Varengeville-sur-Mer travel guide

Visit Varengeville-sur-Mer (Normandy, France)

Varengeville-sur-Mer is situated on the coast in the north of Normandy, a few kilometres west of Dieppe.

Explore Varengeville-sur-Mer

France This Way review: as well as pretty views along the cliffs and access to small beaches, there are also several monuments of interest close to Varengeville-sur-Mer so a visit to the region around the village is a pleasure

Varengeville-sur-Mer is best known for the cliffs along the coast in this part of Normandy, which together with the beaches are the principal reason that visitors come here.

The town itself is quite small, about one kilometre from the coast, and rather spread out but has a hotel and two restaurants. There are several interesting sites and monuments in and around Varengeville-sur-Mer.

The Church of Saint-Valery is a pretty church in an imposing position overlooking the cliffs and coast around the town, and surrounded on almost all sides by a historic cemetery.

There are two principal beaches at Varengeville-sur-Mer:

- the Plage du Petit Ailly, visited as a pretty sandy beach at low tide (the sand disappears a high tide and the beach is taken over by anglers) and easily reached from a parking area

- the Plage de la Gorge de Moutiers, below the church and accessed by footpath.

The Plage de Vastérival on the north-west edge of Varengeville is another charming beach with tall cliffs behind the beach, and a mix of sand, pebbles and rocks on the beach itself, and the Plage de Pourville, at the north-east limit of the commune (before reaching Dieppe) is a pebble beach with a promenade and a restaurant.

The coast and beaches are reached by narrow gaps in the cliffs called 'valleuses' - there are several of these along the coast around Varengeville.

Parc des Moutiers

One of the main attractions here is the Parc des Moutiers, a large park and woodland area next to the sea that includes a manor house as well as the extensive garden areas, well known for their rhododendrons.

The house was a very important centre for artists in France and many important personnages of the time were regular visitors including artists such as Monet, Miro, Picasso and Rodin, composers such as Ravel and Debussy and writers including Virginia Woolf and André Gide.

Established at the beginning of the 20th century, the gardens at Parc des Moutiers were designed by Gertrude Jekyll and the manor house was designed by Edwin Lutyens - both of these individuals were among the leaders of the Arts and Crafts movement.

Also at Varengeville you can visit the Jardin Shamrock, which has the largest collection of hydrangeas of any garden in the world - apparently there are more than 1000 varieties here!

Another interesting monument is the Manoir d'Ango, built in the renaissance style in the 16th century and surrounded by parkland, and said to have the most beautiful pigeonnier in France.

Close to the town you can visit the Chateau of Varengeville-sur-Mer, a 19th century castle of red brick and white stone. In the town you can also visit the Museum Michael Ciry, the museum is in the property of this local artist and contains a large number of his paintings and sketches.

Attractions nearby

About 15 kilometres to the west of Varengeville-sur-Mer you should visit the very pretty village of Veules-le-Roses, one of our favourite villages in Normandy.

You can find more travel ideas in the Seine-Maritime guide and the Normandy guide.