Honfleur

Honfleur is more than just the pretty face of brightly colored buildings that greets you as you enter the Old Harbour (Vieux Bassin). It has museums and galleries in spades, and some of them are world class. Honfleur’s seafaring tradition goes back centuries and the Musée de la Marine (Maritime Museum) does an excellent job of recounting that story in the rather incongruous surrounds of a disused church. Art galleries tend to cluster around the main church, the Église Sainte Catherine. And don’t miss Les Maisons Satie, the almost surreal home of the eccentric 19th-century composer Erik Satie. Honfleur lies at the eastern end of Calvados ...

Honfleur is more than just the pretty face of brightly colored buildings that greets you as you enter the Old Harbour (Vieux Bassin). It has museums and galleries in spades, and some of them are world class. Honfleur’s seafaring tradition goes back centuries and the Musée de la Marine (Maritime Museum) does an excellent job of recounting that story in the rather incongruous surrounds of a disused church. Art galleries tend to cluster around the main church, the Église Sainte Catherine. And don’t miss Les Maisons Satie, the almost surreal home of the eccentric 19th-century composer Erik Satie. Honfleur lies at the eastern end of Calvados province, which along with its famous apple brandy, boasts an embarrassment of high-quality cheeses (for example, Pont l’Évêque, Livarot and the celebrated Camembert) and ciders. You’ll also be within spiting distance of the famed Normandy Beaches that played such a pivotal role on D-Day (June 6, 1944) when the Battle of Normandy began.

About the Expert

Steve Fallon has more than two dozen years of experience as a travel writer and guidebook author, having written or contributed to some 80 Lonely Planet and other guides.