Fionn Davenport joined Anton on the Hard Shoulder for a brand new series, Europe’s Hidden Highlights, this week he visits Normandy.

A soft landscape of coastlines and country lanes, Normandy looks like a classic French postcard dotted with church spires and apple orchards. But its location, hugging the shore almost within view of England, has made it a crucible of European history, beginning with the Norman invasion of 1066 right up to the D-Day Landings of 1944. Add some gorgeous medieval towns, a few of the world’s most beautiful – and painted – churches, a rich collection of excellent museums, a cream-rich cuisine that exploits the very best of local produce, and its proximity to Paris, and you have a region that is both easy and fascinating to explore. 

DAY 1: ROUEN

Historically rich Rouen is best known for its gorgeous Gothic cathedral that towers over the restored medieval old town. It was here in 1431 that Joan of Arc met her fiery end, burnt at the stake for heresy. Her story – and that of France – is told in its fine collection of museums. 

Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde

Now part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection, Rouen’s finest hotel is an eye-catching mix of extravagant 16th-century gothic architecture and the sleek lines of contemporary styles. The 78 rooms come in a variety of styles, from traditional to modern.  It’s in the heart of the Old Town.

• The well-equipped spa, which includes an 18m pool, sauna, steam baths and six treatment rooms.

• The Restaurant L’Aumale, which focuses on the very best of local produce. 

• The location – it’s just a short walk from the cathedral, Monet’s favorite!

Belle-Isle Sur Risle

Just 56km west of Rouen is this elegant 19th-century manor, built on its own island in the middle of the River Isle. The individually decorated suites and apartments are all sumptuous – some have their own balconies and marble bathrooms. This hidden gem akin to staying in the family home of a 19th-century noble.  

• The Bonne Table Restaurant, which serves exquisite, elegantly prepared cuisine paysanne; in good weather you can dine on the Victorian terrace

• Two swimming pools – an indoor and an outdoor one, for that perfect al fresco dip.

• Shh, it’s a secret! Although it’s not far from Honfleur and Deauville, this place operates in relative tranquillity.

Places of Interest

Cathédrale Notre Dame

Monet painted Rouen’s gorgeous Gothic cathedral many times – showing different seasons and different times of day. Inside, the sense of space is awesome. On summer nights, there’s a lovely sound-and-light show projected onto the façade – in June it starts at 11pm.

The Medieval City

North of the cathedral, the medieval city is still very much in evidence – especially between rue de la République and rue Jeanne d’Arc. Half-timbered buildings and cobblestone streets make for great photo ops – and be sure to check out the tiny rue des Chanoines, which is just 35 inches wide!

Historial Jeanne d'Arc

Not quite a museum but a theater-like experience, this is a good primer on the life, times and tragedy of Joan of Arc. You walk through the experience – designed to look like medieval corridors – you’ll hear the dramatic story of Joan through your headphones, as well as how her legend developed after her death.  

Les Andelys & the Castle

Some 40km southeast of Rouen is this gorgeous village on a bend in the Seine, crowned by the stunning ruins of the Château Gaillard, built under orders of Richard the Lionheart in record time between 1196 and 1198. The castle survived until 1603, when Henry IV ordered its destruction. 

Eat:Restaurant Gill

Designed for a culinary experience you won’t soon forget, Rouen’s only Michelin two-star is an elegant riverside restaurant that specialises in classic French dishes with an accent on local specialties. Chef Gilles Tournadre’s signature dishes include pigeon roasted a la Rouennaise – stuffed with duck foie gras and served with a herb ravioli. Exquisite.   

La Couronne

France’s oldest restaurant, La Couronne has been serving since 1345. The décor is extravagant – stained glass, damask curtains, sculpted wooded beams and leather chairs that give it the look of a gentleman’s club – but you’ll dine where the likes of John Wayne, Sartre and Dali dined before you. The food is good, honest French cooking, but almost incidental to the experience. 

La Rose des Vents 

It doesn’t look like much – you have to walk through a second-hand shop to get to it – but this is a terrific restaurant that is very popular with in-the-know locals. The menu is determined by what’s available in the market, so it changes regularly. 

DAY TWO: HONFLEUR

Once one of France’s most important ports (Samuel de Champlain set sail from here in 1608 to found Quebec City), Honfleur has long since settled into semi-retirement as a charming getaway for Parisians, who come in the footsteps of 19th-century painters like Monet. It’s a popular base for exploring the coast. 

Stay:La Ferme Saint Simeon 

This 17th-century farm – once the home of the Impressionist School of Honfleur - has been converted into an elegant 34-room Relais & Chateaux boutique hotel divided across three period buildings and surrounded by handsome gardens. Marble-clad bathrooms add a decadent touch to the rustic charm of the bedrooms. There’s also an excellent restaurant. 

• The Painting Studio, which also offers lessons in painting like those who stayed here in the 1840s, including Corot and Monet
• The spa offers organic apple-based therapies. 
• The expert concierge, Xavier Parent, learnt his trade at places like the Ritz.

Les Maisons de Léa

On the main square overlooking the Église Ste-Catherine, Les Maisons de Léa is a collection of 16th-century houses strung together and converted into an elegant boutique hotel, probably the best in town itself. The rooms are beautifully appointed in a variety of modern styles but with retro touches; the restaurant is exceptional.

• La Grande Maison, a self-catering suite in the garden for up to 12 people.
• The hammam in the Nuxe Spa, free for all guests to use. 
• The tea salon, perfect for that afternoon relaxation.

Places of Interest:Aimless Wandering

Honfleur is ideal for just ambling about. Get a map or audioguide from the tourist office and just walk – the town is spread around the Vieux Bassin and the Enclos, the once-walled old town runs along the southeast side of the Vieux Bassin. Go up the hill from there for the Eglise St-Catherine. 

 Les Maisons Satie

The best museum in town is this whimsical tribute to composer Erik Satie, who was born here. Put on an audioguide – you’ll recognise the music, even if you’re not familiar with Satie – and wander through the various rooms, each decorated in the most original way. 

Eglise Ste-Catherine

Honfleur’s seafaring atmosphere is best experienced with an amble around the old port and a visit to the wooden church of Saint Catherine, originally built as a temporary structure by shipwrights in the early 16th century. Inside, the shipwrights’ touch is evident: the twin naves look like the overturned hulls of ships. 

Musee Eugene Boudin

A fine collection of Impressionist paintings of the local coastline by Honfleur painter Eugene Boudin, born here in 1824. There’s also work by other artists, including Monet. Baudelaire nicknamed Boudin le roi des ciels – the king of skies – for his gorgeous representations of the heavens. 

Étretat 

The small village of Étretat’s dramatic scenery – it’s framed by twin cliffs – made it a favourite of painters such as Camille Corot, Eugène Boudin, Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet. With the vogue for sea air at the end of the 19th century, fashionable Parisians came and built extravagant villas. Étretat has never gone out of style and still swells with visitors every weekend.

Eat:SaQuaNa

Japanese and French cuisine combine at this exquisite restaurant whose name is a multilingual play on words – sakana means ‘fish’ in Japanese, but the name means SAveur (flavour), QUalité (quality) and Nature. The food, expertly prepared by chef Alexandre Bourdas (who worked in Japan), has earned two Michelin stars. 

La Fleur de Sel

Honfleur-born chef Vincent Guyon focuses on modern interpretations of local specialties in this gorgeous restaurant in a low-beamed 16th-century fisherman’s house. Not surprisingly, the menu leans primarily toward fish – expect at least five such dishes on any given day – and each is presented in a beautiful, contemporary manner. 

DAY THREE: LANDING BEACHES

Operation Overlord - the largest seaborne invasion in history began early on the morning of June 6, 1944, when an armada of 6000 ships and boats landed on the beaches of Normandy, disgorging tens of thousands of allied soldiers into the Battle of Normandy. Visiting the beaches that stretch 80km from west to east – Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword – is a powerful, moving experience for anyone with any connection to WWII.

Stay:Chateau la Chenevière 

Pure luxury and history combine in this wonderful 18th-chateau. Occupied by both the Germans and the English during WWII, this is now an elegant country hotel with spacious, beautifully decorated rooms. Beautiful gardens, a modern glass orangery and facilities including tennis courts and a heated pool make this one of the nicest hotels around. 

• Poolside dining is the perfect way to enjoy this gorgeous hotel.   
• Organised activities, including horse riding, golf and sand yachting, are easily arranged by the concierge. 
• The Location – just a few miles from both Bayeux and Omaha Beach

Villa Lara 

This 28-room boutique hotel is Bayeux’s fanciest by far. Combining 21st-century tastes with 18th-century elegance, the modern rooms have gorgeous fabrics and decent amenities – most have views of the 11th-century 

cathedral across the square. The public spaces, including the bar and the lounge, are similarly decorated. 

• It’s in the middle of Bayeux, so it’s a short walk to see the tapestry!

• Huge rooms – by French standards.

• Attentive staff, always on hand to help and answer any questions. 

Places of Interest

Normandy American Cemetery & Memorial

The opening scenes of Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan feature the final resting place of 9387 American soldiers – including 33 pairs of brothers buried side-by-side; their ultimate sacrifice marked by long, neat rows of white marble crosses and Stars of David on a rolling field of green. There’s an excellent visitor center here too. 

Overlord Museum, Colleville

Just up the hill from the cemetery is this excellent museum that personalizes the war through photos, audio clips and letters. There’s also a store of WWII equipment, including tanks from both sides of the battle. 

Omaha Beach

This beautiful stretch of fine golden sand was known to US veterans as ‘Bloody Omaha,’ as the fiercest fighting of D Day took place here, around Vierville-sur-Mer, St-Laurent-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer. The self-guided tour of the beach – the Circuit de la Plage d’Omaha – is a trail marked by a yellow stripe that shows you the German bunkers. 

Utah Beach

Halfway between Bayeux and Cherbourg, this 5km stretch of beach was the Allies’ western flank on D Day, and was taken with relatively few casualties by the US 4th Infantry Division. This is commemorated at the excellent Musée du Débarquement de Utah Beach, a few kilometres inland in Ste-Marie du Mont.

Pointe du Hoc

Some of the most beautiful scenery along the coast is here, 8 miles west of St-Laurent. There are the remnants of a German machine-gun post that was captured by 225 US Rangers led by Colonel Rudder, who scaled the cliff to capture the post with the loss of over 130 men. This episode featured in Saving Private Ryan. 

Longues-sur-Mer

On the eastern side of Omaha Beach is the massive concrete bunker that housed 150mm German guns – they’re so big they’ve never been removed. The guns were part of the Nazi Atlantic Wall, and were designed to hit targets 13 miles away on Gold Beach to the east and Omaha Beach to the west. 

Bayeux Tapestry

The world’s most famous embroidered scroll is this 225-foot-long tapestry that tells the story of William of Normandy’s English conquest of 1066. The 58 comic-strip style scenes were created in 1067 and are in remarkably good condition; free audioguides give you the lowdown on what each is scene is about and why it’s so important. 

Eat: Au Ptit Bistrot

This unpretentious and friendly bistro near Bayeux Cathedral serves delicious local dishes like chestnut soup;  salads with apples camembert and andouille sausage; and rolled up chicken billotine. It’s relatively inexpensive, but no less good – this is highly recommended in Bayeux. 

La Reine Mathilde

You won’t find a more elegant spot for afternoon tea than this magnificent patisserie that first opened in 1898. There’s a fabulous selection of pastries, chocolates and macarons; for more savoury fare there’s always sandwiches and quiche. Perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up in the most elegant of surroundings. 

Le Botaniste, Hotel la Chenevière

The sumptuous hotel dining room is home to Le Botaniste, where chef Didier Robin puts a contemporary spin on classic Norman dishes, using the freshest produce sourced as close by as the hotel’s own gardens. Unlike other high-end restaurants, the sommeliers here are highly personable and will offer wines suited to diners’ tastes rather than impose their own. 

Jeep Tours

Explore the D-Day landing sites in an authentic WWII Willys Jeep – departing Saint-Mère Eglise and visiting all of the sites. These include Utah Beach – the landing zones of the 101st & 82nd Airborne Divisions (including ‘Easy’ Company from Band of Brothers) and the towns where some of the worst fighting took place - Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, La Fière, Angoville-au-Plain, Hiesville and Ravenoville.

DAY FOUR: MONT ST-MICHEL

It’s (almost) as iconic as the Eiffel Tower – the slender spires and impressive ramparts of Mont St-Michel, rising from a rocky base that is, depending on the tides, surrounded by water. The Benedictines built this impressive fortress in the 11th century, and still hold services in the abbey, which is the star attraction of the whole place.  

Stay:Chateau de Chantore

Un peu de douceur dans ce monde de brutes, goes the French saying, and this showstopper chateau is indeed a touch of class in a brutish world. It unashamedly embraces the extravagance of 18th-century luxury – lots of gilt, but none of the guilt. All the amenities, however, are very much of the 21st century. A contender for best in Normandy.

• The main house only has five rooms, so the service is attentive and superb
• The Mont St Michel Suite, with its views of the park and…of course…the Mont itself.
• The Orangerie is a self-contained cottage with three bedroom and a private garden.

L'Ermitage Mont Saint Michel

A subtle blend of old and new, this hotel on the mainland across from the island is partially located in a coaching inn built in 1857. The suites and the restaurant are in a new building at the back, which has been designed with its heritage in mind: lots of light, but plenty of embroidered headboards and upholstered armchairs. 

• The huge bathrooms, each with rolltop baths, double sinks and rain showers

• The outdoor space – each room has one, either a terrace or a garden. 

• The restaurant, which offers a lighter take on classic Norman dishes 

Abbaye du Mont St-Michel

There’s been a church of some kind here since AD 708, but the abbey you see today dates from the 11th century, when the Benedictines turned the whole place into a kind of ecclesiastical fortress. After the French Revolution, it became a prison and was only returned to the Benedictines in 1966. 

Eat: Les Terrasses Poulard

One of the best spots around for good bistro classics is this waterfront restaurant. It also does galettes – savoury filled pancakes from neighbouring Brittany. The décor is charmingly rustic, with copper pots hanging from the walls and cast-iron chandeliers dangling from the low ceilings. It has nice views of the Mont. 

DAY FIVE: RETURN TO PARIS

The trip back to Paris should take no more than 3½-4 hours in total. You’ll be travelling through the Normandy heartland, through the apple orchards or Calvados and the cheese making country around villages like Camembert. 

Graindorge Cheese Factory

A far cry from most other tourist-oriented factory visits, the Graindorge cheese factory is a free intimate peek at the process of making some of France’s most famous cheeses, notably AOP Livarot, Camembert and Pont l’Evêque. The self-guided tour is very well done, and it concludes with some pretty tasty samples. Of course you can buy them too….

Chateau de Breuil 

This gorgeous chateau is actually one of Normandy’s best-known distilleries of Calvados apple brandy, and on the tour you’ll get to see the distilling process in full flow. And of course you’ll get to taste Calvados proper, including some very old vintages. 

Eat :Just opposite the fish market in the lovely village of Trouville, just off the A13, is Les Vapeurs, which has been serving tasty local cuisine since 1927. The menu leans toward fish, but there’s also classic bistro fare like steak tartare. It’s got a lovely old-world feel; in good weather it’s nice to sit out front.