Honfleur Old Harbour
Vieux Bassin, Honfleur
Tall, narrow slate-roofed houses and timber-framed buildings surround the 17th-century harbor basin, where sailboat reflections make a picture. It is the cradle of the Impressionist painters.
Honfleur lies on the south bank of the Seine estuary, facing Le Havre across the water. It was once a port from which French explorers set sail, and Champlain, founder of Quebec City, departed from here. The core is the Old Harbour basin (Vieux Bassin), built in the 17th century on the orders of Colbert and surrounded by tall, narrow slate-roofed houses. In summer the basin fills with sailboats, whose reflections are picture-perfect. Nearby, the Sainte-Catherine Church was built in the second half of the 15th century by shipbuilders using oak. It is France's largest timber church, and its bell tower stands separately across the square. Honfleur was a prelude to Impressionism. Local painter Eugène Boudin took the young Monet out sketching, and the Musée Eugène Boudin holds his works. Composer Erik Satie was also born here, and the Erik Satie House Museum is located here. The old town has many galleries, cider and calvados shops, and seafood restaurants. A walking tour takes about 2–3 hours. Getting there: take a bus from Le Havre across the Normandy Bridge, about 30 minutes. From Paris, it is about 2 hours by car. It can be combined in one day with the seaside resorts of Deauville and Trouville to the south.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Church of St. Catherine, Honfleur
- Musée Eugène Boudin
- Pont de Normandie
- Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
- Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret
- MuMa – Musée d'art moderne André Malraux
- St. Joseph's Church, Le Havre
- Trouville-sur-Mer