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.

Jardin d’Elle

This is a modern landscaped garden with a maze of individually themed areas leading one into another, and more than 2,500 varieties of plants and trees on display.
Jardins de Bellevue

Two national collections – of Meconopsis (Himalayan blue poppy) and Helleborus Orientalis (Lenten rose) – are included in these lovely year-round gardens facing the Forêt d’Eawy.
Jardins d’Argences

In a little valley near Coutances, the 17th-century Manoir d’Argences is surrounded by eight charming and distinctive gardens, connected by water.
Jazz sous les Pommiers, Coutances

Jazz sous les Pommiers (Jazz under the Apple Trees) has now been running for more than 20 years, and each year it grows in size and cachet. Over one week in May, it features concerts by established artists, as well as showcasing new talent. There are also promenade concerts, free concerts, street performances and jam sessions.
Jean-Baptiste Corot

Corot (1796–1875) was a landscape artist who turned to portrait painting late in his career. The picturesque town of Étretat had particular appeal for him, and he travelled there with Courbet in the 1860s and ’70s.
Jean-François Millet

Son of a peasant farmer in Gréville-Hague, Millet (1814–75) was apprenticed to a painter in Cherbourg before moving to Paris, where he worked under Paul Delaroche, and later to Barbizon, where he became a member of the Barbizon School led by Théodore Rousseau. He is best known for his naturalistic paintings of farm workers.
JMW Turner

The greatest English landscape artist of his time, Turner (1775–1851) paid frequent visits to Dieppe, Le Havre, Rouen and the Seine estuary. His vibrant watercolours had a profound influence on the young Monet.
Joan of Arc

A country girl (1412–31), she was encouraged by angelic voices to save France from English domination.
Joan of Arc

Teenage soldier (1412–31) whose “voices” told her to save France from the English. Captured and burnt at the stake. Canonized in 1920.
Jules Barbey d’Aurevilly

Barbey (1808–89), novelist, commentator, conversationalist and, as an admirer of Byron and Brummell, inveterate dandy, was still able to scandalize at 66, when he published Les Diaboliques . Born in St-Saveur-le-Vicomte, he was raised on a diet of Norman tales told by a family servant.