Right after the school bell rang for the last time and school was out for the summer we started packing our bags and drove off the very next day to the French coast in Normandy.
We had booked a bungalow in a small holiday domain by 'Pierre et Vacances' in Houlgate. The cottage was quite spacious, but only because we had booked a 3 bedroom cottage for 8 people even though we were only 5 plus dog.
The surroundings of the cottages were great: well kept green areas and wonderful flowers, bushes and trees all around. The domain was a bit off the centre, but still feasible to walk to the beach, shops and restaurants (if you're not afraid of a steep return route).
The heated swimming pool was great and the kids have been to the pool daily.
Unfortunately the state of dilapidation and cleanliness of our cottage were not at the top. I immediately informed the receptionist of some things that were broken and the condition of the cottage. Unfortunately during our whole stay nobody took care of any of the listed points or repaired something. On the day of our departure I addressed to the same receptionist again. I also send an e-mail with pictures to the manager, but am still waiting for an answer . . . .
As we have been to this region many many times before, even before we were married or had kids, we have already visited, seen and discovered a lot.
This time we had only planned to spend a relaxing week and so we spent most of the time in / at the pool, at the beach, visiting local markets and reading.
Villages we have visited:
Cabourg - always nice
Honfleur - too many tourists but a must see
Houlgate - nice and cosy with a long beach
Pont l'Evêque - not only a drive through but worse a visit, so many lovely old buildings
Trouville - huge and well known market on Wednesday and Sunday and many restaurants and shops
and in the department 'Seine Maritime':
Etretat - cosy and lovely little village, many tourist but a must see - well known white cliffs
Le Havre - great place to be - kids had lots of fun on their scooters going for km all around the seaside - museums, fun fair, monuments, shops, restaurants and the harbour . . . great for spending a day or two
Montivilliers - I would say it's mainly unknown as touristic destination, nevertheless it has a lovely center with the impressive abbey, being one of the oldest of France, completely restored by the year 2000 and classified as historical monument
Special sites we've visited:
- Pegasus Bridge and Pegasus Memorial & Museum (WWII)
- concert by a U2 tribute band at the 'festival sable show' at the beach in Villers-sur-mer
Special activities:
- we've been karting twice this week at the race track EIA in Pont l'Evêque
- and once mor karting at the outdoor karting track in Ouistreham
- we did a 5 km hike on the plateau at the cliffs of Etretat (dept. Seine / Maritime) - unfortunately it was not only on the plateau, but with heavy ups and downs
- the kids had fun rolling and rolling at the skate park in Le Havre
I leave my tourist information on the visited places rather superficially, because it's easy to look up information about every single place on the internet, but do not hesitate to ask if you want to know something more specific.
Below you'll find our best choices and discoveries on where to eat:
! ! no payed promotion / advertisements;
just my independent and personal opinions ! !
--> 'Le vieux Normand' in Trouville:
on the main boulevard only meters of the fish market and the dock and harbour;
most friendly staff, great choice on yummy sweet and salted pancakes and best prices in Trouville.
--> ,Le grand glacier' in Cabourg:
ice & snacks vendor in the main street; yummy sandwiches and panini, delicious pancakes & waffles and an awesome choice on ice creams.
--> 'La Petrisane' bakery in Villers-sur-Mer:
yummy sandwiches and best pastry in town! We had each a 'lunch offer' with sandwich, beverage & pastry at an awesome family friendly price! The boss herself was super friendly even though it was a busy summer market day.
--> 'Le Patio' in Houlgate:
an italian restaurant we've been coming to since quite many years, centrally located & only 2 minutes from the beach. Honestly I do ignore if the owner has changed in the past 15 years, but it's still a great place serving good food at a reasonable price.
--> 'le Havrais' in Pont l'Evêque:
on the main street just opposite of the local tourist office, Very modest bar / brasserie with a nice outdoor seating serving good food at a reasonable price. Waiter was super friendly !
--> 'Les 3 planeurs' at the Pegasus Bridge in Bénouville: kids menu & yummy tasty salads for Mum and Dad, friendly staff and fast service.
--> 'Au 48' in Houlgate: pizzas, burgers and more; centrally located in Houlgate, yummy food and friendly staff.
--> 'Namasty India' in Le Havre:
located on the 'quai de Southhampton' - yummy indian and pakistanian restaurant, lovely decorated with spacious outside seating area so that there's lots of place for the kids to run and have fun. Staff and the boss were extremely friendly and most helpful, dinner was great and tasty.
Two nights at the hotel:
After staying for a week in Houlgate, we extended our trip and stayed for two more nights in the surroundings of Le Havre.
As we had been traveling with kids and dog, it was nearly impossible to find B&B or any suitable holiday cottage, so I chose Campanile Hotel Montivilliers for our stay.
We had booked two rooms with additional rollaway bed, and had asked for rooms on the ground floor. Location was great, about 8 km from Le Havre, but I had deliberately chosen a hotel outside the city to stay calm. Both rooms were spacious, and so were the bathrooms. The rooms were clean, staff was friendly, and breakfast buffet was delicious with reasonable choice. If you're not looking for a suite with spa, but a good priced place to spend a night or two, this Campanile can be recommended.
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