Honfleur - full day or half-day?

We spent two nights in Honfleur and used the full day to day trip to Etretat. The afternoon of one day and then evening of the second was plenty of time for Honfleur. It is a pretty little town and Etretat was really a wonderful afternoon. You can see our experiences here:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/normandy/
Honfleur is quite small. We stayed in a small B&B on the edge of the center and it was an easy stroll to the charming church and then another very short stroll down to the harbor. You can walk completely around the harbor in 15 minutes. We also went out to the park along the river with a view across to Le Havre.

It's a pretty small town so you could probably get by with half a day. But staying a night is really nice too. My wife and I stayed there one night on our 2003 France trip, and had a great dinner at a restaurant looking out at the harbor. There was thick fog that evening, which lent a magical atmosphere. We arrived around 4 p.m. after taking the train from Paris to Rouen where we picked up the rental car. We departed around noon the following day, so it was a short visit but still very memorable.

I actually only spent about 4 hours in Honfleur and that was enough for me to see everything I wanted to see and enjoy a nice leisurely lunch. I did it the same day that I went to Etretat where I spent about 3 hours climbing up the one cliff to the church and then wandering around the town and having lunch. Loved spending time in both of these towns. It's such a picturesque area.

EDIT I have edited my post to remove the reference to the funicular. I was confusing two places - Etretat and Le Treport - the funicular is in Le Treport. Sorry about that.

We totally did not see any sort of funicular in Etretat -- where did it go? We walked the cliffs to the left as you face the ocean.

Oh thanks for the update -- I was thinking I had somehow missed something that should be obvious -- but we didn't go to the side with the church that you did.

I am really sorry to have missed the little town someone else mentioned.

Yes, I do think you could see Honfleur in half a day if that is all the time you can allocate, but, the town is so pretty that I really enjoyed seeing it and walking around the water in the evening. The reflection of all the lights on the harbor water was very picturesque. We too drove to Etretat the following day after breakfast. I am going to make one more suggestion for an additional stop not too far from Etretat. I know you are trying to squeeze a lot in but check out pictures of Veules les Roses, just a little further up the coast, still about an hour from Rouen. It is a small town, extremely picturesque, with lots of flowers, canals and several water wheels. We purposely made a stop there of a few hours to wander the streets of the town and to eat lunch. We enjoyed it very much and did not encounter many tourists there. Etretat has beautiful panoramas to be viewed from afar and Honfleur and Veules les Roses are full of local color to be enjoyed as you wander the streets and back alleys. All were very pleasant experiences.

Half a day is fine, but it's best in the evening (before sunset) and the early morning. There really is something special about the light in Honfleur.

Honfleur is a great little place to have some laid back, not rushed time. Four to six hours should be enough depending on how much you want to do and see there. An overnight stay might be a bit much, but it all depends on what your interest are.

Thanks all for the advice!

Pat, Veules les Roses was actually the turning point of the loop I had in mind in driving up the coast after Etretat before heading back to Rouen.

Honfleur is one of my favorite places in France. I have stayed there twice for 2 nights each, using it as base to visit the surrounding countryside as well as enjoying the town itself. On my third visit I was staying someplace else, so was in Honfleur for just a half-day and that was fine since I'd been there before. In addition to the Boudin museum, I really enjoyed the Eric Satie museum. It's an interesting town to wander around in and lunch on the inner harbor is a must-do for me.