What a delightful French village to visit when one has the time to explore....

Honfleur, situated between the tidal estuary of theSeine and the " Plateau d'Auge ",is a delightful picturesque town that welcomes you in any season. Honfleur is famous for its picturesque streets, old houses, St Leonard's Church and St Catherine's Church in the old maritime district with its separate belfry. This is the town that you just want to sit and relax in.....be it enjoying a vino by the marina or simply people watching. A lovely easy village to meander around with everything within easy walking distance on the narrow cobblestone streets.

The Old Dock is surrounded by picturesque narrow houses and the Lieutenancy none of which were damaged in the war - unlike nearby Le Havre. The narrow houseswhich are squeezed against one another on St Catherine's quay are quite unusual. They are not only all different in size and shape, they also have two ground floors: one that opens onto the quay and another one about half way up that opens behind on to Dauphin Street or Logettes Street. Because - or thanks to - this disposition, each house is privately owned by two different householders. These houses were built between the 16th and the 18th centuries. Some of them have overhanging storeys and many have their walls protected by slates.

At one end of the Old Dock stands the odd-looking stone building called the Lieutenancy. This name refers to the 17th century when the King's Lieutenantused this building as his place of residence. It is the only remnant left from the ancient rampartlargely altered during the 16th and the 17th centuries. Check out the fortified "Caen Gate" which used to control the entrance into the medieval fortress of Honfleur. The gateway itself dates back to the 17th century. Above the gate, inside a niche, is a statue of Our Lady of the Harbour. Two overhanging watch-turrets at the sides are decorated with the town's coat of arms. A drawbridge used to link the fortress with Saint Catherine's suburb, the sailor's district set outside the town's boundaries. To the North, a crenulated bastion defended this fortified gate. To prevent any boat from getting into the Old Dock at night, chains were drawn across the entrance between the Lieutenancy and a Tower built opposite the present bridge. This Tower was demolished in 1808.

The Church of Saint-Léonard stands behind the Tourist Office and the traditional open-air wash house (lavoir) is still fed by hillside springs. The façade of the church and the first bay of the nave, date from the end of the 15thand beginning of the 16th centuries. The flamboyantly carved main entrancesupports a magnificent octagonal bell-tower constructed in 1760.

The Church of Sainte Catherine. Surrounding this 15th and 16th century church are narrow cobbled streets, art galleries and traditional craft shops. This churchwas built by shipwrights and is the largest wooden church with a separate bell-tower in France. The bell-tower, also largely built of wood, dates from the end of the 15th century and is now a museum of religious art. The ceiling of the church represents the bottom of a boat and is testament to the importance of boats to this village.