My husband and I are taking a short trip to France (with other countries later) in late September 2016. We have been to Paris before, and we are flying into Paris CDG. We have three days allotted to see some of coastal France/Normandy region before we head back to Paris CDG to drop off the rental car and take a train to Amsterdam. We want to see Normandy, Caen, Juno Beach/the coast in the meantime. Our thoughts are to drive to stay in either Etretat, Fecamp, or Yport. I love the idea of seeing and staying in Etretat and going from there on a day trip to see the historical monuments in Normandy/Juno Beach/Caen but my research indicates that it would be cheaper to stay in either Yport or Fecamp. We have a limited budget but want to see as much as possible while also staying in a town where we can get over jet lag and relax/enjoys cafes and restaurants while having a genuine French experience (even staying in a town where only French is spoken, as we like practicing our French)! Was hoping to get thoughts on what city would be ideal to stay in for the best possible use of our three nights and also any recommendations for must-sees or must-dos in that region!
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2087 posts
I stayed near Yport in 2005 and is a nice area to visit. Ofcourse the big draw are the white cliffs between Le Havre and Le Treport, with Étretat as the most famous. There are a lot of walking trails along the coast and enough lovely places to look for, needs time, but really rewarding if you ask me. Fécamp is not directly attractive and for that not so of interest for the international tourist, but for sure a good place for a French immersion experience. There is a nice panoramic view from the cliff near Notre-Dame du Salut, a good cheap (hope still is) restaurant there was Chez Nounoute, has good reviews so likely still the same owner.
For good value for the money best is to look for chambre d’hôtes (B&B’s), also good for local touristic info. For saving money you don’t need to stay north of Le Havre, and also know you have to pay toll (€5,40) each time you cross Pont de Normandie and drive a few hours for getting to the D-Day beaches. You can find reasonely priced B&B’s around Caen and Bayeux too. I always use places who are member of Gîtes de France and all those many years never being disappointed. If you don’t care too much about “fantastic” places, for around €60 (2p + breakfast) there are enough decent places to stay, anyway you get always a warm welcome and with a bit of luck meet fellow French guests to practice your language skills with.
http://en.gites-de-france.com/holiday-rentals-Normandy.html
Posted by
OP
Vancouver, Canada
12 posts
Wow, thank you so much, Will. This is all VERY helpful and informative. I will start looking into places based on your suggestions :)
Posted by
Birmingham AL
346 posts
We just stayed in Bayeux a few days ago and loved it. I have posted an exhaustive trip report in that section of this forum if you want to see the particulars. Our small hotel there was terrific.
Posted by
Birmingham AL
346 posts
We just stayed in Bayeux a few days ago and loved it. I have posted an exhaustive trip report in that section of this forum if you want to see the particulars. Our small hotel there was terrific.
Posted by
Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada
776 posts
Hello.
Sounds like a great trip.
We stayed in Fecamp by accident. We thought we were going to stay in Dieppe but I did not know that we had planned this for the last day of a school holiday in France so we ended up at an Ibis Budget in Fecamp......LOVED Fecamp.
The harbour, the beach the sites....lovely.
We then left from there and drove to Etretat and stayed there for a few hours and then off to go over the Normandie Bridge and sleep just outside of Honfleur. We toured Honfleur that night then the next morning when to Juno and the Canadian War cemetary. We finished that day with a few hours at dusk on Mont Saint Michel. It was rushed but we thought we got a good feeling for the place. Etretat was cute but seemed like there was less to see at night than Fecamp. Honfleur was GORGEOUS and relaxing.
I hope this helped. We were there in November so the days were short.
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
2087 posts
No idea if it will be of interest, but every Saturday morning there is a market in Fécamp near the church, the local farmers have their own spot in La Halle aux Beurres (in the cinema building) to sell their products. However the old covered market in Étretat is way more charming, but have no idea about the market days and what is sold there.