DK Travel : Normandy

Normandy brings a dozen different images to mind: William the Conqueror, the D-Day landings, Mont-St-Michel; the bleak landscape of the Cotentin coast, the sparkling summertime playground of the Côte Fleurie; sumptuous châteaux, historic abbeys, famous gardens; the orchards of the Auge, the picture-postcard scenery of the Suisse Normande; Monet’s home at Giverny, the Cabourg immortalized by Proust – or perhaps it’s cider, calvados and camembert. Whatever your list, it will barely scratch the surface of this rich and rewarding region.

Gustave Courbet

First and most significant of the French Realists, Gustave Courbet (1819–77) spent time in Trouville with the American artist Whistler, as well as accompanying Corot to Étretat. His series of stormy seascapes, with changing skies, was a great influence on the Impressionists.
Gustave Flaubert

Flaubert spent the greater part of his 59 years in Normandy; its places and people suffuse his writing. Born in Rouen in 1821, he abandoned a Paris law training to live and write in Croisset until his death. He published his finest work, Madame Bovary , in 1857.
Guy de Maupassant

Maupassant (1850–93) was born at Château de Miromesnil near Dieppe, and spent his childhood in Étretat. His mother had been a playmate of Flaubert, who guided Maupassant’s debut as a writer. His first masterpiece was Boule de suif (1880).
H20 Parapluies, Creully

The creation of handcrafted umbrellas is an art, and it is practised to perfection at H20. From plain about-town umbrellas to unique creations, the factory shop has a wide selection.
Hambye

Lord of the Manor Guillaume Paynel founded the abbey in 1145. Always a small community, its fortunes declined over the years, and in 1784 it was declared defunct. In the 19th century, the buildings were quarried for stone; only in the 20th were the noble ruins we see today saved from further destruction (see Abbaye de Hambye).
Haras National du Pin

You don’t have to be a horse lover to be impressed by the style and splendour of the national stud, a “Versailles for horses” founded by Colbert in the mid-17th century with the approval of the Sun King himself. Colbert commissioned Pierre Le Mousseux, a protégé of Mansart, to design it. At the end of a long, grassy ride carved through the surrounding woods, the main château and two elegant stable blocks (now housing exhibits) enclose a horseshoe-shaped courtyard known as Colbert’s Court, the scene of horse and carriage displays on Thursday afternoons in summer. There are guided tours of the forge, tack room and stables, where some 100 stallions are kept at stud.
Honfleur

The highlight of Normandy’s coast is this enchanting port, fortified during the Hundred Years’ War and constantly fought over by the French and the English during that time. Today, it is celebrated both for the intrepid mariners who set sail from its harbour, and for the artists who found inspiration here. The special light of the Seine estuary is at its best, so the artists say, just after dawn.
Honfleur

A magnet for artists today as it has been since the 19th century, this picturesque maritime town was also an important centre of trade.
Horse Riding

Normandy has many equestrian centres – especially in the Orne, where, for example, Le Village du Cheval in St-Michel-des-Andaines offers a wide variety of horsey activities. You can take a full-blown trekking holiday or just a few hours’ ride (see On Horseback).
Horse-racing, Deauville

Free guided tours are held on race days at Deauville’s two immaculate racecourses.