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Dedicated to Normandy’s famous cheese, with a reconstruction of an old production plant.

In Claude Alexandre’s fascinating world of miniature soldiers, each figure is hand-crafted.

Hardly the Alps, but this popular, scenic region is as close to Switzerland as Normandy gets, and is very different from the typical Norman landscape. On its winding northwesterly course, the River Orne has cut through the massif , creating steep banks and the occasional severe peak. The scenery along the valley is among Normandy’s most striking. None of the “heights” are really that high, but they provide some dizzying views – and plenty of scope for outdoor pursuits. Many come for the canoeing, walking, fishing or rock-climbing; others come to hang-glide off the Pain de Sucre. Another high point is the craggy Roche d’Oëtre, with magnificent views over the Rouvre gorges and beyond. The principal tourist centres are Thury-Harcourt, Pont-d’Ouilly and Clécy.

The layout of this enormous maize maze is changed every year. You could happily spend all day here: there are animals to see and a picnic area.

Le Havre was founded in 1517 to replace the ports of Honfleur, Harfleur and Caudebec, which had silted up. Now it is the country’s second port, a tribute to its astonishing recovery from the 146 separate bombing raids which flattened it in 1944. One of the few survivors is the 16th-century Cathédrale Notre-Dame, an architectural hybrid of Gothic and Renaissance styles, bristling with gargoyles. The city was rebuilt to designs by Auguste Perret, with reinforced concrete as the principal material. Typical of his style is the starkly imposing Église St-Joseph. More modern is the building of glass, aluminium and steel housing the Musée Malraux (see Musée Malraux, Le Havre). In the suburb of Montivilliers, don’t miss the Abbaye Notre-Dame, a recently restored Benedictine abbey for women.

Still relatively unknown, this area is famous for its powerful Percheron horses and its manors. Perche manors are quite different from typical cosy, half-timbered Norman farmhouses; they are much more defensive buildings of stone, embellished with turrets and towers. The surrounding countryside is gentle, with undulating hills, dense forest and lush valleys. Grazing Percherons add an air of serenity. Chief among its seductive villages and small towns are Mortagne and Bellême (see Mortagne-au-Perche).

Thalassotherapy (sea-water treatment) is a speciality of Norman resorts, and at bracing Luc-sur-Mer, the cure uses kelp extract. There’s also a sea-water hammam. Children can shore-fish for crabs, shrimps and clams, and admire the skeleton of a 19 m (76 ft) beached whale on display in the attractive municipal park.