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The founder and leading light of Impressionism was brought up in Le Havre. Having moved to Paris, he returned regularly to paint in Honfleur, Rouen, Étretat and Varengeville. In 1883 he settled in Giverny, where he spent the rest of his life (see Fondation Claude Monet, Giverny).

Merovingian King Clovis (465–511) founded the French state by defeating the Romans and uniting disparate tribes.

Until the French Revolution, only wealthy landowners had the right to keep pigeons, and the size of the dovecote (colombier ) was a mark of prosperity. Look out for Normandy’s many fine examples, mellow with age: circular, square or polygonal, tiled and half-timbered, or patterned in brick and flint.

Brought up under the vast, luminous sky of Honfleur, Boudin (1824–98) did not have to travel far to paint his land- and seascapes. An advocate of painting in the open air – a practice to which he introduced Monet – he was preoccupied with light and its effects on his subject matter. His loose brush-strokes heralded Impressionist techniques.

The classical poet Malherbe (1555–1628) left his birthplace Caen to study in Paris, Basle and Heidelberg. He worked for Henri d’Angoulême (grand prieur of France and governor of Provence) for 10 years before returning home. Called to Court in 1605, he became the strict arbiter of French literary style.

Forty spectacular gardens.

Braque (1882–1963), who learned to paint while working for his decorator father in Le Havre, was initially attracted to the Fauve artists, but an encounter with Picasso transformed his style. In later years, he painted local landscapes and made stained glass in a studio in Varengeville.

The glassworks in the Bresle Valley are renowned, accounting for 80 per cent of luxury perfume bottles. The Musée des Traditions Verrières in Eu displays examples of astonishing beauty, while at the 16th-century Manoir de Fontaine in Blangy-sur-Bresle, you can watch weekend glass-blowing demonstrations and buy examples of the art.

Benedictine monk at Bec, who was a master architect and sculptor (1644–1715).