Étretat

Étretat is a small seaside town on the Alabaster Coast in Seine-Maritime. It sits between two lines of white chalk cliffs that rise to nearly 90 meters, cut by arches and a tall rock needle. The town itself is small. Base yourself here if you want to walk the Étretat cliffs early or late in the day, when the crowds have thinned, and if your trip includes Honfleur, Le Havre or the rest of the coast. If you only have an afternoon, it also works as a day trip from Le Havre or from a cruise ship.

Étretat has a long history with painters. Eugène Isabey first painted it in 1820, and Turner, Boudin and Monet followed. From about 1840, visitors from Paris and England came for sea bathing. Before that it was a beaching port known since Roman times, long dependent on fishing. Many buildings on the waterfront were destroyed in the Second World War.

What to see in Étretat

The cliffs are the reason most people come. Our page on the Étretat Cliffs and Gardens covers the viewpoints and paths in more detail. These are the main landmarks:

• Porte d’Aval: the arch on the western side of the beach, with the Aiguille next to it. The Aiguille is a 51-meter needle of rock standing in the sea.
• Manneporte: a larger arch farther along the same western cliffs.
• Falaise d’Amont: the cliff on the eastern side of the beach, with Les Jardins d’Étretat, a ticketed garden, on top. See the gardens’ official site for prices and times.

Two safety rules apply on the cliffs. A municipal by-law forbids walking at the foot of the cliffs. When you walk on the plateaus above, stay at least 5 meters back from the edge.

In town, look for these sights:

• The waterfront: old capstans and caloges, the thatched boat-huts that recall the fishing days, still stand by the beach.
• The covered market: a wooden market hall in the center. A market sets up around it every Thursday morning.
• Le Clos Lupin: the house of the writer Maurice Leblanc.
• Notre-Dame de l’Assomption: the town church, which dates from the 12th century.

For more of the coast, see Beaches in Normandy and Gardens in Normandy.

Where to stay

Staying in Étretat itself suits you if the cliffs are your priority. The busiest hours run from late morning to mid-afternoon. A night in town lets you walk the clifftops before the day visitors arrive and after they leave. Pick somewhere close to the center and the beach so that you can leave the car parked, because parking in town is hard to find.

If you are traveling without a car, consider staying in Le Havre. It has the railway station for trains from Paris, and coaches run from there to Étretat. Honfleur is another option if you plan to drive. You can see Étretat in a day from either place.

Book early if you are coming in July, August, on school holidays or on a fine-weather weekend. Those are the busiest times on this coast.

Getting there

From Paris by train and coach

Getting to Étretat by public transport takes one change, because the town has no railway station. Trains leave from Paris Saint-Lazare. From April to early November, SNCF sells a combined train and coach ticket for the whole journey. The rest of the year, you take a train to Le Havre or Fécamp and then a NOMAD coach to Étretat.

SNCF Connect lists 16 trains a day from Paris Saint-Lazare to Le Havre. The fastest takes 1h59 and the average is 2h12. Add the coach on top of that. For fares, see the From Paris box above. Direct coaches also run between Paris and Étretat. The Getting to Normandy from Paris page compares the main routes.

From Paris by car

Allow for roadworks if you drive out of Paris. The A13 Saint-Cloud tunnel near Paris is closed in the Paris-to-Normandy direction from November 16, 2026 to the end of August 2027. Signed diversions run via the RD910 and RN118, or via the RN13 and A14, and rejoin the A13 farther west. Expect longer journeys at some hours. The direction back toward Paris stays open.

From other Normandy towns

OpenStreetMap routing gives these driving estimates. They assume no traffic:

• Honfleur: about 48 minutes, 46 km
• Deauville and Trouville: about 63 minutes, 63 km
• Rouen: about 74 minutes, 89 km

Without a car, go through Le Havre and take the coach from there. Cruise passengers docking at Le Havre can reach Étretat by road in under an hour. See the Le Havre Cruise Port Day plan.

Getting around

Étretat is small, so you can cover the town, the beach and the cliff paths on foot. Wear good shoes for the clifftop walks.

If you arrive by car, use the free parking at the village entrance on the route de Criquetot-l’Esneval, at la Guezane, and walk in. Spaces in the center are hard to find, especially at busy times.

You don’t need a car for Étretat itself. You do need one, or coach connections through Le Havre or Fécamp, for the other towns on this page. The Normandy Without a Car itinerary shows how to link the coast and the rest of the region by train and bus.

Day trips from Étretat

• Honfleur: the closest of these towns by road, about 48 minutes away. It pairs well with Étretat for a coast-focused trip.
• Deauville and Trouville: twin resort towns about 63 minutes’ drive away.
• Rouen: the regional capital, about 74 minutes away by car, with its cathedral.
• Le Havre: the gateway for trains and cruise ships, and the easiest place to change onto the coach.

For a longer route that takes in the cliffs, see Five Days in Normandy. To compare Étretat with other stops, go to Places to Visit in Normandy.