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The desolate Baie d’Ecalgrain sweeps round to this impressive promontory. From here, the road to Vauville is dominated by the huge Usine Atomique de la Hague nuclear power station.

The pretty churchyard here contains the natural, uncarved headstone of poet Jacques Prévert, as well as those of his wife and daughter. Nearby is his house, open to the public in summer.

This delightful country town seems unconcerned about the tourist potential of its many fine old buildings, including the Vieux Manoir of 1563 in rue Grande.

Quad bikes, trampolines, dry-slope sledges, bumper boats, “Aqua-splash” (small boats that whizz down long slides) and plenty more will keep the children happy for hours.

With a landscape marked by escarpments and forests in the haut pays of the Alpes Mancelles, and by rolling hills, bocage and open country in the bas pays at Saosnois and around Alençon and Sées, this vast natural park dips south from Basse-Normandie into the départements of Mayenne and Sarthe in the Pays-de-Loire. Start your visit at the Maison du Parc in Carrouges, where you’ll find detailed maps and itineraries. There is also an information centre at the Comptoir du Parc in Alençon, and nature centres are scattered throughout the park.

The band of low-lying marshes and water meadows stretching across the base of the Cotentin Peninsula has been formed into a fascinating regional park with a rich birdlife, as well as houses made of clay and straw. Carentan is the gateway town, with a reception centre at Les Ponts d’Ouve (on the D913 between Carentan and St-Côme-du-Mont), in the centre of a watery landscape. An exhibition and video introduce the park to visitors, who explore on foot or by boat.

To call Cerzä a zoo is to do it a disservice. More than 50 hectares (123 acres) have been set aside to provide a natural environment for animals – tigers, lemurs, many African and endangered species. It also oversees breeding programmes.

If Normandy’s long coastline reaches a peak of loveliness between Cabourg and Honfleur, then so does the landscape behind it. This is the Pays d’Auge, quintessentially Norman countryside, rich in orchards and dairy produce, that stretches back from the Côte Fleurie and Côte de Grâce through the heart of the département of Calvados. Lisieux, famed for its connections with Ste Thérèse, is its principal town, and there are many old manors and pretty villages to explore besides – as well as cheese, cider and Calvados to taste and buy.

A fun way to feed the family without having to worry about the mess. Pack picnic equipment, and shop at local markets.