We spent a few days in Normandy in May 2015 visiting Houlgate, Cabourg, Dives-sur-Mer, Arromanches-les-Bains, Honfleur, Deauville and on the way back to Calais we called at Etretat.
We stayed close to Houlgate, which as the guide book says is one of the places in Normandy that has not been made a tourist only resort. Click on a picture to see some pictures of the town and of the beach.
Between Houlgate and Cabourg is Dives-sur-Mer. This was a medieval port but is now silted up. This monument celebrates when William The Conqueror sailed from there in 1066.
We visited Deauville both on a market day and later on a quiet Monday. The beach was rather deserted as it was cool and rather windy. Each of the beach houses along the boardwalk are named after a film personality to reflect Deauville’s status as a film festival town. Click on any picture for pictures of the town, the market and of the beach.
No visit to Normandy would be complete without visiting some of the sights of the D-Day beaches. These pictures are of Pegasus Bridge and the little café – claimed to be the first to be liberated in 1944.
The original bridge is now in a field, alongside a museum, with a replica Horsa glider, which is the type used to deliver Major Howard and his troops to capture the bridge.
We travelled along Sword, Juno and Gold Beaches to reach Arromanches-les-Bain for lunch and to look at the remains of the Mulberry harbour. Here are some views from the viewpoint above the town.
On our return journey we called at the resort next to Houlgate – Cabourg. It was by now a beautiful Sunday afternoon and as the pictures below show lots of people had the same idea of visiting.
Honfleur is one of my favourite places to take photographs so on our last full day we drove up the Cote de Fleurie to look at the art on show as well as take in the views. Here are some pictures of the inner harbour as well as one of the tower in the town.
Today we didn’t have time to visit the Boudin Museum but we did window shop the many art galleries scattered around the town.
On our last day we took a small diversion on the way back to Calais and called at Etretat. In the Summer the town is so crowded that the paths to the cliffs look like ant trails with all the people going in single file up and down. On our visit it was cold and a little overcast as well as being out of season. Each side of bay has a famous rock formation with the one on the West side being the most famous simply because it so much larger (the Porte d’Aval, and the Porte d’Amont). The largest arch, Manneporte, can only be seen by climbing up on the West side of the bay.
There were a few boats hauled up on the beach and these fishermen were busy unloading their catch and preparing for their next trip.
And here is my ‘best’ picture taken with my iPhone as I walked towards the beach ! 