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A captivating medley of 16th- to 18th-century half-timbered buildings, Lyons-la-Forêt stands in a sylvan setting deep in the lovely Forêt de Lyons. It starred in both the 1934 Jean Renoir and the 1991 Claude Chabrol versions of Madame Bovary , whose intangible influence still permeates the area (see Gustave Flaubert).

Visit this picture-postcard town in the Lieure Valley and you’ll understand why Ravel used to come here to compose. Sights nearby include the impressive, early-17th-century pink-brick Château de Fleury-la-Forêt, with a superb collection of toys and dolls; Château de Vascoeuil, which has traditional cottages and modern sculpture in its grounds; and the ruined Cistercian Abbaye de Mortemer with its museum.

Traditionally a metalworking area, the town plays host each Tuesday to Normandy’s biggest market. St Martin’s church and the château are both worth a visit.

In remembrance of the olden days, here you can visit an oyster park at low tide by horse-drawn carriage.

This lovely ancestral manor house hides a delightful surprise for children: a maize maze, designed by English maze-maker Adrian Fisher.

A seven-minute ride on this charming miniature railway takes you through the green marshlands of the Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin.

Two mini-trains operate in the region: one along the coast from Carteret to Portbail, the other through marshland from St-Lô to Periers.

At the confluence of two rivers – Clérette and Cailly – Montville is distinctive for flowers and fire engines. A village fleurie , it has an attractive lake, a park with a superb 300-year-old purple beech, and the Musée des Sapeurs-Pompiers (museum of the fire brigade), full of old hand pumps and gleaming red fire engines. It traces the history of the French fire brigade from the early 18th century onwards.