Honfleur is a Normandy Cossy port town at the Calvados department (France ) located on the south bank of the Seine estuary, opposite Le Havre, near the pont de Normandie Bridge.
The name Honfleur was first mentioned as Hunefleth in 1025,The city was for centuries a relatively insignificant port compared to Harfleur on the other bank of the Seine estuary.
In the 19th century, Honfleur became the center of artistic activity. Eugene Boudin, the coastal landscape painter, was born here in 1824. The Musee Eugene Boudin is dedicated to him and documents the picturesque atmosphere of the city and the Seine estuary. Honfleur is also the birthplace of French composer Erik Satie. Painters such as Courbet, Sisley, Jongkind, Claude Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and Cezanne came to Honfleur and often met in the Ferme St-Simeon, a farm considered one of the birthplaces of impressionism and now a stylish hotel.
Fishing port, commerce and recreation at the same time, the city has been able to highlight its rich historical and artistic heritage. .Even today the painters stand on the wharf of Honfleur, and in the Greniers a Sel, two warehouses built in 1670 east of the Vieux Bassin in l’Enclos, the 13th-century fortification of the city for the purpose of salt storage Organized exhibitions of contemporary artists.
strolling through its streets, visiting its museums, discovering its traditional or biological market, attending a concert or enjoying an exhibition in the Salt Barns or resting a moment on the beach.
Access : Coordinates: 49.4194, 0.2325 / By train :
The nearest train station is at Deauville 2 Gare de Trouville-Deauville, Place Louis Armand / By plane : Deauville airport – aeroport de Deauville, Normandy.The airport is about 12 km southwest, it is mainly served by low-cost airlines. / By boat :
Quais en Seine de Honfleur. Small cruise terminal. Access to the city via shuttle buses, taxi or on foot,about 2 km / By car : From the west from Deauville or Trouville on the D 513 along the coast.
From the north, Le Havre on the A29 over the bridge Pont de Normandie
From the interior of Rouen on the A13 and the A13 /
Getting around : The place is manageable small and easy to explore on foot. The center is relatively flat, only west of the town center are smaller slopes.
Attractions :
- Saint Catherine’s Church , Rue des Logettes, This 15th-century cathedral is The largest surviving wooden church in France. The church is listed as a historical monument in the base Merimee of the French Ministry of Culture.
- Le Vieux Bassin – Old Pier , Quai Sainte Catherine, The harbour erea with many restaurants and cafes, ideal place to relax and people watch. it is that in this beautiful port, which inspired so many impressionist painters, it seems that time has stopped.
- Pont de Normandie, A masterpiece of engineering is the Pont de Normandie, inaugurated in 1995, which connects Honfleur and Le Havre (departement of Seine-Maritime) it is one of the longest bridges.
- Notre Dame de Grace , Mont Joli, Notre-Dame-de-Grace Chapel is a Catholic chapel located in Equemauville,The Chapel of Our Lady of Grace was built in 1600-1615 by the citizens and sailors of Honfleur on the site of an old chapel disappeared in a landslide of the cliff. This primitive chapel was founded before the year 1023 by Richard II, then Duke of Normandy, to fulfill a wish made during a storm in which he almost died. Since then, the worship of Our Lady of Grace has continued.
- Satie House and Museum – Maisons Satie ,67 boulevard Charles V, 14600, Honfleur, Open : 11:00 am – 6:00 pm , The composer Erik Satie is also a child of the city. the soul of Erik Satie , Opened in 1998, the Maisons Satie invite you to discover through an audioguided scenographic journey the world of composer and pianist Erik Satie, born here on May 17, 1866. .
- Musee Eugene Boudin , Place Erik Satie, 14602, Honfleur, Open : 10:00 am – 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm , this small museum has a good collection of paintings and exhibits….Hambourg/Monet/Morisot/Laval/Boudin…… plus lots of others….
- Musee du Vieux Honfleur,Quai St Etienne, 14602, Honfleur, two different museums : Musee d’Ethnographie the ethnographic museum and the Musee de la Marine .The museum itself is located in one of the oldest churches in the city, the Saint-Etienne church.
- Eglise Saint-Leonard, It is located a little above the city center, very close to the tourist office.It has spectacular windows with the 14 passages of the Viacrucis.The exterior facade is very beautiful.You also have an interesting organ and a wooden pulpit with beautiful details.
- Lieutenance d’ Honfleur,The Lieutenancy of Honfleur is a listed building, located near the old Honfleur Basin,Last vestige of the fortifications of Honfleur, the building was the dwelling of the lieutenant of the king.The building is classified as a historical monument on June 14, 19091.
- Memorial Samuel de Champlain,La Lieutenance, 14600, On September 3, 1899 in memory of Samuel de Champlain the Society of Old Honfleur has dedicated this memory. With ships and crew from the port of Honfleur, he explored Acadia and Canada from 1603 to 1607. From the same port in 1608 he founded the city of Quebec.
- Manoir d’Ethnographie,Rue de la Prison, 14600, This museum is presented in the old prison through several rooms, including the upstairs.They have many original Norman artifacts, from furniture to women’s clothing.
- Place Arthur Boudin – Arthur Boudin Square , Between 1874 and 1902, Arthur Boudin was the director of the Honfleur College. The community has honored him by naming him a small square near the marina.
- Monument aux Soldats et Marins du canton morts pour la Patrie – Monument to the Soldiers and Sailors , Cours des Fosses, 14600, Honfleur, The statue shows a Lady Liberty-like warrior woman holding a sword, with her other hand resting on the stern of a ship.
- Jardin des Personnalites – the Garden of Personalities , Promenade de la Jetee, 14600, Honfleur, Open : 8:00 am – 9:00 pm , Installed on an old mudflat in the estuary, this 10-hectare landscaped area offers a walk to discover garden boats at the center of which are the busts of actors of the historical and cultural heritage of Honfleur.Among these personalities: Painters: Eugene Boudin, Claude Monet, Johan Bartold Jonkind, Leon Leclerc, Alexandre Dubourg
Artists: Erik Satie, Alphonse Allais, Charles Baudelaire, Lucie Delarue Mardrus, Countess of Aulnoy – Browsers: Binot Lepaulmier of Gonneville, Samuel de Champlain, Jean Doublet, Pierre Berthelot – The historical characters: Charles V, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Anne-Marie Louis of Orleans - Les moulieres d’Honfleur,place de la Porte de Rouen, 14600, sculpture : Located on a roundabout near the old harbor basin, this fountain is the work of the sculptor Jean-Marc de Pas. “Mussels” refers to those women who collected mussels per kilogram, often risking their lives. Honfleur wished to pay tribute to those who for decades have worked hard in the estuary and on the bench of the ratier to feed their families.
- Phare de Honfleur – Honfleur Lighthouse , Place Jean de Vienne, In 1853, a first lighthouse called “Lighthouse Hospital” was built in addition to the lighthouse Fatouville. It replaced an old wooden tower (called “fire tower”) which succeeded a simple street lamp installed by the hydrographer de Gaulle, a marine engineer (1732-1810). It was lit in 1857 and operated until 1908, when it was extinguished and its lantern filed. It is now the property of the city of Honfleur.
- Eglise Saint-Martin – St. Martin’s Church , Route Chemin Departemental 513, 14113 Cricqueboeuf, The Saint-Martin church, known as the Lierres chapel, is a Catholic church located in Cricqueboeuf, France. Dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is listed as a historic monument.
- Naturospace – live butterflies garden, boulevard Charles V, flower an tropical tree collection. / Panorama Mont-Joli , 542 Rampe du Mont Joli – Equemauville, panoramic views over Honfluer
- Plage du Butin , Cote de la Croix Rouge, Here we see exactly the light of the impressionists. Beach near the port with a view of the harbor. Nothing exceptional, indeed. Beautiful only to take some special photos given the tides but absolutely not for sunbathing or bathing.
- Galeries Bartoux Honfleur , 31 rue du Dauphin / Galerie Laurent Leblanc , 15 rue des Logettes / Galerie Jean Fontan , 40 rue du Dauphin, Open : 10:00 am – 7:00 pm / Artiane Gallery , 12 Place Pierre Berthelot, Open : 10:00 am – 7:00 pm / Galerie Entre tissu et papier , 96 rue Haute | A cote des Maisons Satie. / Galerie 13 , 13 rue Cachin / Galerie Chaye , 6 Place Arthur Boudin / Range of Arts , 7 rue des Capucins /
Activities : photo opportunities- photography trips-photography spots / sightseeing / City walks / Bus & Minivan Tours / snapping selfies : Insta spot / Explore Honfleur with a guide / cycling along a safe cycle path / Geocaching / Explore the Art galleries
Go next : Le Havre / Etretat / Veules les Roses / Dieppe / Beuvron en Auge / Caen / Bayeux
