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The dashing equestrian statue of William the Conqueror, his charger rearing heroically, sets the tone in the main square of this attractive and intriguing town. Falaise is dominated by its vast fortress, Château Guillaumele-Conquérant, birthplace of William in 1027. In August 1944, it was the site of the fierce and decisive Battle of the MortainFalaise Pocket. In the valley below, a modern sculpture recalls the spot where William’s father, Robert the Magnificent, saw his future wife, the beautiful Arlette, washing clothes in the stream. Also worth a visit are Automates Avenue, a collection of 20th-century automata that once graced Parisian shop windows, and Musée Août 1944, housed in a former cheese factory.

The highlight of Normandy’s coast is this enchanting port, fortified during the Hundred Years’ War and constantly fought over by the French and the English during that time. Today, it is celebrated both for the intrepid mariners who set sail from its harbour, and for the artists who found inspiration here. The special light of the Seine estuary is at its best, so the artists say, just after dawn.

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.

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.

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.

This workaday Pays d’Auge town is famous for its cheese. Nearby, at Château de Betteville, the Belle Époque motor museum is worth a visit.

Easily accessible from Paris, the lush Eure Valley is a popular weekend destination for city dwellers. The stretch of the Eure between Chartres and the Seine is sometimes referred to as the Valley of the Mistresses, since it passes first the château of Louis XIV’s secret wife, Madame de Maintenon (just outside Normandy in Île de France), then Château d’Anet, commissioned by Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henri II. From Anet, the D143 and D836 follow the river past attractive Ivry-la-Bataille and Pacy-sur-Eure, with its fine 13th-century church. A lovely stretch at Cocherel comes next, then Château d’Acquigny, set in a landscaped park. The Eure ends at Louviers, which has a small but pretty old quarter near its 13th-century church of Notre-Dame (see Notre-Dame, Louviers).

Chequered walls and turrets catch the eye in this fortified town on the old Franco-Norman border, as do the 13th-century Tour Grise and the striking tower of Ste-Madeleine (see Notre-Dame, Verneuil-sur-Avre).

This smart residential town includes a former mill straddling two piers of a medieval bridge, the tiered Maison du Temps Jadis and the Tour des Archives, a castle keep (see Notre-Dame, Vernon).