Both seabound and landlocked, bordered by the Channel, close to Paris, penetrated by the Seine Valley, Normandy is a region of great variety, with a mosaic of territories each with its own unique character, christened with evocative names like the Bauge land, Bessin, Bray, Caux, Ouche, Flowered Coast or Albatre Coast. It has used this diversity to its advantage, in favour of its development and image. For over a century, Normandy has been one of France’s foremost tourist regions. Land of desire, fashioned by the hand of man, it has often been at the heart of French history, particularly during the D-Day landings in June 1944.

This province was invaded from the 9th century by the Normans, a Viking people who came from Scandanavia in their famous longships. Ever since then, this fragmented region has borne their name. Gradually, it was reunified and became an independent Dukedom whose importance grew steadily. When William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invaded England, he became a serious rival to the King of France. This situation repeated itself in the following century, when Henry II Plantagenet, husband of Eleanor of Aquitania, became the King of England. The famous Queen Mathilda tapestry in Bayeux recalls different episodes of William’s conquests. It remained an independent province for a long time, before coming under the sovereignty of the Capetians during the 13th century, but it maintained its individuality thanks to the signing of the “Norman Charter”.
The troubled history of Normandy explains why there are so many castles on the frontiers of the Dukedom, such as Château-Gaillard, in Andelys, one of the most beautiful sites in the Seine valley. These fortresses, which were built on high ground and dominated the surrounding countryside, are typical of the military architecture of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance period was marked by the pursuit of the Art of good living. Manor houses, mansions and chateaux were built, former buildings were refurbished and re-decorated according to the current fashion. Many of these remain to this day, in particular a number of delightful manors surrounded by meadows and ponds, a cross between feudal and Renaissance style architecture. Many of these splendid private hotels and chateaux have been reconverted into museums or luxury hotels.

Once the Norman invaders became sedentary and were Christianized, the Benedictine monks, with the support of the Duke of Normandy, cleared the land and began to build abbeys and churches. Over a hundred of these constructions were erected. Their role was essential. In terms of architecture, a Benedictine Norman school emerged characterised by sobriety, boldness and linear purity. The influence of the Benedictine monks wasn’t limited to the spiritual and architectural dimensions. They also had a profound impact on the economic and political spheres. The Gothic period is thus impressively represented in Normandy ; in the context of this exceptional heritage we can highlight the cathedrals of Rouen and Coutances, the churches of La Trinité and St-Etienne in Caen, as well as the Mont St-Michel sanctuary.

The Mont St-Michel is world famous. Located on the border of Brittany and labelled the “Wonder of the West”, it is one of France’s most visited sites. Listed as a world heritage site, this unique construction emerging like a giant pyramid out of the waves and the sand is the culmination of a project patiently pursued by soldiers and monks over ten centuries. Exquisitely balanced, the Mont St-Michel stands amid vast stretches of sand which the sea covers at high water, in the heart of a bay where the tides reach their maximum amplitude. The splendid gothic buildings form a religious monument of unparalleled architectural beauty. In order to fully appreciate the spectacle, visitors are advised to avoid the high season and to choose the privileged moments of dawn or sundown, when the light softly caresses the stone, when the cloister seems to hover between sea and sky… then the magic begins to work.

Another classical and congenial image of Normandy is that of a traditional half-timbered cottage, with a thatched roof, nestling in the heart of green pastures and hedged farmland, with grazing cows and flowering apple trees. This charming vision is nonetheless a little reductive, since the inner countryside boasts a great diversity of valleys, plains and hills, farmlands and pastures. The nature of the soils that extend from the Armorican mountains to the West and from the Parisian Basin to the East delineate two sectors : the former traditional hedged farmland, with sunken paths and small hamlets, with orchards and pastures bordered by hedges, the latter a country of open fields with fertile soil and large towns. The region’s fame derives from the pastures, a land with the tastiest butters, the smoothest creams, the greatest cheeses, including the three uncontested champions : camembert, livarot and pont-l’évèque.

Along the Norman coast, which stretches for over 600 kilometers, from Tréport to the bay of St-Michel, seaside tourism was born in the 19th century. An authentic lifestyle revolution ! It is claimed that the fashion for seaside bathing was launched by the writer Alexandre Dumas and his friends in 1820. The first French railway, which linked Paris to Rouen in 1843, considerably boosted the movement. The “Floral Coast” became the rendezvous of painters, writers and of the Parisian aristocracy. The seaside landscapes, the ports, the skies and the vibrant light soon inspired the painters. Boudin painted the port of Honfleur, his native town, with passion. Many impressionists followed his example, the foremost of whom was Claude Monet, another child of the country, who was born in Le Havre. The destiny of one of his most famous paintings, “Impressions, Sunrise” is well known. It was painted from the window of his house and exhibited at the first salon of independent artists. This masterpiece gave the impressionist movement, which revolutionized figurative art at the end of the 19th century, its name.

Although times have changed, the landscapes of Normandy have retained their character and authenticity. The tourist is spoilt for choice. The breathtaking chalk cliffs of the “alabaster coast”. The Pays de Caux, with its snug half-timbered shacks and dovecotes. The Regional Nature Park of Brittany and the meandering landscapes of the lower Seine valley, with the Benedictine Abbey route, Jumièges and St-Wandrille, charged with spirituality and history. The charming town of Honfleur, loved by artists, with its picturesque port and its quaint streets. The upmarket beaches of the “Floral Coast”, including the elegant, world-famous resort of Deauville, with its promenade and its luxury villas, delightful illustrations of the seaside architecture that marked the early years of tourism. Le Cotentin, a peninsula battered by the waves, with its three countries (the Saire valley, the Cotentin pass to the South and Le Hague to the North). The Nez de Jobourg, a spur jutting into the Channel, one of this wild, rocky coast’s great sites…

For centuries now, Normandy has regarded itself as « the » horse-riding region. Indeed, three quarters of French racing horses are born, raised and trained here. TheSaint-Lô and Pin national stables, in the Orne region, are renowned. It’s the land of thorougbreds, but also of the Norman Cob breed, used for combined driving, and chunks, highly valued draft horses. Horse-breeding is increasingly focused on leisure activities and Normandy has ideal sites for practicing horse-riding in its hinterlands and beaches. Pony trekking clubs and schools have mushroomed and are part of an intensely varied leisure industry.

Another form of tourism has developed around the history of the Second World War, since Normandy’s beaches were the stage for the allied landings on the 6th of June 1944. To visit the locations where the decisive battle for the liberation of France took place, where beaches, towns and villages still bear the scars of the violent combats which raged there, is a highly moving experience. The names of the landing beaches, Utah, Omaha, Gold, Jung and Sword call up heroic events. The historical location where the battle of Normandy took place has become an authentic open-air museum, with sites, museums and places or remembrance which capture the imagination of the visitor interested in the region’s recent history.

Normandy also evokes a search for well-being, a certain art of easy living. The beautiful Norman houses with their period furniture, buffets, clocks and wardrobes are the perfect illustration of this. Norman furniture, with its imposing size, blending sturdiness and elegance, is widely known and appreciated. The first wooden chests for clothes were manufactured in the 12th century, later to be replaced by wardrobes. Then came sideboards and finely wrought dressers and sculpted clocks. Local craftsmen rivalled in imagination in their choice of themes and materials to design the dials and the pendulums. This furniture had a powerfully symbolic value for the families : at wedding ceremonies, the transport of furniture from the young lady’s parent’s home to that of her future husband was an authentic festive occasion in which all the village joined in..

According to a well-established tradition, Normans are supposed to be «good eaters». How could they be otherwise considering the quality of the local produce ? The unctuous cream that is used in all sorts of dishes, meat, fish, vegetables, pasta, eggs, is the basis of Normandy sauce. This cuisine has adapted well to modern tastes, has become lighter and can be labelled today as gourmet cuisine. The traditional Norman drink has always been cider, which goes back to the Middle Ages and comes in several varieties (traditional, sweet and brut) as well as vintages, like wine. The famous Calvados is also an enduring tradition, derived from distilled cider and enjoyed either with cheese, or as a “trou normand”, between two dishes, during banquets, or in a pommel, mixed with apple juice.

The calendar of events includes the commemoration of memorable episodes of the Battle of Normandy, but also, linked to local traditions and products, atonement days of ,fishing corporations, many events related to horse-riding, such as horse races and yearling auctions, not forgetting all the events celebrating food such as the white blood-sausage, turkey, cider, mackerel, herring and cheese festivals….There is a wide variety of tourist circuits proposed by the Tourist agencies : discovery of the hedged farmlands, of Swiss Normandy, of cliffs and marshes, of mountains and marvels, the battle of Normandy, the Norman Abbey tours, the William the Conqueror circuit, the cauchois dovecotes, the Orne stables, Norman lacemaking, Madame Bovary, etc…

It is worth remembering that many Norman pathways lead to artists and writers : in Cabourg the universe of Marcel Proust writing « In Search of Lost Time”, in Caen that of Malherbe, in Croisset and Canteleu that of Flaubert and the character of Emma Bovary, In Honfleur the painter Boudin and the composer Satie, in Rouen the author of The Cid, Pierre Corneille, in Miromesnil Guy de Maupassant and his “Bel Ami”, in Villequier Victor Hugo and the memory of his daughter Léopoldine, etc…
Proof that in Normandy, if gastronomy is never far away, culture is always present !

Boutique hotels and designer BBs in Normandy, Business hotels and Secret places