Le Havre Cruise Port Day

This plan is for cruise passengers who have one day ashore at the Le Havre cruise port and would rather see the Normandy coast than stay in the port city. It works best with a car, a taxi or a private driver for the day. A slower version works by coach. You start and finish at the cruise terminal at Pointe de Floride. The morning goes to the chalk cliffs of Étretat, the afternoon goes to the old harbor town of Honfleur, and you get back to the ship with time in hand.

Before you go

Season. You can visit the cliffs at Étretat all year, and Honfleur can be visited in any month. Crowds matter more than weather on a short port day. The regional tourism board advises avoiding July and August, fine-weather weekends and school holidays at Étretat. In Honfleur, the tourist office suggests avoiding long weekends and the summer peak. If your ship calls in midsummer, an early start helps. For the months in between, see Best Time to Visit Normandy and Normandy Weather by Month.

What to book ahead. The one thing to settle before you dock is how you will get around. The terminal has a taxi rank, and shuttles run to the city center, which is 2.5 km away. If you want a hire car or a driver for the day, arrange it in advance so you are not sorting it out on the quay. A Le Havre shore excursion booked through your cruise line is the other option. Compare its stops and time ashore with this route before you choose.

Seasonal and ticketed parts. The clifftop walk is free. The Jardins d’Étretat are ticketed and run on a seasonal calendar. Check the Étretat Cliffs and Gardens page for prices and the current season before you count on them. Pets are not allowed in the gardens.

Where to sleep. On the ship. There is no hotel to book, but there is a deadline. Build the whole day around the all-aboard time and leave a clear margin before it.

What to wear. Wear comfortable shoes. The clifftop paths at Étretat are uneven, and the Honfleur tourist office warns that its streets are cobbled.

Day 1: Cliffs and an old harbor

Morning: Étretat

From the terminal, Étretat is about 41 minutes and 32 km by road. That time, like the other driving times on this page, is an estimate from OpenStreetMap routing and does not include traffic. Go here first, because the busiest part of the day at Étretat runs from around 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The early morning is quieter.

Étretat is a small seaside town on the Alabaster Coast, and the cliffs here rise to nearly 90 meters. Stand on the beach facing the sea. The Porte d’Aval arch is on your left, beside the 51-meter rock needle known as the Aiguille. The larger Manneporte arch lies beyond it, and the Falaise d’Amont is on your right. Boudin and Monet both painted these cliffs.

The GR21 long-distance footpath, which runs from Le Havre to Le Tréport, follows the clifftops, and walking it costs nothing. Pick one side for a short morning. Climb the Aval side for the arch and needle, or take the cliff path east up the Amont side. The Amont side leads to the Jardins d’Étretat, a contemporary garden on top of the cliff with a view of the needle. Landscape architect Alexandre Grivko (IL NATURE) designed it, mixing topiary, architecture and contemporary art. It holds France’s “Remarkable Garden” label and has won a European Garden Award. The garden has toilets, a café-tea room and a shop, which helps on a tight day.

The safety rules here are set by municipal by-law, and they apply to everyone:

• Do not walk at the foot of the cliffs.
• Stay out of the caves and tunnels, including the Trou à l’Homme.
• On the Amont and Aval plateaus, keep at least 5 meters back from the edge.
• Leave the beach pebbles where they are.

Rockfalls happen regularly because of erosion. Breaking the rules can bring a fine, and the fire service can charge for a rescue.

If you have a few minutes back in the village, the 12th-century church of Notre-Dame de l’Assomption is free to visit. There is also a wooden covered market, which hosts a market on Thursday mornings.

Afternoon: Honfleur

Étretat to Honfleur is about 47-48 minutes and 46 km by road.

Honfleur is a working harbor town in Calvados. It is a fishing port, a commercial port and a marina at the same time. The Vieux Bassin (the Old Harbor) and the Lieutenance beside it are the town’s best-known sights. Courbet, Monet and Boudin all painted here, and dozens of galleries and studios operate in the streets today.

With an afternoon, walk the quays around the Vieux Bassin first, then pick from the tourist office’s list of sights:

• Saint Catherine’s Church
• The Lieutenance
• The Eugène Boudin Museum
• The Satie houses
• The museums of Old Honfleur
• The Garden of Personalities
• The Naturospace butterfly greenhouse

Concerts and exhibitions are also held in the historic salt stores, the Greniers à Sel. If your call falls on a Saturday, a weekly market runs in the morning. On Wednesdays there is an organic market. Check the attraction and town pages for hours before you plan around any one museum.

Back to the ship

Honfleur to the Le Havre terminal is about 28 minutes and 23 km by road. That is the shortest leg of the day, so it is tempting to stay late. Don’t cut it fine. Traffic is not in the estimate, and the ship will not wait. Set a firm time to leave Honfleur that gives you a clear cushion before all-aboard.

Getting around

By car, taxi or driver. This is the easiest way to do the full loop. Each leg is under an hour: terminal to Étretat about 41 minutes, Étretat to Honfleur about 47-48 minutes, and Honfleur back to the terminal about 28 minutes. Parking is hard to find in Étretat. There is free parking at the village entrance on the route de Criquetot-l’Esneval (la Guezane), with a footpath into the village. In Honfleur, the tourist office advises using the car parks at the edge of the historic center or parking outside the town.

By coach. Étretat has no railway station. From Le Havre you reach it by NOMAD coach. Honfleur has no station either. NOMAD Car line 123 (Lisieux-Honfleur-Le Havre) and line 111 (Le Havre-Deauville-Caen) both serve it. These routes start from Le Havre, not from the terminal itself, so take the shuttle or a taxi the 2.5 km into the center first. Coach timetables are not covered here. Look them up before your call and check the return times against your all-aboard time. Without a car, choose either Étretat or Honfleur for the day rather than trying both. See Normandy Without a Car for more on getting around by public transport.

Cruise line excursion. If you would rather not manage the timing yourself, a Le Havre shore excursion booked through your ship is the hands-off choice. Compare the time it allows at each stop with the plan above.

Changing the plan

Shorter day or late arrival. Skip Étretat and go straight to Honfleur, about 28 minutes from the terminal. You get a relaxed afternoon in the harbor town and the shortest possible drive back. If you have time to spare, Deauville and Trouville are about 21 minutes (17 km) from Honfleur. See Deauville and Trouville.

Cliffs only. If your main interest is Étretat, give it the whole day. Walk both the Aval and Amont sides and visit the gardens when they are in season. This is also the simpler version to do by coach.

A cathedral city instead. Rouen Cathedral is about 69 minutes (92 km) from the terminal by road. That is enough for a day in Rouen in place of the coast.

Monet’s garden. Monet’s House and Gardens at Giverny is about 102 minutes (140 km) from the terminal each way. It is open from April 1 to November 1 only. On a port day, Giverny takes up most of your time ashore in driving, so only try it on a long call. The Monet’s Garden guide has more on visiting.

Calling at Cherbourg instead. If your itinerary also stops at Cherbourg, that port is closer to the D-Day sites. One Day on the D-Day Beaches covers that coast. If you are staying on in Normandy after your cruise, Three Days in Normandy gives you more time at a slower pace.