty port and houses around Le Vieux Bassin are the main attraction now, as they were 120 years ago - you can also pick up your fresh fish in the market here. This port was built in the 17th century and apart from the narrow entrance for boats is surrounded on all sides by beautiful, tall, narrow buildings.
On one side of the port is the unusual wooden spire of the 15th century church of Saint Etienne. This is the oldest church in Honfleur and is now home to the town’s maritime museum, The Musée de la Marine. Wander behind here and you will see the towns famous salt storage buildings, ‘Greniers à sel’. These 17th century buildings were used to store salt which was in turn used to store the cod caught by the town’s fishing fleet. These buildings are now used for exhibitions and concerts and you can go inside and admire the wonderful wooden roofs.
On the other side of the port is the wonderful Church of Saint Catherine. It was built of wood due to a shortage of stone when the church was built at the end of the Hundred Years War. With the large numbers of ship builders in the area wood became the obvious choice. Saint Catherine’s church is the largest wooden church in France and it is lovely. Take a look inside, it has a much warmer feel to it than churches made of stone.
The bells for the chuch were so heavy that a separate bell-tower had to be built and this lovely and unusual tower has inspired many artists to paint it, including Monet and Boudin. Eugene Boudin was born in Honfleur and he gave 53 of his paintings to the town. These are exhibited in the Musee Eugene Boudin, located in a chapel. Works by Monet and other impressionist paintings are also displayed here.
Another interesting museum in the town is « Les Maisons Satie ». Satie was born in Honfleur in 1866 and worked with great artists of the time, including Picasso, and inspired composers including Stravinsky and Ravel. The Maisons Satie are a musical and visual tribute to him.
Housed in the old prison and 16th century houses there is also a museum of life in Normandy, with traditional rooms and costumes - Musee d’Ethnographie et d’Art Populaire.
Further west along the coast, the popular beach resorts at Trouville and Deauville are also worth a visit.
See more photos of Honfleur.
Visit Honfleur (Normandy, Calvados) travel, gites and hotels
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The Honfleur hotels listed feature descriptions, guest reviews, ratings, location maps, online booking etc. as well as the 'best-price' guarantee. The search for hotels in Honfleur is provided by booking.com. General holiday / vacation options- See Normandy gites for Honfleur holiday rentals - Holiday villages in Normandy Holidays nearbyLooking for something close by? See a wide choice of hotels, holiday villages and holiday rentals at: VisitSee Visit Honfleur for places to visit near Honfleur including: a detailed map, villages in bloom and most beautiful villages DiscussAsk questions or leave a comment about Honfleur in our Normandy forum Honfleur property for saleSee Normandy property for sale
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Tourist Classifications for Honfleur
- Town is "Ville Fleurie category 4" (ie good attention to gardens and flowers)
- approved Station Classée (resort paying particular attention to facilities for tourism)
Places to visit near Honfleur, France
Explore places of interest within about 70 kilometres on a map at places near Honfleur.
Some places to visit within 30 km: 
19 km: Deauville (Coastal town) 18 km: Trouville (Coastal town) 12 km: Villerville (seaside resort)
See also Honfleur (version Francais)
