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.

Agneau de pré-salé

Lamb raised on the salt marshes around Mont-St-Michel has a deliciously delicate flavour.
Agon-Coutainville

With its 8 km (5 miles) of fine, sandy beach, this west coast resort makes a great summer playground for the people of nearby Coutances and visitors alike. Contrast a morning on the beach with a walk out to Pointe d’Agon, with its magnificent sea views.
Alain Chartier

Pasquier called Alain Chartier (c. 1390–c. 1430) – probably best known for La Belle Dame sans merci – “the Seneca of France”. Born into a distinguished Bayeux family, he wrote his earliest poem, Livre des quatre dames , after France’s defeat at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415.
Alençon

This handsome market town was a famous lacemaking centre in the 17th and 18th centuries. The only examples you will see today are displayed in the Musée de la Dentelle “au Point d’Alençon”, housed in General Leclerc’s wartime headquarters, and in the Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle. The latter presents an exhaustive history of the lace industry, along with collections of French paintings and Cambodian artifacts. Even the intricate stonework on the façade of the Église de Notre-Dame resembles lace. Inside, a chapel is dedicated to Ste Thérèse, born in the town and baptized here.
Allez France

The properties offered by this 22-year-old UK company range from modern apartments to stone or timbered cottages, mostly French-owned.
Allouville-Bellefosse

An extraordinary oak tree, thought to be at least 1,300 years old, has put this little village on the map. Inside the huge trunk are a sanctuary and a hermit’s cell fashioned by a local priest in 1696. Nearby, in an old farmhouse deep in the countryside, is the Musée de la Nature, dedicated to the local landscape, flora and fauna.
Alpes Mancelles

In the Parc Naturel Régional de Normandie-Maine on the southern border of Normandy is this landscape of plunging hills, steep valleys and forests. Not quite comparable with the Alps, it is more rugged (particularly around the Sarthe Valley) than the rest of the region. At 417 m (1,368 ft), Mont des Avaloirs, to the west of Alençon, is joint highest point in western France. Among its charming villages, St-Céneri-le-Gérei is the jewel.
Andouille

Equally highly prized is the black tripe sausage produced in Vire.
André Gide

Born in 1869 of a Huguenot father and Norman mother, Gide spent the early and latter parts of his life in Normandy. He saw the realities of life here, first as mayor of a commune, and later as a juror in Rouen. He won the Nobel prize four years before his death in 1951.
Apples and Pears

Normandy’s fertile soil supports countless varieties, used widely in cooking, and for cider, Calvados and sparkling poiré .