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.

St-Valéry-en-Caux

Encircled by high cliffs, this fishing village as well as child-friendly seaside resort occupies a charming spot on the Côte d’Albâtre, where tranquil Pays de Caux countryside meets beach, boats and bikinis. It is graced by the Maison Henri IV, a fine, timber-framed Renaissance house on the quay.
St-Wandrille

Founded in 649 and rebuilt in the 10th century after destruction by Norsemen, the abbey became a centre of learning. Inevitably, the Revolution saw its demise, but in 1931 it once again became a Benedictine monastery (see Abbaye de St-Wandrille).
Ste-Foy, Conches-en-Ouche

This Flamboyant Gothic church is graced by some of the finest stained glass in Normandy. Its tall spire is a precise copy of the one knocked down in a storm in 1842.
Ste-Mère-Eglise

Apart from its war museum and church, made famous by the film The Longest Day , the town is known for its livestock market. Rural life in the early 1900s is illustrated at the Ferme Musée du Cotentin.
Teurgoule

An enormously popular dessert, both at home and in restaurants, this regional speciality dates back to the days when spices, brought back to Honfleur and Dieppe by merchant ships from the East, first became popular. Local housewives discovered that a flavouring of cinnamon was the perfect partner for pudding rice baked with cream, and teurgoule was born.
The Bayeux Tapestry (Wolfgang Grape)

The Norman Conquest as told through the Bayeux Tapestry.
The Cliff at Étretat after the Storm (Courbet)

Painted in 1869. Displayed in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
The Fish Market, Honfleur (Dubourg)

Painted in 1876. Displayed in the Musée Eugène Boudin, Honfleur.
The Gleaners (Millet)

Painted in 1857. Exhibited at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
The Secret Life of the Seine (Mort Rosenblum)

From Burgundy to Le Havre by houseboat.