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We spent five beautiful days in Normandy. I am a bit of a WW2 history fan and a lover of Impressionist art, so this part of France is of special interest to me. Firstly, Normandy is the area of WW2 D-Day and there are many fascinating historical sites scattered all over the region. In addition, many of the famous French impressionists spent time in beautiful Normandy and painted its landscapes. In particular, Monet was a huge fan of this part of France and made Giverny his home for 43 years. I love Monet (but I guess everyone does). On our last day of our Normandy trip, we decided to follow the footsteps of Monet. We left the magnificent town of Honfleur straight after breakfast and drove to the beachside of Etretat. It isn't a long drive but it took us over an hour because of traffic near the city of Le Havre. Unfortunately, it was quite foggy as we were approaching the coast of Etretat, we could barely see ahead of us. This happens quite often in this part of France in the morning hours. Etretat coast is gorgeous and one can really understand why Monet and other impressionists painted it so often. We spent about one and half hours here and walked up the cliff on one side of the beach. However, I think you need at least three hours here in order to walk up the cliffs of both sides and enjoy the gorgeous views. The cliff paths are excellent but steep in some parts. However, you are rewarded with magnificent views at the top. Along the beach itself, you can see bunkers which were built by the Germans during WW2 as defence against the allies and there are fantastic signs providing some historical information about the beach.
After "our-way-too-brief" visit at Etretat, we drove to our next destination, Giverny, which took us about 1 hour and 50 minutes on the highway. The main attraction of course is the house and gardens of Monet in Giverny, but first we made a small detour to Vernon to see the old mill house on the river - Le Vieux Moulin de Vernon. It can be easily seen from the Clemenceau bridge or from the park of the Tourelles Castle. There used to be a mill wheel powered by the river Seine. The wheel is now gone, leaving a very odd but quaint looking old mill. You can only view this mill house from the outside but it is a "must-see" attraction and a perfect place to rest your tired legs and have a picnic.
Our next stop was Monet's house and garden. The house is very quaint and full of Monet's artwork but the most amazing attraction is hands-down the gardens, which was the inspiration of so many of his magnificent pictures. I felt like I was walking through a Monet picture while strolling around. We were there off season but it was still very crowded with people.
We also visited the small Musee des impressionnismes in Giverny. Although it doesn't display many Monet paintings it is a definite must for Impressionism lovers.
It was really a magnificent day.
Enjoy!
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