Rouen
Housed in a very grand structure flung up in 1870, Rouen’s simply outstanding fine-arts museum features canvases by Rubens, Modigliani, Pissarro, Renoir,…
Must-see attractions in Brittany & Normandy
Golfe du Morbihan
The island's northernmost point juts out dramatically at Pointe des Poulains. Flanked by craggy cliffs and affording sublime views, this windswept…
Brittany
Dominating the town, Vitré's medieval castle rises on a rocky outcrop overlooking the River Vilaine, and is one of the most impressive in Brittany – a…
Le Havre
The Jardins Suspendus (Hanging Gardens) is an old hilltop fortress transformed into a beautiful set of gardens, whose greenhouses and outdoor spaces…
Finistère
The peninsula's most southerly point, Cap de la Chèvre is 8km south of Morgat, and offers stupendous panoramas of the Baie de Douarnenez and the Pointe du…
Golfe du Morbihan
This huge tumulus, 400m northeast of the Carnac-Ville tourist office, and accessed off the D781 at the end of chemin du Tumulus (itself off rue du Tumulus…
Finistère
Few places in France can match Pointe du Raz for its coastal splendour: on every side gorse-cloaked cliffs plummet to the waves 70m below, gulls trace…
Normandy
With its ghostly white-stone ruins glowing against bright green grass and dark green trees, the Abbaye de Jumièges is one of Normandy’s most evocative…
Rouen
This supreme example of the Flamboyant Gothic–style church was built between 1437 and 1521, but much of the decoration dates from the Renaissance. The…
Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin
Normandy
Inland from Utah Beach, to the south and southwest, is the 1480-sq-km Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin, a vast expanse of…
Brittany
Running along the coast from Penvern to Trégastel and Ploumanach lies one of Brittany's natural wonders: a delightful and breezy coastline of pink-,…
St-Malo
Constructed at the end of the 17th century under military architect Vauban, and measuring 1.8km, the ramparts of St-Malo can be accessed from several…
Golfe du Morbihan
Opposite the Maison des Mégalithes, the largest menhir field – with 1099 stones – is the Alignements du Ménec, 1km north of Carnac-Ville.
Le Havre
Le Havre’s most conspicuous landmark, designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer and opened in 1982, is also the city’s premier cultural venue. One…
D-Day Beaches
At 7.10am on 6 June 1944, 225 US Army Rangers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder scaled the impossibly steep, 30m-high cliffs of…
Caen
Caen’s most important medieval site is the Men’s Abbey – now city hall – and, right next door, the magnificent, multi-turreted Église St-Étienne (St…
Honfleur
Initially intended as a temporary structure, this extraordinary wooden church was built by local shipwrights during the late 15th and early 16th centuries…
Mont St-Michel
The buildings on the northern side of the Mont are known as ‘The Marvel’. The famous cloître (cloister) is surrounded by a double row of delicately carved…
Finistère
Scarcely 1km across, Île Molène feels even more remote than its neighbour Île d'Ouessant. It's carless, virtually treeless, home to a declining population…
Golfe du Morbihan
The main information point for the Carnac alignments is the Maison des Mégalithes, 1km north of Carnac-Ville, which explores the history of the megalithic…
Rouen
The ornately Gothic Law Courts, little more than a shell at the end of WWII, have been restored to their early-16th-century glory. On rue Jeanne d'Arc,…
Finistère
This intriguing place, 8km west of Le Faou on the D791, is abuzz with live bees that you can view in its honey museum. Depending on the season, you might…
Honfleur
The old harbour, with its bobbing pleasure boats, is Honfleur’s focal point. On the west side, quai Ste-Catherine is lined with tall, taper-thin houses –…
Calvados
In a grand mansion dating to 1865, this municipal museum recounts Trouville's history and features works by Charles Mozin, Eugène Isabey and Charles…
Finistère
At the centre of the city rises Quimper's dramatic Gothic cathedral, with its distinctive dip in the middle where it was built to conform to the land. It…
Normandy
This museum commemorates the Dieppe Raid of 1942, in which a mostly Canadian force of over 6000 men, backed up by 300 ships and 800 aircraft, landed on…
Finistère
If you've kids in tow, bring them here. Much more than just an aquarium, this enormous 'aquatic world' is divided into three pavilions containing polar,…
Normandy
This new, highly informative and timely (for the 75th anniversary of D-Day) museum in the town of Falaise, 41km southeast of Caen, gets you under the skin…
Île du Grand Bé & Fort du Petit Bé
St-Malo
At low tide, cross the beach to walk out via Porte des Bés to Île du Grand Bé, the rocky islet where the great St-Malo-born, 18th-century writer…
Musée des Phares et des Balises
Finistère
The black-and-white-striped Phare de Créac'h is one of the world's most powerful lighthouses. Beaming two white flashes every 10 seconds and visible for…
D-Day Beaches
Juno Beach’s only specifically Canadian museum, the nonprofit Juno Beach Centre, has multimedia exhibits on Canada’s role in the war effort and the…
Finistère
Get to grips with Brest's maritime military history and briny past at this museum housed within the fortified 13th-century Château de Brest, built to…
D-Day Beaches
Down in Arromanches itself and right on the beach, the Musée du Débarquement makes for a very informative stop before visiting the beaches. Dioramas,…
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances
Normandy
The interior of the splendid twin-towered Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances includes several 13th-century windows, a 14th-century fresco of St…
Musée d’Ethnographie et d’Art Populaire Normand
Honfleur
Through multiple rooms, this museum gathers together exhibits on domestic and economic life in 16th- to 19th-century Normandy portraying traditional…
Le Havre
Furnished in impeccable early-1950s style, this lovingly furnished bourgeois apartment can be visited on a one-hour guided tour that starts at 181 rue de…
Brittany
If you have wheels (or you're up for a glorious 1½-hour walk along the seashore from the town harbour), head 3.5km east of Paimpol to this romantic 18th…
Brittany
Built in 1966, this 750m bridge over the Rance estuary carries the D168 between St-Malo and Dinard, lopping a good 30km off the journey. A feat of…
Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny
Giverny
About 100m northwest of the Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet is the Giverny Museum of Impressionisms. It was set up in partnership with the Musée d’Orsay…
Rouen
To size up Rouen, climb this hill rising up next to the Seine. It's a 15-minute walk to the summit, from where Monet once painted a view of the city…
