The Normandy Travel Guide: Honfleur, Etretat, Deauville and Trouville

WHere to go in normandy

Vernon/Giverny, Honfleur, Etretat & Deauville/Trouville

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Best time to visit normandy

Spring, Summer, Autumn

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Where to stay in normandy

Our Favorite Normandy Stays

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how to get around normandy

Driving in Normandy and access by train

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FAQs

Bonjour

If this is your first time on The Weithouse - welcome! My name is Taylor and I’m the face behind the screen and camera bringing you resources to help you plan the trip of your dreams.

In January of 2022, my husband and I left our home in Atlanta, packed our bags and moved to Paris! Every day we wake up in disbelief that we get to call this incredible city our home, a city full of rich history, world-renowned food, and beauty hidden around every corner.

In this Normandy Travel Guide, we sharing all the information you need (from what villages to visit to what time of year to visit) to spend some time exploring the beautiful Normandy region of France.

Bon voyage!

where to go in normandy

After living in Paris for the better part of a year, I knew that I wanted to start seeing more of this beautifully, diverse country. Having already visited the South of France and staying at this amazing hotel, I now wanted to head Northwest to experience Normandy in Autumn. I had very little knowledge of the region, but after a few weeks of research we decided to rent a car and drive from Paris to Honfleur, France. Rather than staying at multiple hotels along the way, we opted to use Honfleur as our base during the trip and take day trips out from that central location.

During our three-day trip, we had time to explore the Normandy villages of Vernon (Giverny), Honfleur, Etretat & Deauville.

A little caveat, we were initially planning this trip to see famous Mont Saint Michel, however, I quickly realized that Normandy is a vast region and that it would be hard for us to visit Mont Saint Michel along with our other destinations.

Although still haven’t made it out to Mont Saint Michel, I believe it is best handled as its own trip, which we will be planning sometime in the future! Similarly, we did not visit any D-Day Landing Beaches on this trip, as they were still a bit far from our central location in Honfleur. If you want to do everything in this post, plus Mont Saint Michel and the D-Day Landing Beaches, I would allow for a minimum of 6-8 days in order to see everything.

The Normandy Region

Normandy is a vast region situated in Northwest France, which is just as geographically diverse as France itself. For our trip, we spent most of our time on the coast of Normandy, but there is also inland Normandy, scattered with charming villages such as Roeun, Vernon and Giverny.

Even within the region you will find diversity between each village.. Honfleur was drastically different from Etretat and the same is true of Deauville. They all offer beautiful views of the water and all of the nautical feels, but they each bring something unique to the coastal region of Normandy.

VERNON, France & Giverny, France

The drive from Paris to Honfleur takes two hours, meaning you can easily drive there in one go. However, if you are looking to make a stop along the way, then I’d highly recommend visiting Vernon or Giverny.

Vernon and Giverny are neighboring villages that sit an hour and a half’s drive outside of Paris. Giverny is home to Monet’s home and gardens, which is where you can visit and experience the famous colors and water lilies that inspired so many of his paintings.

During a quick pitstop on the way to the coast, you can grab a bite to eat in Vernon or Giverny, spend a few hours in Monet’s Home & Gardens, and enjoy the half-timbered houses of both villages.

Honfleur, France

Honfleur is a port-village located on France’s Northwestern coast. It is distinguished by its old fishermen’s houses, the largest all-timber church in France, and cobblestone streets lined with the half-timbered houses as far as the eye can see.

In late September, the weather in Honfleur was gloomy and rainy, but felt entirely fitting for the grungy, leaning buildings lining the port and the overall storybook feel of the town.

Honfleur itself is relatively small, meaning it can easily be walked and explored. With the city being not too much more than a fisherman’s village, there isn’t a plethora of things to explore unlike a larger French city such as Paris, however, there’s enough to see and do for you to spend a few days in Honfleur.

Best Things to do in Honfleur, France:

• Visit Saint Catherine's Church, the largest all-timber church in France. The church is free and open to visitors and can be found in the heart of Honfleur, steps off the harbor.

• Spend the morning strolling through the cobblestone streets and local boutiques.

• From the village center, you can hike up to the Chapel of Notre-Dame De Grâce, a small church perched atop a hill and overlooking the port. The climb up will give you great views of the quaint houses of Honfleur below, as well as the one of the largest cable-stayed bridges in the world: The Normandy Bridge.

• Sit at one of the cafes along the harbor and watch the boats go out or come in for the day.

If you’re just driving through, you can easily see Honfleur in a day. However, it was our favorite village from this trip and was such a magical place that I’d recommend staying at least one night to get to experience it for longer.

etretat, France

One of the most beautiful coastal destinations in France has to be the Normandy cliffs of Etretat. Etretat is an hour’s drive from Honfleur, and can easily be visited as a day trip, or used as a homebase for your Normandy explorations.

The main reason to visit Etretat is for its beautiful landscapes, made up of white-chalk cliffs rising proudly from the edge of France herself. The small village of Etretat doesn’t have too much happening, however, Etretat does feature a pebble beach making it a great summer destination.

From the beach in Etretat, you are nestled on both sides by the cliffs rising up beside you. You can choose to explore either side of the cliffs, both offering hikes on the top and stunning views of the surrounding cliffs and ocean.

If you’re visiting for a shorter day trip, head to the cliffside that would be at your right if you’re facing the ocean on the pebble beach. This route gives you a view of the arch on the opposite side of the beach and is also home to the beautiful Chapelle Notre dame de la Garde. The hike from the beach up to the top takes roughly ten minutes and is well manicured. However, if you have mobility issues, you can either take a train to the top or drive up.

Once at the top, the chapel is not accessible by visitors, but it does make for the most beautiful subject for your photos. Steps from the chapel you will find the famous Les Jardins d'Etretat, a neo-classical garden listed among “Great Gardens of the World” and offering more amazing vistas of the Etretat cliffs. The gardens take roughly 30 minutes to walk through at a leisurely pace and you can buy tickets at the entrance.

At the top of the cliffs, you will find additional hiking, which can lead you back down to the rocky shore below. We stumbled upon a path that led to even more breathtaking views of the cliffside and featured rocky stairs to a black pebbled beach, where we found a cave leading us back towards the main beach we started at. I don’t think the hike has a name, but we found it behind the church to the left. Bonne Chance (Good luck).

For your planning purposes, I would recommend staying at least one night in Etretat. During our day trip, we only had time to do the one side of the cliffs and the gardens, but you can also hike to the other side (where the arch is) and see more of the coastline. If you visit in warm weather, you can also have a French picnic on the top of the cliffs and spend your day soaking up the sun. And I would imagine the sunsets here are absolutely stunning as the cliffs face West.

If you do plan to stay in Etretat, you can find a place to stay further down in this post.

deauville, France & Trouville, France

From Honfleur, you can also easily access the towns of Deauville and Trouville by taking a short twenty-minute drive. Deauville and Trouville are next door neighbors, and are titled the sister cities by the French, with a harbor separating the two.

Deauville, France

Deauville is a ritzy beach resort town, that I imagine is bursting with wealthy beachgoers in the summer. The village is lined with high-end shops and casinos, and we saw more than a few luxury vehicles during our short time there. Personally, I wasn’t the biggest fan of Deauville, but it does have a more traditional beach (with sand versus rocks) that I imagine is very enjoyable in the summer (although probably also very crowded).

You can take a direct train from Paris to Deauville, making it a more accessible location by Parisians and tourists looking to explore Normandy. The train tickets themselves are normally very affordable when compared to other regions in France, again making it a popular destination for getting out of the city.

Trouville, France

Opposite from Deauville, you will find the much more charming town of Trouville. Trouville is also home to a casino, but has a more established port and old town, making it feel a little less manufactured and a lot more authentic.

You can climb to the top of Trouville to find yourself with amazing views overlooking both Trouville and Deauville below. In order to get to the top, just keep climbing the roads with an incline and you’ll find yourself among the stunning views.

From the top of Trouville, you can route yourself to the Trouville beach, which is outfitted with nostalgic beach changing cabins and what seems like a more local crowd sunbathing.

Best Time to Visit Normandy

The most popular time to visit Normandy is Summer, when you’re likely to get clear skies, warm weather and a lot of sun. However, the summer will also mean that everything is more crowded, hotels more expensive, and restaurants reservations less available.

If you don’t mind a little potential rain, an alternative time visit to Normandy is in Autumn. I thoroughly enjoyed the moodiness that the rain brought over the region, especially over Honfleur, and I liked not having to share such a special place with too many people.

Autumn is also a great time to visit the region to see beautiful foliage and apple trees bursting with red apples. We were a little too early for foliage (I think early October would be best), however we did visit a local cidery, Le Manoir d'Apreval, to try the local French cider. All of the trees on the property were covered in apples, which we learned were not the right kind for eating (helping me understand why I couldn’t find any apple picking in the region).

Where to stay in normandy

While planning this road trip, I debated a few options on where to stay in the region, but ultimately decided to use Honfleur as our hub. This was due to two reasons, the first being that it would be easier on our group to not have to pack up every night, and the second being that it was challenging to find an Airbnb or affordable hotel that could be booked for one night only. We booked an affordable three-night stay at the Airbnb linked below, which was perfectly suited for our two traveling couples (although there was only one bathroom) and was pet-friendly and kid-friendly.

The 10Honfleur TERRACE

An Airbnb on the bottom floor of a half-timbered house in Honfleur. Sleeps 4 (with one bathroom) and is pet and kid friendly. Also features a beautiful terrace.

Les Tilleuls Etretat

A beautiful 1738 mansion, 300 steps from the cliffs of Etretat. They offer well-being retreats and rooms start at 280.00€ / night

hotel flaubert trouville

The only hotel in Trouville on the boardwalk, offering seaside views from the rooms.

auberge-de-la-source

A beautiful Normandy estate set 4km from Honfleur.

Transportation

You will need a car to get around Normandy. If you start in Paris, you can take a train to one of the larger cities and then rent a car from there, but to there are no direct trains to Honfleur or Etretat, and getting around and exploring is much easier in a car. Driving in France is very straightforward and there is public parking in every destination listed in this post. You can rent an electric vehicle thanks to the charging stations in both Honfleur and Etretat, however, it added a bit of an inconvenience to our trip to have to plan our parking around the charging stations, so if you don’t want the added stress, I would stick with a hybrid or gas vehicle.

FAQS

Before closing out this post, I wanted to share some of the FAQs I’ve received about our trip to Normandy. And if none of your questions are answered by the end of the post, ask it in the comment section at the bottom of this page and I will do my best to answer!

Q: Can you take trains to Etretat, or do you think car rental is really the best option?

There is no direct train from Paris to Etretat, but the most direct train journey would be to go from Paris to Le Havre (roughly two hours, no changes) and then pick up your rental car in Le Havre. It takes 33 minutes to drive from Le Havre to Etretat.

Q: Is it always rainy in Honfleur?

No! Although while we were visiting it was quite rainy, Honfleur has 7-9 rainy days / month across the seasons.

Q: Is Deauville worth visiting?

I try my best never to dissuade someone from visiting a place, because a destination can provide a unique experience for someone that I didn’t experience myself. That being said, if you have a short amount of time in Normandy, I would prioritize visiting Honfleur and Etretat. Or if you have a short time in France, I would recommend visiting some other regions such as Provence. All that to say, I just didn’t think Deauville was all that interesting nor beautiful. But of course, it’s up to your own discernment to decide!

STICK AROUND FOR A WHILE

Need help planning the rest of your trip?

If you’re exploring more of France, be sure to check out this South of France itinerary, our roundup of boutique hotels in Paris, read our quick guide to visiting Monet’s Home & Gardens, or learn what it’s like to live as an American expat in Paris.

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