Best & Fun Things To Do + Places To Visit In Honfleur, France. #Top Attractions

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Discover Honfleur, France, on your next vacation! Check out our curated list of the best things to do in Honfleur, France, and the best places to visit in Honfleur, France below. As a Web 3.0 travel startup, Wondrous Drifter has big plans to shake things up in the field.

Butin Beach

 Butin Beach, Honfleur, France
Butin Beach is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

Honfleur is a coastal town, so the first thing on the list is Honfleur’s famous beach.

The nearest beach to Honfleur’s old downtown district is Butin Beach.

This Honfleur beach has been awarded the Blue Flag category A, indicating that its waters have met certain standards for water quality.

Families enjoy it because natural pools are made between the Ratier bank and the beach at low tide.

It has everything you need to spend the entire day there: bathrooms, free parking, and changing rooms.

A first aid station, children’s games, bathing huts, and a snack bar are available during the summer.

Visitors with physical disabilities can make use of wheelchairs that have been specially customized.

The sailing school’s inflatable play structures, equipment rental, and sailing classes and courses are available in April.

On a beautiful day, the neighboring park is a nice area for a picnic. Visit this spot and enjoy a summer day with your family!

Address: Butin beach, D513, 14600, Honfleur, France

Eugene Boudin Museum

Eugene Boudin Museum Honfleur, France
Eugene Boudin Museum Honfleur, France / Jim Linwood / Flickr

Be astounded by the beautiful impressionist artwork of the famous French impressionist artist.

The Eugène Boudin Museum, named after Honfleur’s most famous painter, is housed in a 19th-century convent and two modern extensions with views over Honfleur and the Seine.

It has 1200 square meters of permanent displays in 9 rooms.

Honfleur drew many impressionists because of its breathtaking natural beauty. One of its most celebrated artists, Eugène Boudin, was born there.

Eugene Boudin was a painter who was born in 1824 and is known for his landscape and seascape paintings.

Around 200 of the artist’s works are on display at the museum, as well as works by other notable impressionists such as Jongkindsome, Dubourg, and Monet.

A huge collection of Normandy headdresses, costumes, and furniture are also on display at the museum. The museum hosts temporary exhibitions during the summer.

This is a great spot to visit for art and museum lovers!

Address: Rue de l’Homme de Bois, 14600 Honfleur, France

Greniers à Sel

Greniers à Sel, Honfleur, France
Greniers à Sel is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

A salty tourist attraction

Honfleur’s famous “Greniers à sel” were constructed with stones from the city walls in 1670.

The salt cellars must be on your bucket list to see in Honfleur if you’re looking for those best-kept secrets.

The Greniers à Sel are large underground caves built to retain up to 10,000 tonnes of salts from nearby mines.

The salt has been used to conserve fish obtained by fishermen in Honfleur, which was mainly a fishing town.

Although there were once three cellars, there are now only two, which are occasionally used for concerts and other events due to their excellent acoustics.

It’s not one of Honfleur’s most well-known tourist attractions, but it’s well worth a visit, even just to see the magnificent ceiling design.

It is rare to experience a tour of a salt cellar, so don’t miss this chance to witness and visit one and have a salty experience!

Address: 9B Rue de la ville, 14600 Honfleur, France

Gribouille

Gribouillel, Honfleur, France
Gribouille is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

A favorite shop of both locals and tourists

It is located on rue de l’Homme de Bois and is open all year (excluding January) and offers a wide range of Normandy-only items purchased straight from the manufacturers.

This small shop, maintained by the same family for four generations, is packed with delectable preserves, sweet desserts, and liqueurs.

With a wide selection of calvados and pommeau on hand, the oriented crew is happy to let you taste some of the local tipples.

This shop takes great effort in selecting good Norman products for you: they all come from artisanal Norman suppliers!

Gribouille offers traditional Pommeaux de Normandie, raw ciders, semi-dry ciders, sweet ciders, and Calvados ranging from 3 cl mignonettes to 3 liter Jeroboams from young to old (including appetizers).

From “cheap” to “overpriced,” you’ll undoubtedly find the bottle you’re looking for.

Visit this spot and take home some of the products with you!

Address: 16 rue de l’Homme de Bois 14600 Honfleur, France

Honfleur Carousel

Honfleur Carousel Honfleur, France
Honfleur Carousel Honfleur, France / Marko Kudjerski / Flickr

Unleash your inner child within.

Honfleur’s city hall had featured the city’s annual carousel since 1995, when it was first built.

The merry-go-attractive round’s wooden horses thrill both youngsters and adults, who flock around it regularly. 

It’s a re-creation of the popular wooden horse carousels in the early 1900s.

When you visit, the animals are painted glossily and brightly colored. The carousel’s interior was decorated with curling Victorian-style plant designs in rose, sky blue, and mint green colors.

Gold painted filigree was used to offset the color.

The carousel is in the town between May and October, then returns in the winter for maintenance.

The antique carousel is one feature that marks the coming of Spring. The carousel is a lovely piece of art that cheers up the harbor in Honfleur.

You will indeed have fun riding a classic amusement park ride. Experience a classic merry-go-round in Honfleur Carousel!

Address: 3 Quai Saint-Etienne, 14600 Honfleur, France

Honfleur’s Fresh Fish and Seafood

Honfleur’s Fresh Fish and Seafood, Honfleur, France
Honfleur’s Fresh Fish and Seafood is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

Seafood Lover’s meeting point.

The harbor is not just a place for commerce but also a gathering place for seafood enthusiasts.

Many seafood merchants have enormous pots of fresh fish and shellfish for sale along the waterfront.

You can find many delicacies, such as oysters, mussels, salmon, tripe, sea bass, pork cheeks, and cheese. Some restaurants serve high-end meals made with Normandy’s traditional foods.

Some restaurants serve French classics like duck, veal, scallops, and local cheeses with an Asian twist.

The cold cuts, apples, cheese, milk jams, shellfish, and Isigny caramel are just a few of the things you shouldn’t miss out on while visiting Honfleur.

There are so many delectables you cannot miss in this beautiful city, make sure to try out some of the restaurants, especially ones that serve traditional cuisine, to have an authentic Honfleur dining experience.

Don’t forget to try some kinds of seafood!

Address: Honfleur, France

Honfleur Old Town

Honfleur Old Town Honfleur, France
Honfleur Old Town Honfleur, France / Paul Arps / Flickr

You can’t visit Honfleur and not see the historic center.

It is such a wonderful spot that begs for further exploration. Narrow, cobblestone squares and lovely timber homes characterize the old town.

The wooden slate houses feature as many as seven levels of living space. There are wooden plaques with inscriptions commemorating the births of notable individuals such as Erik Satie, Eugene Boudin, and Alphonse Allai.

Art galleries, boutique shops, and artisan shops selling souvenirs can be found throughout the streets as you stroll.

There are also cafés to get excellent pancakes and cider to drink. The meals served in the cafés and restaurants are reasonably priced.

On Saturdays and Sundays, you can shop at the flea market and farmer’s market to buy some delicious delicacies fresh from the farm and sea.

Don’t forget to visit and spend your whole day here exploring the beauty and history of Honfleur.

Address: Honfleur, France

Jardin des Personnalités

Jardin des Personnalités, Honfleur, France
Jardin des Personnalités is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

A garden escape from the tourist-flocked streets

The green space in Honfleur was built in 2004 and is best viewed in the summer months due to the many roses in bloom at this time of year.

It displays busts of many famous people who were impacted by the town in some way in the ten hectares of walking routes and promenades that fill this park.

You will find Claude Monet, Eugène Boudin, Erik Satie, and Charles Baudelaire sculptures in the park and along pathways.

Additionally, there is an ornamental pond, rose garden, and expansive lawns with a kiosk for hosting summertime events.

The park parallels the city’s northern shoreline, so you’ll be able to breathe in some fresh air.

On a sunny day, it’s the perfect location for a picnic in the park. This is a great side trip if you’re on your way to or from the beach.

Include this in your itinerary coz’ you can’t miss this beautiful spot! 

Address: La Jetée de l’Ouest, Boulevard Charles V, 14600 Honfleur, France

La Fleur de Sel

La Fleur de Sel, Honfleur, France
La Fleur de Sel is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

A restaurant with a grey exterior welcomes you to the center of the old city, just 100 meters from the ancient port.

Ten perfectly arranged tables, a leather table cover, Guy Degrenne cutlery and glasses, napkins, huge white plates, ornamental table centers, and a warm environment under a wooden ceiling complete the look.

The interior of this little café is furnished with vibrant paintings on one wall and a view of Honfleur on the adjacent wall.

The floor is composed of orange bricks and wood, while the walls are painted grey. There are wooden columns and a bar in the room.

In the background, smooth jazz soothes your senses while enjoying your meal.

A variety of French dishes you can choose from are available on the menu. The dishes served are Foie Gras, Ris de Veau, pied de cochon, cabillaud, and a few sweets.

They also provide a selection of aged cheeses made in-house that you must try.

This is indeed a great place to have an ultimate fine dining experience in Honfleur.

Address: La Fleur de Sel 17 rue Haute 14600 Honfleur

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L’Église Sainte-Catherine

L’Église Sainte-Catherine Honfleur, France
L’Église Sainte-Catherine Honfleur, France/ stanze / Flickr

The crowning jewel of Honfleur’s tourist attractions

This famous church is a 15th-century all-wood replacement of a former stone church that was destroyed during the Hundred Years War.

The inside of St Catherine’s church looks like it was snatched right from a ship.

Also, you don’t have to spend to see it! In fact, it’s among the most magnificent cathedrals in all of Normandy.

It is the oldest wooden church in France, having been built on the grounds of a church before that had been destroyed by a medieval fire.

Due to the scarcity of resources, the locals used wood from the neighboring Touques forest as the primary raw material and applied their nautical construction abilities.

This reflects the church’s unique design, which is in the shape of an inverted double ship and is entirely made of wood.

Include this in your trip because you can’t miss seeing this beautiful spot!

Address: Honfleur, France

Le Vieux Bassin

Le Vieux Bassin Honfleur, France
Le Vieux Bassin Honfleur, France / frennlareo / Flickr

You can’t say you’ve been to Honfleur without seeing this spot.

For a voyage back in time to medieval France, visit the historic harbor, which is surrounded on three sides by stunning timber-framed buildings and hundreds of years of churches.

The Lieutenance, built in the Middle Ages and standing impressively at the port’s entrance where the water flows out of the sea, was even the seat of the French King’s Lieutenant until the seventeenth century.

Today, the best thing to do in Honfleur is to look at Le Vieux Bassin and the many sailboats floating in the calm sea.

In addition to taking beautiful pictures, many travelers choose to eat or drink at one of the port’s restaurants or cafes.

Many locations serve light refreshments and don’t demand additional fees to enjoy a riverfront vista.

However, some establishments only allow guests to spend time at the tables on the riverfront if they are eating.

Witness and be astounded by the panoramic views of this spot!

Address: Quai de la Quarantaine, 14600 Honfleur

Maisons Satie

Maisons Satie, Honfleur, France
Maisons Satie is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

A great spot for a rainy day in Honfleur.

Dedicated to the life of Erik Satie, the Satie House & Museum is a place to learn more about the French composer. He collaborated with some of the world’s most famous painters, including Pablo Picasso and Claude Debussy.

The cultural hub comprises three rooms and features anything from immersive exhibits to an umbrella collection. It is frequently recognized as one of Honfleur’s greatest museums.

During your visit, it is highly recommended to listen to an audio guide that plays automatically based on your location in the house.

The rooms are staged in an unusual manner (like Satie himself was), and the overall experience is a unique yet fascinating mix of audio-visual elements.

It is designed to help you better comprehend Satie’s life and personality, as well as how his music was generated from both.

Visit and discover the life of a famous French musician!

Address: 67 Bd Charles V, 14600 Honfleur, France

Maritime Museum

Maritime Museum, Honfleur, France
Maritime Museum is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

Take a peek at Honfleur’s maritime history

The Musée de la Marine, which is situated along the Old Harbour, features a collection of model ships, artifacts, and memorabilia. 

It also houses a huge collection of construction tools from Honfleur’s maritime legacy, engravings, 18th and 19th-century prints, paintings, and watercolors. 

There are so many exhibits that highlight the town’s fishing, shipbuilding, and commercial heritage.

The Vieux Bassin and the city’s oldest cathedral serve as the background for Honfleur’s maritime museum. It is housed inside the beautiful Eglise St. Etienne, a 14th-century church. 

As part of Honfleur’s nautical heritage, artifacts and stories from the city’s sailors are on exhibit in the museum.

History enthusiasts will surely be captivated in this museum. This is a great spot to understand better the naval history of Honfleur. 

Don’t miss this spot and learn a thing or two about this beautiful maritime town.

Address: 11 Quai Saint-Etienne, 14600 Honfleur, France

Musee d’Ethnographie et d’Art Populaire Normand

Musee d’Ethnographie et d’Art Populaire Normand, Honfleur, France
Musee d’Ethnographie et d’Art Populaire Normand is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

Witness the economic life in the 16th to 19th century.

To tell the past of the harbor of Honfleur, the museum displays a Norman interior reconstruction.

Founded in 1896 by the Société du Vieux-Honfleur, the Museum of Ethnography and Popular Art is France’s first provincial ethnography museum.

The Museum of Ethnography and Folk Art Norman is situated in a 16th-century timber-framed home. It contains twelve works that have been reconstructed in Norman interiors.

Mercier store, headdress room and costumes, cooper’s workshop, weaver’s room, bourgeois’ chamber, memory room, printer’s room, young girl’s room, and sailor’s dining room are among the 9 rooms that make up the museum’s free admission route.

Norman furniture, Norman costumes and headdresses, Pré-d’Auge ceramics, and different artifacts make up the collection acquired by members of the Société du Vieux-Honfleur over a century.

You must visit this spot if you are curious about the history of Honfleur.

Address: Rue de la Prison, 14600 Honfleur, France

Naturospace

Naturospace Honfleur, France
Naturospace Honfleur, France / Panoramas / Flickr

Are you fond of pretty butterflies? Enjoy a getaway to the home of the antipodes!

The Naturospace, a butterfly greenhouse constructed in Honfleur, allows you to experience the astonishing beauty of the life cycle, of which these winged gems are at the final stage.

The indoor and air-conditioned Naturospace in Honfleur offers an incredible voyage through an Amazonian-style biotope wherein tropical butterflies fly free.

Overall, almost a hundred different species from Asia, South America, and Africa can be found here.

You can also see several rare species in the plant collections that are vital to creating a natural environment, particularly those from the Acanthus and Araceous families.

This covered, climate-controlled destination provides an incredible voyage filled with astonishment at some of the most vibrant species in the animal world.

This is a great spot to have a magical experience because of the beautiful flying species.

Don’t miss this spot and witness the incredible beauty of these species!

Address: Bd Charles V, 14600 Honfleur, France

Notre Dame de Grace

Notre Dame de Grace Honfleur, France
Notre Dame de Grace Honfleur, France / Stewart Holmes / Flickr

Another beautiful religious attraction

The Plateau de Grâce, a wooded, 100-meter-high hill 2 kilometers west of the Vieux Bassin, is home to this chapel, which was constructed between 1600 and 1613.

This church, built during the 17th century, is elaborately decorated with models and paintings of ships donated by sailors as an act of gratitude.

The cliff collapsed and destroyed the former chapel, so this one was built to take its place. Truly, the views from the exterior are breathtaking!

You can witness here the amazing scenery of the Le Havre’s harbor, the Seine estuary, and the Pont de Normandie.

In the interior, several miniature boats are hanging from the ceiling and a windows with stained glass, creating an atmosphere of the ocean.

In fact, a peculiar tradition takes place every year on the Fête des Marins or the Sailors’ Day.

Meanwhile, on this day, which almost always happens during Pentecost weekend, youngsters dressed as sailors make their way up the hill toward the chapel from underneath town.

Drop by this beautiful destination to complete your Honfleur experience!

Address: rue Charrière de Grâce, Honfleur, France

Pont de Normandie

Pont de Normandie Honfleur, France
Pont de Normandie Honfleur, France / Cristian Bortes / Flickr

A symbol of Honfleur’s rich maritime history.

Standing at 215 meters high, the bridge is visible from Honfleur’s quays and can easily accommodate tall ships.

The Normandy Bridge was finished in 1995. It crosses the estuary of the River Seine and connects Honfleur and Le Havre, cutting travel time in half.

At the time, it was the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world, and you should still go and see it today.

This famed bridge became a remarkable achievement of maritime engineering in recent decades. It now appears on artworks and postcards from the area.

This bridge is made of concrete and metal and contains four lanes for cars, two for pedestrians, and two for cyclists.

If you drive south from Le Havre, you’ll come across a parking lot where you may admire the area from a pedestrian bridge.

This spot may not be the London bridge, but you still need to visit it as it holds an iconic beauty.

Address: Pont de Normandie, 14600 Honfleur, France

Saint Leonard’s Church

Saint Leonard’s Church, Honfleur, France
Saint Leonard’s Church is one of the best places to go in Honfleur, France

A must-visit religious attraction in Honfleur.

The other major church in Honfleur is St Leonard’s Church, located in its own gorgeous plaza on the outskirts of the ancient city center, a few feet behind old Lavoir Leonard, a public washhouse.

Somewhere below the church, there’s a modest parking lot where you could be lucky to get a spot and a lovely green garden with fresh flowers and benches to sit back and enjoy the world going by.

Moreover, this  religious landmark is sometimes overlooked by tourists in favor of the much more renowned St Catherine’s church, but it is nonetheless worth seeing.

Until the 12th century, there was a seat of worship on the property.

After the Huguenots destroyed much of the church during the religious battles of the 16th century, the current structure was largely rebuilt.

All in all, it is free to go around the church. However, donations have always been appreciated.

Pay your respects and visit this beautiful Honfleur landmark.

Address: Pl. Saint-Léonard, 14600 Honfleur, France

The Lieutenancy

The Lieutenancy Honfleur, France
The Lieutenancy Honfleur, France / Dennis Jarvis / Flickr

One of Honfleur’s greatest protection.

Until the seventeenth century, the Lieutenancy served as the residence of the French king’s lieutenant.

This building, which overlooks the Vieux-Bassin, has one of the two gates that go into old Honfleur. The gate is set into the walls of this building.

The ramparts were demolished by Colbert in the 17th century, and this was the only remaining piece of their structure. It depicts the medieval town of Honfleur.

Although the structure has undergone multiple modifications, it has preserved much of its original character.

During the 14th century, this structure was constructed around the city and the harbor to keep it safe from invaders.

A lot may be learned and discovered about this place’s history and its significance in protecting the city from the past.

It is an iconic landmark that has been visited by many tourists. 

You must not forget to include this in your itinerary!

Are you still on the fence about visiting Honfleur, France? Visit reasons to visit Honfleur, France, at least once in your lifetime here.

Address: 14600 Honfleur, France

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