What to see and do in Honfleur, the most beautiful town in Normandy

One of the essential stages in a Normandy route It is the beautiful coastal town of Honfleur.

It is one of the most beautiful towns of this French region and is one of the iconic images of the artistic movement of impressionism which emerged in France at the end of the 19th century.

Its strategic location in the estuary of the seine river has marked the history of Honfleur.

Curiosities history of Honfleur

In this place of the Normandy coast The Romans were already there, but a key stage in history was the one marked by the presence of the Vikings.

The Vikings in Honfleur

Although there had already been Vikings who had settled in this area, a key moment was the arrival of the ships that were going up the course of the Seine river plundering all the riverside towns, and even reaching Paris.

This situation led at the beginning of the 10th century to the then king of france Charles III, the Simple to reach an agreement with Rollo, a Viking leader, to settle in the area of Honfleur, north of Normandy, to protect the entrance to the estuary and prevent looting by other Viking groups.

One of the conditions of the agreement, whose history you can see in the Vikings television series, it was that Rollo converted to Christianity, and also became the first duke of normandy, giving this name to the region (Norman, men of the North).

In the face of the feudal lords who imposed taxes on the peasants, Rollo What he did was give up land so that they could carry out their agricultural activity.

Honfleur Wall

Another important moment in Honfleur history it was during the Hundred Years War, between the 14th and 15th centuries, when the construction of a Wall, which was finally finished by the English after occupying the area.

Already at the time of Louis XIV, at the end of the 17th century, its prime minister Colbert carried out the modernization of Honfleur, For this reason, he removed the wall, using parts of its stones to build granaries where the salt was stored, which would later be used by fishermen.

As a curiosity, the sale of salt stored in Honfleur helped finance the construction of the Palace of Versailles.

In short, throughout history Honfleur It has been a prominent port for maritime trade, and also one of the five most important in France for the sale of slaves in America.

What to see and do when visiting Honfleur

In your walk through Honfleur You will find various corners with great charm.

You will have to leave your car in the large parking lot at the entrance, and possibly you will access its famous port along the village street, where you will see restaurant terraces and souvenir shops.

From the heritage point of view, it is worth highlighting the church of San Leonardo 1300, which was initially a Protestant church built with flamboyant gothic style.

Some time later, the apse part of the church was rehabilitated, but this time in primitive gothic style, so that there is the curious contrast that the oldest part of the church is of a later architectural style.

Honfleur and the impressionists

La Honfleur history It is also linked to the development of the artistic movement of impressionism in the paint.

Eugene Boudin, who was the teacher of one of the most prominent precursors of this movement, Claude Monet, met him when he was young and told him to go with him to paint Honfleur , and it was here that Monet began to develop his technique of impressive paint.

Later, various impressionist painters went to Honfleur, where a painting workshop was established.

The result is that numerous corners of this beautiful town and its surroundings have been represented by impressionist painting.

In this regard, without a doubt, the corner most painted by the impressionists has been the old port (Old Bassin), a true landscape gem that now continues to be the main focus of attraction for the tourists we visit Honfleur.

Honfleur Old Port

In the past with fishing boats and today with leisure boats, the image of the picturesque old port It is one of the most beautiful you can see in Normandy.

Its row of tall houses with narrow facades, some of them from the 15th and 16th centuries, will be a constant temptation to be photographed.

Therefore, you will not be surprised to find a great atmosphere of tourists walking through the port, or sitting on one of the numerous terraces that are available along it.

The port is also the main focus of visits for pleasure boats that full of tourists navigate the surroundings of Honfleur.

Of note in the port is the stone building of the former Lieutenancy, which preserves a door was part of the old wall of Honfleur.

You should not stop walking through the strait prison alley, with beautiful corners of half-timbered houses, which goes out to the port on its southeast side.

St. Catherine's Church in Honfleur

During your visit you should not miss a corner that in itself would justify travel to Honfleur.

Very close to the port, in what would be the old fishing district of the town, there is the Santa Catalina church.

When you approach it you will find a large rectangular wooden building that will seem to be an old medieval market.

In front of it there is a bell tower also made of wood.

But when you access its interior you will see that. Indeed, it is a iglesia with what could be two longitudinal naves, with two altars, numerous religious figures on the sides, and paintings on the walls, columns and ceilings.

I really have a hard time remembering having seen a church with a similar configuration, except for the medieval wooden churches from Norway.

The explanation for this very special configuration is that it was built at the end of the 15th century by workshops that were dedicated to building ships and markets.

They built it out of wood because they did not have money to build a stone church like the one in San Leonardo, which had been built in the rich neighborhood of the town.

La bell tower It was built separately from the main building because the craftsmen did not know how to build a church tower.

Everything was at the expense of, over time, having money to tackle a more ambitious project, which in the end did not happen.

And the surprising thing is that this wooden church It has resisted possible fires or even bombings, which is why it has been preserved as an architectural jewel to this day.

Map: how to get to Honfleur

Honfleur is one hour west of RouenAs just over two hours northwest of Paris.

Pictures of Honfleur

Here you have more photos of the pretty town of Honfleur in Normandy.