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Lower-Normandy Villas

Lower-Normandy Villas

Lower-Normandy (Basse-Normandie) Tourist Guide is here to take you on a tour of this varied coastline and rich countyside to find your villa in Nomandy. Visit the D-Day beaches in Normandy, the classy casinos in Trouville, and the Deauville racetracks. And you absolutely cannot leave Normandie without seeing Mont St Michel and Honfleur Harbour. While by the water, eat the seafood in Normandy and tour Cheese Road- fantastic!

Holiday in Lower-Normandy

Touring Lower-Normandy

Touring Lower-Normandy

Cheese and cider: Yes, there really are a Route du Fromage and Route du Cidre.
Just follow the signposts through the Pays d’Auge.

Honfleur: A charming small fishing town, yacht harbour and tourist centre situated on the southern bank of the Seine River Estuary; also a magnet for famous artists and writers (Boudin, Cézanne, Courbet, Pissarro, Renoir and Sisley).

Mont Saint Michel: Sits a small, rocky, cone-shaped island in the Gulf of Saint-Malo facing the Channel. The abbey is built on solid granite, with an old village at the base. Part of the drama of the island is the dangerous swirling tides that surround it. This World Heritage site is a major tourist attraction.

Bayeux: A sleepy, small town with cobblestone streets lined with small shops and Norman style timbered houses dating from the 17th century. It is best known for its medieval Tapestry (Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde), probably the world’s most famous embroidery.

Giverney: Claude Monet created the gardens that inspired his paintings here. Larger groups only are accommodated for visits, so be sure to enquire for availability (maguero@fondation-monet.com).

Normandy Cuisine

Normandy Cuisine

Famous for butter and cheese, Normandy supplies both Camembert and Brie, the most consumed French cheeses worldwide. Brillat Savarin is a triple cream cheese while Neufchâtel is a lighter version. Livarot and Pont L'Evêque are more pungent varieties.

Butter is a staple and it is never more evident than when biting into a warm croissant with morning coffee.

Seafood dishes are fresh and varied; plump, meaty oysters, tasty scallops mussels, clams, shrimps, crabs, and lobsters are all part of the local catch. Sole “à la normande” is a delicacy (Norman-style implies an addition of cream and a touch of cider or Calvados).

Succulent lamb comes from the salt marshes near Mont Saint Michel. Chicken and duck dishes offer excellent variety. Local favourites are tripes à la mode de Caen, and andouille de Vire.

Cider and the apple brandy known as Calvados are also Norman specialties. Calvados is made from local cider twice distilled and slowly aged in oak casks. The best comes from small, independent producers in the Pays d'Auge. Along the Route du Cidre you will local cider farms advertising their products to the interested travellers.

Attractions in Lower Normandy

Attractions in Lower Normandy

“Bucolic” could have been a word specially designated for this region: with rich green pastures with cows calmly grazing, hedgerows and stone walls, apple orchards – a true pastoral! The happy cows you see grazing during your Normandy travels make a major contribution to local dishes, as butter, cream and cheese find their way to the table, either as themselves, or as an important ingredient to the delicious dishes of the region.

Normandy has some impressive ruins worth visiting for the truly committed history buffs. Close to Rouen the Chateau Gaillard, perches on a rocky outcrop strategically overlooking the Seine. Downstream from Rouen is the tenth-century abbey of Jumièges. The modern city of Caen is worth visiting for its two great 11th-century abbey churches built by William the Conqueror and his queen, Matilda.

Not so ancient, but visually interesting still are the half-timbered manor houses of The Pays d'Auge.

Beach towns in Normandy are a breed apart . . . each very special in its own way. Étretat has remained remarkably unspoiled with its swimming beach, busy promenade, and plunging, limestone cliffs. The town itself exudes charm, displaying beautiful Norman architecture. You could describe this as a sort of “nouveau” half-timbered architecture, as if they took the half-timbered houses in the countryside and made them into fashionable beach cottages.

Deauville and Trouville, with their casinos, are resort towns in the distinctive old style. Deauville, in particular, has its famous racetrack, while restaurants and night spots offer glamorous entertainment. Deauville also hosts its annual American Film Festival.

After leaving Deauville racetracks, and parting with the tasteful casinos in Trouville return home to your villa in Normandy to relax. Then get ready for another day of touring because you still have to see Mont St Michel, Honfleur Harbour, and the historic D-Day beaches in Normandy. Finally put your camera away and eat your way around Normandy. The seafood in Normandy is fresh and succulent and making your way down to tour Cheese Road is a gastronomic delight! Our Lower-Normandy (Basse Normandie) Tourist Information Guide is your source of info for this inspiring region of France!