
For the first weekend of July, my friends and I went to Honfleur, in the North of France in Normandy. You probably never heard of it because neither have I before it was brought up to me, to be honest. The initial plan was to go do Deauville -which I’d say is more famous at least if you’re French or familiar with our locations- BUT Deauville was more expensive. So as broke students we opted for the cheaper yet still a nice option.
And honestly, Honfleur was much more pleasant than I expected it to be, so let me walk you through my 48 hours in Honfleur!
How To Spend A Week End In Honfleur
Table Of Contents
Best Things To Do In Honfleur
EXPLORE THE PORT
Most of the souvenirs shop and restaurants are located in this area, so if you want to buy cider or biscuits or even a nice yellow raincoat, you will definitely find your happiness there.
It’s also pretty nice to just eat some ice cream and stroll around and soak in the atmosphere or simply to enjoy the view.
Also how nice are those buildings?!


Get On the Ferris Wheel

The big wheel cost 5€ and do 5 round, so it’s basically 1€ per round. The view from up there is pretty amazing you can to look over the city and the port and also much further if you pay attention, but it actually goes quite fast, much faster than I expected it! However, I believe it’s possible to get a really nice shot from up there.
Sadly, I didn’t get any good shot because it goes around pretty quickly and I wasn’t ready ahah. I actually spent most of the ride, hoping my hat wouldn’t fall and holding onto it for dear life. How fun.
There’s also a merry go round next to the port.

Take A Dip At Butin Beach
The beach is located about 10/15min walk from the port. You can also see on the park this walk called “Personalities Garden”, but I will talk to you about this in a bit!
Also, you can view the “Normandy Bridge” which is one of the longest bridge in Europe! Yep, it’s that very teeny tiny bridge you see from a distance in the picture below!

Whilst the weather turned out to be ok, it was way too cold to actually get in, besides I’m the kind of person who’s afraid to get in the water and whilst it was a nice beach the water is definitely not crystal clear there -sadly-!

The beach is quite luxurious with vegetation; it almost gives this feeling as if you’re on an island, which was really accentuated on our visit as they were only a few people there.
When you look at this lush scenery, you wouldn’t think there’s an actual city not even 10min away!
Although it was the beginning of July when we went there it wasn’t really crowded; I believe people go to Honfleur mostly to visit the city and not really for the beach but then again the weather probably wasn’t helping either!
Visit The “Jardin Des Personnalités”
Moving on to some more cultural and history related bits!
A lot of famous artists writers, painters or poets contributed a lot to Honfleur development and history. It’s a little like Giverny with Monet in a way as it is a very art-oriented little town.



As I wrote above this garden – “Garden of Personalities” or in French “Jardin Des personnalités” can be found on the sidewalk that leads to Butin beach. So, you can do this before or after you decide to take a stroll on the beach and relax there.
Honestly, it’s a must-see! The design of the plants, flowers and statues are altogether really stylish and elegant. Most of the personalities bust you can find in there are writers, poets that contributed to the city or wrote about it at some point in their careers.

Honfleur was a place where many artists met through the years so you can find a lot of art gallery all over the city. So if you’re looking for paintings, sculptures, some ancient furniture you may find your happiness there. The city has this quaint vibe it’s impossible not to like.
It’s a lovely destination for a romantic gateway, weekend gateway with a friend or a family holidays. It ticks all the box Also very to access for the foreigner from England, Netherlands or Germany.
You can very well visit it in a day and move onto Deauville or anywhere in Normandy if you’re travelling by car.
The Mt St Michel isn’t far from it; however, it’s quite busy during summertime, so you might want to visit Mt St Michel in winter if you would like to avoid the crowd.
Spending a weekend in Honfleur leave you enough time to relax and explore the area and its central spot without rushing.
So, I’d definitely recommend Honfleur as a getaway if you’re looking at some places to visit in France!
WHERE TO EAT IN HONFLEUR
It’s for dinner that our “where should we eat” quest began. That means, finding a place that satisfies everyone taste and budget, which can be really hard, to be honest.
BUT!
While wandering down some alley, an open window on a restaurant caught our attention “La cidrerie”, and after a quick look at the menu, we decided that this should be the place and we weren’t disappointed at all with our choice.



The staff was amicable, the atmosphere pleasant and cosy.
The prices are reasonable as well, and the food really yummy. You can enjoy a wide variety of “Galette”, which is pretty famous around Normandy and Brittany in France. And of course, drink some Cider to pair with!
Adress La Cidrerie :
26 Place Hamelin,
14600 Honfleur
Where we stayed in Honfleur:
B&B Hotel –The establishment has just been renovated, so it was still a little dusty from the construction, but the room we stayed in was really nice and cosy for four people. It’s not right in Honfleur but a bit further. Also not really the best to access by feet but it’s not impossible if you don’t mind walking on the sidewalk.
Also, despite being called a bed & breakfast hotel, you have to pay 6€ to get the breakfast buffet. We paid for it, it was decent, although a bit pricey for what it is.
How to get to Honfleur from Paris:
If you don’t drive you can take one of the several bus company to get there from Paris, they drop you right near the port. And obviously, if you do drive then, it’s almost a 2h drive from Paris, not too bad!
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ᴬᴰᴱᴸᴸ says
this place looks lovely! It has such a cute vibe to it x
https://adellbaker.com
earthsmagicalplaces says
Like you I’d never heard of this place! But it looks adorable especially the port 🙂 Also its the story of my life missing an amazing shot with my camera haha
https://earthsmagicalplaces.com/
Lyne says
Happy to hear I’m not the only one who miss amazing shot ahah. But ah it’s so frustrating ! ahah
chloevsworld says
Aw it looks so beautiful 😍😍
Lyne says
It is, really worth a visit ! 🙂
Ezra Hilyer says
Amazing! One of these days I will visit, hopefully when I am on my sailing adventure in a few years. Thank you for giving me another great place to look forward to visiting.
-ezra
Straypoetry.com
Weekend Haven says
So beautiful, and the restaurant street seems instagram worthy <3
yesihaveablog says
I’ve visited Deauville before but I always like to visit somewhere new (especially if it’s more budget friendly). I really like the sound of drinking cider by the port!
Val says
I love finding little towns that are “off-the-beaten-path” so to speak. Honfleur sounds absolutely lovely and totally reasonably priced! Thank you so much for added to yours readers radars for future adventures!!!
Danielle'sTravels says
Looks like a beaitiful place, I love France! I’ll definitely have to check it out next time I’m there!
Paroma Chakravarty says
I swear the first pic made me think that you are talking about Denmark, hahaha! Those houses and waterfront look so similar! Honfleur is so pretty.
Bonita says
More than anything else I am so in love with your photography, proper lighting! You make visiting Honfleur top the list by force!
JC says
Honfleur looks lovely. Unfortunately I’ve only been to Paris and a bit outside of it to Giverny and Versailles, but I have a goal of getting a rail pass or renting a car and exploring the rest of the country. I’ll definitely have to look more into Honfleur.
Lyne says
The rail pass is really a great option to travel around ! Hope you can visit it next time you visit France 🙂
Sheisnotlost says
I have never heard of this place so thanks for sharing. i loved the beach photos. I will definitely look up for it when travel to France next
Lyne says
You’re very welcome, always glad to show more of my country 🙂
peppytravelgirl says
Looks so beautiful! You’re right, I’d never heard of Honfleur but now I want to visit!
Mayuri says
Looks like a great option for a day trip from Paris. I’m considering exploring Versailles this fall along with Paris. But this place is amazing, so will try to squeeze it in our itinerary