Baie de Somme

A tidal bay at the mouth of the Somme, with the medieval town of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme facing the seaside resort of Le Crotoy across the water. Spot seals, go birdwatching and ride the steam railway on a favourite weekend seaside escape for Parisians.

The Baie de Somme lies at the western tip of the Somme department in the Hauts-de-France region, where the River Somme flows into the English Channel through a tidal estuary. Covering about 7,000 hectares, it is a member of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World Club and holds France's Grand Site de France label. Each shore has a town to base yourself in: on the south side, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme has a medieval upper town and colourful sailors' cottages; on the north side, Le Crotoy has a south-facing beach and Jules Verne's former home. The two are linked by a century-old steam railway. Pointe du Hourdel, on the southern side of the bay's mouth, is home to France's largest harbour seal colony, while the Parc du Marquenterre bird reserve on the north shore is a stopover for migrating birds. Further south, Cayeux-sur-Mer has colourful beach huts, and beyond the chalk cliffs of Ault lie Mers-les-Bains and Le Tréport in Normandy. Inland, you can visit Rue with its UNESCO-listed belfry, the gardens of Valloires Abbey, the Crécy battlefield and the Chinese Labour Corps cemetery from the First World War. The climate is mild and windy: Apr–Jun and Sep–Oct bring plenty of migrating birds and fewer visitors, Jul–Aug is the peak beach season, and winter is good for seals and wildfowl. Getting there: trains from Paris Gare du Nord via Amiens or Abbeville reach Noyelles-sur-Mer in about 2 hours, where you can change to the steam train or a bus; driving takes about 2.5 hours. Sights around the bay are spread out, so a car or bike is recommended. Plan to stay 2–3 days. Crossing the bay at low tide must be done with a licensed guide, as the tide comes in extremely fast and quicksand is a real danger; watch seals only from a distance.

Top sights

• Baie de Somme – A major French national landscape: a bay of tidal flats, salt marshes, and harbor villages, listed among the World's Most Beautiful Bays.
• Saint-Valery-sur-Somme – A medieval harbour town on the south bank of the Baie de Somme, with intact gates, ramparts and sailors' quarter lanes. Famous for sunsets…
• Le Crotoy – A seaside town on the north shore of the Baie de Somme, said to have the only south-facing beach in northern France, where Jules Verne wrot…
• Le Hourdel Seal Colony – A shingle headland and small fishing port at the southern end of the Baie de Somme, where seal colonies bask on the sandbanks at low tide.
• Parc du Marquenterre – A 200-hectare bird reserve on the north shore of the Baie de Somme. Boardwalks and hides reveal more than 300 species, including white stor…
• Chemin de fer de la Baie de Somme – A metre-gauge railway in operation since 1887, where steam locomotives run along the bay linking Le Crotoy, Noyelles-sur-Mer, Saint-Valery…
• Mers-les-Bains – The southernmost seaside town in the Somme department, with hundreds of colourful Belle Époque villas along its promenade and chalk cliffs…
• Cayeux-sur-Mer – A pebble-beach seaside town on the south side of the Baie de Somme, where a 2 km wooden boardwalk is lined with hundreds of colourful beach…
• Rue: Chapelle du Saint-Esprit & Belfry – A medieval pilgrimage town with a flamboyant Gothic Chapel of the Holy Spirit and a World Heritage belfry, with richly carved stonework.
• Abbaye et Jardins de Valloires – A botanical garden beside an 18th-century Cistercian abbey, known for thousands of roses and themed gardens.
• Le Tréport Cliffs & Funicular – A Normandy fishing town with a free funicular that climbs to one of Europe's highest chalk cliffs, overlooking the harbour and Mers-les-Bai…
• Ault & Onival Cliffs – The start of the chalk cliffs of the Picardy coast. From the seaside town you can get close to the cliff face, while to the north lie flat…
• Château d'Eu – The summer residence of France's last king, Louis-Philippe, a Renaissance-style château of brick and stone with gardens in the style of Le…
• Chinese Cemetery of Nolette – The largest cemetery in France for Chinese labourers of the First World War, with more than 800 headstones inscribed in Chinese, bearing wi…
• Crécy Battlefield – Site of the 1346 Battle of Crécy in the Hundred Years' War, where a viewing tower overlooks the slopes where English longbowmen took up the…
• Le Touquet-Paris-Plage – A long-established seaside resort on the Opal Coast, with wide beaches, pine-forest villas and Art Deco buildings.

Where to eat

• Auberge de la Marine – A small gastronomic bistro by the Le Crotoy harbour, run by a young couple and serving modern French cooking built on l…
• Schorre – A creative restaurant on the top floor of an 18th-century salt warehouse in Saint-Valery, with panoramic views over the…
• La Clé des Champs – A Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant in the village of Favières near Le Crotoy, serving Picardy-inspired dishes in a conv…

Itineraries

• Hauts-de-France: Lille, Somme & Opal Coast – A loop from Lille through WWI battlefields, Amiens, and the Baie de Somme, heading north to the Channel cliffs before r…
• Amiens & Baie de Somme Weekend – A car-free weekend trip: take the train to see Amiens Cathedral and the floating gardens, then ride a vintage steam tra…