The classics of Normandy

Rouen has the memory of Norman medieval life carved into the timber of its half-timbered houses: the old centre is one of the richest in France, with over two thousand colombage buildings crowding around the Cathédrale Notre-Dame — the one that Monet painted in thirty-four different versions to capture the changing light on the pink sandstone. The cathedral's cast-iron spire, the tallest in France, pierces the grey Norman sky with an almost surreal audacity. Place du Vieux-Marché is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431: the modern church of Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc, evocatively shaped like a flame, stands on the very spot today. The Gros-Horloge, the Renaissance astronomical clock set into an arch on Rue du Gros-Horloge, is the city's iconic symbol. The Saturday market and the brasseries around the Abbey of Saint-Ouen complete the portrait of an authentic and deeply moving Normandy.

Le Havre rises like a Modernist phoenix: almost entirely destroyed by the bombings of 1944, it was rebuilt by architect Auguste Perret according to a rationalist urban plan recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site — the only example in the world of a modern city inscribed on that list. The broad streets, concrete colonnades and the great church of Saint-Joseph (whose 107-metre bell tower filters light like a Gothic lantern) reveal an austere and surprising beauty. North of Le Havre stretches the Côte d'Albâtre, the white chalk coast that plunges into the grey waters of the Channel between cliffs up to 100 metres high: Étretat, with its natural arches carved by the sea and immortalised by Monet and Maupassant, is the jewel of this wild and romantic coast. The seafood and smoked herrings of local markets complete the portrait of an authentic, little-visited Normandy.

Deauville is the «21st arrondissement of Paris»: so Parisians call it as they fill its Belle Époque hotels, the Casino Barrière and the Planches — the famous boardwalk where beach huts bear the names of stars from the Festival du Cinéma Américain — every August weekend. Norman villas with their polychrome brick and slate roofs, thoroughbred racing at the racecourse, designer boutiques — everything in Deauville exudes discreet luxury and the holiday atmosphere of another era. Trouville, separated only by the Touques river, is more authentic and popular, with its fish market, fishermen's nets and a seafront of informal bistros. The Côte Fleurie stretches toward Honfleur: a picturesque fishing harbour, reflections of seventeenth-century houses on the water of the Vieux Bassin, birthplace of Impressionism and a refuge for artists to this day. A short itinerary that distils centuries of Norman charm.

Caen spreads along the banks of the Orne, a Norman city reborn from the ashes of the Second World War with a determination written in every stone. The medieval castle built by William the Conqueror stands at its centre, its keep and ramparts sheltering two museums: the Musée de Normandie and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames, Romanesque masterpieces commissioned by William himself, mark the city's skyline. The Mémorial de Caen is one of Europe's most important museums dedicated to twentieth-century history and the meaning of peace. Caen is a city that carries the marks of history with dignity, turning them into an invitation to reflect.

Mont-Saint-Michel is a natural and architectural phenomenon without equal in Europe: a tenth-century Benedictine abbey built on the summit of a granite islet that the sea surrounds completely at high tide. Access is on foot or by shuttle across the causeway — or, for the more adventurous, on foot across the sands with an authorised guide — and the ascent towards the abbey offers successively more extraordinary views over the bay. The medieval village lanes at the foot of the abbey, with their shops and restaurants serving salted-butter omelettes, have become part of Norman gastronomic legend. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, the «Wonder of the West» never fails to move its visitors.