Upper Normandy

Upper Normandy (French: Haute-Normandie) comprises the eastern half of Normandy in northern France.

Cities

• 1 Rouen — the historical capital of the region
• 2 Les Andelys — an historic medieval town, the site of a remarkable castle and churches
• 3 Clères — a small village, with a zoological park, and an automobile museum
• 4 Dieppe — seaside resort, ferries to England and site of a disastrous WW2 landing by the allies
• 5 Étretat — world-famous arches in chalk cliffs
• 6 Évreux — the capital of the Eure department
• 7 Giverny — the rural retreat of the impressionist painter Claude Monet
• 8 Le Havre — a port town
• 9 Le Tréport – small fishing port and seas side resort. Impressive cliffs.
• 10 Jumièges
• 11 Saint-Martin-de-Boscherville — abbey church with restored gardens and art exhibitions
• 12 Vascœuil — small restored château with art exhibitions and permanent open-air sculptures

Other destinations

• Le Crevierit — beautiful valleys and apple orchards
• 1 Seine Valley — fantastic scenery along the meanders of the Seine

Understand

The white cliffs of the Alabaster Coast in Étretat

Abbey of Jumièges

The lower valley of the River Seine runs through this region, which combines the administrative départments of Eure and Seine-Maritime.

Get in

By car

The A13 motorway by and large follows the Seine Valley from Paris to the suburbs Rouen, then turns west/south-westward towards Caen in Lower Normandy, with a branch crossing the Seine river to Le Havre.

Driving is the only way to reach many of the more rural attractions.

By train

Take the train from Paris gare Saint-Lazare to Rouen, Le Havre and Dieppe, or to Évreux continuing towards Caen.

By bus

The region and the departements of Eure (south) and Seine-Maritime (north) operate several bus lines.

See

Discover the Alabaster Coast: spectacular chalk cliffs, and a number of scenic towns and villages invite visitors to explore, discover and enjoy their surroundings:

• At Étretat, take a walk across the beach to admire the famous chalky pinnacles and arches.
• The beaches of Quiberville and Pourville, where you can treat yourself to a serving of excellent oysters!
• Varengeville has an old church perched high up on a rock and an enchanting park.
• Veules-les-Roses is known for its ancient water mills on France's tiniest river
• The Benedictine monastery of Fécamp

Inland, there are a lot of beautiful places to discover, for instance the Saâne Valley with its moated castle of Imbleville, or the Château de Miromesnil, birthplace of novelist Guy de Maupassant. Upper Normandy also has numerous antique shops that are known to have surprised many browsers with unexpected finds!

Do

• Get centered at Tapovan Normandy: Yoga & Ayurvedic Massage Centre . Hameau de Anneville, 76540 Sassetot le Mauconduit. +33 1 45 77 90 59. Between Fécamp (12 km) and Dieppe (43 km). 60 km from Le Havre and Rouen. Set in a peaceful natural setting, this ayurvedic centre offers week-long treatments and trainings in various ayurvedic arts: Hatha & nada yoga, reiki, ayurvedic/oil massage, Shirodhara (oil treatments), vegetarian cooking, pre/post-natal massage, etc. An international colloquium is hosted in May. Closed in winter.

Go next

• Picardy
• Nord-Pas-de-Calais