Paris1972-Versailles2003

Most folks or I would dare say all who come to this part of Normandy think they are in Honfleur when visiting this place. Actually it is in the town of Equemauville high on the hill. Or the Hill or Plateau of Grace in Equemauville up the road from the vieux bassin or old basin of Honfleur. It is a special place for us and have been coming here since 1992. Oh yes this is still the Calvados dept 14 of the region of Normandy.

The plateau is magical with what you have here as well as the wonderful views over the valley and statuaire of the Seine river. The Notre Dame Chapel, the Mont Joli, the Cross, the pavillion , and the views are superb! Of course, I have written plenty on them but never enough for this magical place.

Equemauville was born in 1023 when the Viking Scamel failed the booty. It baptized the plateau above the beach Scamelvilla. This plateau was a Gallic camp, and a Roman camp as well. They even found carved stones dating from the Paleolithic era..

The plateau of Grace offers a complete panorama on the Normandy coast. Here is what the magical and secret Côte de Grâce offers you! From Honfleur, visitors will join the city of Equemauville, in the heart of the plateau de Grâce. Relaxing walk and rewarding discovery for visitors who will visit an ancient Sanctuary of the region: the Chapelle Notre Dame de Grâce or Chapel of Our Lady of Grace. It was founded by Richard II, Duke of Normandy in 1023 to fulfill a vow made during a storm in which he had almost perish. The current Chapel was built between 1600 and 1615 by the bourgeois and sailors of Honfleur. The Chapel is a place of recollection for many pilgrims and also and above all a space of hope according to the legend and worship of Notre Dame. Many faithful come to deposit for centuries offerings such as statuettes, plaques and model boats in gratitude to God. Their numbers today is impressive. The place coveted and visited by famous personnages such as Pierre Berthelot, king Louis XIII Napoléon Bonaparte, and Thérèse of Lisieux. The Chapelle Notre Dame de Grâce is today for the plenitude that reigns there. On the outside you can see the bells of pilgrimages.

Right in front of the Notre Dame De Grâce Chapel you have a Fisherman prayer chapel where a priest makes Mass on special ocassions such as when the Festival of Marines or Fête des Marins which we have attended in previous years. There is, also, an impressive Christ Cross overlooking the city of Honfleur below and the bay across is Le Havre.

Mont Joli is a magnificent viewpoint which deserves a small detour. It offers a breathtaking view of the entire city, below, with its typical Norman-architecture houses, as well as the remarkable Tancarville Bridge, built in the mid-1950’s. The Normandy Bridgeand the mouth of the Seine river. As well as the city of Le Havre and its ports. From the hill, a nice little road goes down to Honfleur and you can thus return to the city on foot via a pleasant walk. Well it is steep hilly not my cup of tea so I have not done this but is available!

Another interesting building here is the Louis-Philippe Pavilion, it is a charming house where King Louis-Philippe and Queen Marie-Amélie took refuge after the revolution of 1848 , known as the February revolution, (the third French revolution! )while waiting to take the boat to go into exile in England. It seems I always missed the picture on this one right next to the entrance to Mont Joli!

It is a pieceful place with great views nice walks if you dare on hilly terrain, but nice. The place was great for our dog Rex as well! Hope you enjoy this special part of Equemauville (as in Honfleur ::))

Some webpages to help you plan your trip here are

Tourist office of Honfleur on cote de grace

Tourist office of dept 14 Calvados on the chapel

Tourist office of Normandy on the chapel

There you go another wonderful spot in Honfleur and surrounding hills. A wonderful family trip, very educational on the history of the region, Normandy and France. Hope you will enjoy it as much as we have.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!

Hi y’all, here I am again to tell you more of wonderful Honfleur, salut ! la vie est belle chez ma belle France! A bit of a story telling and travel tip and anecdote as well for you. Of course, this is in Honfleur, Dept 14 Calvados of the region of Normandy in the country of France! Sort like the city X, county Y, state Z and country U,if you know what I mean!

I am sure as most of us, when first started traveling I chose hotels, very inexpensive ones hehehe! then as time went on and jobs became better I move up to nice luxury hotels and not so luxury ones. Lately, the last 15 years or so, and the family growing we came to taste apartments, gîtes, houses, apart-hotels mostly in France, Spain, Germany, and Italy.

Lately , we have stayed in apartments as was the case on our last trip to Honfleur early May’19. We search the usual popular online places and finally settle on the Le Loft at Honfleur rue des Prés off Rue de la République, walking distances to all in the city.

Their online site I found it is here: Info on the Le Loft at Booking

A bit of a real description as shown in public mediums is this: Le Loft offers pet-friendly accommodation. The accommodation includes a seating area with a flat-screen TV and a DVD player. Also have a dining area and terrace. The kitchen includes an oven, a microwave, a toaster, a kettle and a coffee machine. The private bathroom comes with a shower. The old port of Honfleur is 200 meters from Le Loft.

The booking was done by first email with a 30% deposit up front which is discounted from the total, checks in euros or cash are only accepted. Pets are allowed and we enjoy bringing our 17 mos Rex with us and he love it, well behave and we all had a great time walking around in the city. Final details were handle by telephone text messages. The welcome was puntual by the mother of the owner, and she took us thru the rundown of the property and some suggestions on where to eat and buy groceries always welcome. The apartment has a lockbox key so no need to carry the key around just remember the digicode! Oh check in was 15h or 3pm and check out 11h or 11am , the key then is left at the door to let know the maid time to clean the apartment. All flawless and we sure would rent again from these folks.

See our previous posts on eating and shopping in Honfleur for the places we use this time and even in previous visits. At the end it was another memorable visit to our beloved dear Honfleur and I felt a single post on the accommodation was merité even if seldom do this myself….Oh the owners also handle about 11 properties for rentals in the city so there are other choices all around the same area as Le Loft.

Tourist office of Honfleur on accommodations

So there you have another possibility when visiting Honfleur is to rent an apartment, good deal from the Le Loft. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!