Mon 14th Aug: Lille, Hauts-de-France ⇒ Honfleur, Normandy
Our journey from Lille, in Hauts-de-France, to Honfleur, in Normandy, was just over 300 km but it would take us through some areas with significant WW1 memorials. Knowing this I had planned a few stops along the way so we could pay our respects to those brave individuals who had given their lives so that future generations could have their freedom. It was a beautiful, sunny and calm day and this enhanced the solemnity of our visits as each memorial was so quiet and peaceful, in sharp contrast to the events being commemorated.
Our first stop was at Nécropole Nationale de Notre-Dame-de-Lorette memorial to all the French soldiers who lost their lives between 1914 – 1918 and is the worlds largest French military cemetery. It was confronting seeing so many crosses in all directions and that sat at odds with the morning sunshine and gentle breeze rustling through the the trees, the only sound you could hear. One representative at the site mentioned to us that there is space left on the lawn for more burials as local farmers continue to find remains in their paddocks. It was a solemn and calm place and a most suitable resting place for these courageous souls.
Our next stop was at the Canadian National Vimy Memorial that honours all Canadians who served during the First World War and it is located at the site of Canada’s victory during the Battle of Vimy Ridge. This was a slightly different experience as we got to walk through the restored trenches used during battle and saw, as is so often the case on battlefields, how close the Canadian and German trenches were to each other; it was a matter of just meters.
Our third stop was at The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. This is a memorial to the 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battle of the Somme in WW1 between 1915 and 1918 and that have no known grave. It was a most enormous and impressive memorial dominating the landscape that you could see for miles even before your arrival.
There were loads of other memorials dotted across the landscape and we can across another, purely by chance, and this was rather appropriate as it was an Australian memorial commemorating the contribution of Australian soldiers in the Battle of Pozziers. The site is called the Windmill as a reference to the windmill that once stood at the site.
Our final stop was at the Villers-Bretonneux Australian National Memorial and cemetery and The Sir John Monash Centre. This memorial is to commemorate all Australians who gave their lives on the western front during WWI. The John Monash Interpretative centre was most excellent and we were disappointed we couldn’t spend more time there. It was after 2.30 pm by this time and we still had a 2+ hour drive on to Honfleur. We’d probably spent about an hour there but you really need to allocate 2 ~ 3 hours. With hindsight, I’d probably scheduled too many stops on the day but we would still have wanted to experience each of them so I don’t know what the solution would have been?
These memorial visits were incredibly humbling. To think that these brave men and women, totally unknown to us, gave their lives for the sake of people such as us was very hard to reconcile. Especially when this awful history is being repeated today with the war on Ukraine. One might think that with the build of each of these types of memorials that there might be some acknowledgment that enough is enough. But, no, it doesn’t seem to carry much impact. It was humbling and enraging, all at the one time, and I felt very guilty for making such a quick and cursory visit and then moving on to our next holiday location.
It was after 5.30 pm by the time we arrived at our apartment in Honfleur and this was another one sourced on Booking.com but it can also be booked directly through the following link. The apartment / gate was in what looks like it would once have been a rather grand house but has been renovated into a number of smaller apartments or gites. We had the Roseraie which was a lovely and grand space with beautifully aged and original parquetry flooring, wood paneling in the lounge and kitchen dining area and private access out to the whole of the rear garden. It was a most comfortable space and I was only sorry we were just having two nights here. It would have been a very nice place to relax for a while, especially with the huge sunny garden.
It was near 6.30 pm by the time we set out to explore the small town and to find somewhere for dinner. Honfleur is a most beautiful harbour side town with cobbled streets and timber buildings. It was touristy, for sure, but the area seemed to exude wealth and most of the people we saw were all sporting rather nice resort wear. It made me feel somewhat embarrassed that I had ventured out in my standard travel clothes of t-shirt and leggings and I was definitely going to have to up the wardrobe for tomorrow. I noticed that many ladies had ditched the sensible athleisure shoes and were struggling on the cobbles in their glamorous sandals; it seemed that form was prioritized over function here. We struggled a little finding somewhere nice to dine as the two high rating restaurants, that also had cloth napkins, were both fully booked so we ended up staying for dinner at L’Absinthe, where we had stopped initially for just a drink. Our meals were delicious though, so we were very lucky, and mine even came with a hefty serve of a green vegetable! We were both exhausted after our big day of travel, especially Mark who had done all the driving, so we headed back to the apartment for some time in the garden before turning in for the night.
Tue 15th Aug
We were both feeling a bit slow today so we didn’t venture out until around 9 am as we had a 10 am walking tour. Our guide from Honfleur Tours, Pierre, was excellent and he took us around the city explaining the key points in history for the city and showing us some of the key buildings and sights. We really only one full day in Honfleur so this was an excellent way to experience the city and to learn about its history. Some of the key points that Pierre mentioned and that resonated with us are listed below.
- The population of Honfleur is about 8,000 but with only 4,000 are permanent residents. Many of the rest are from Paris and who own holiday homes in the area. That explains the resort west I noticed yesterday. Average tourism rates per year are around 5 million!
- Honfleur is a popular weekend tourist destination for Parisians and many seemed to be here today given the public holiday for the Feast of the Assumption
- Honfleur has a strong Viking history; as they came in the 9th century and went on down the Seine to Paris.
- The name Honfleur is coined from the term for one of the Vikings who lived here, Hons or maybe the general term for Viking, Húnn, along with fleur being derived from the word meaning ‘river flowing into the sea’ given its harbour location
- The term Normandy is derived from the Vikings ie: land of the Norse Men or North Men
- Claude Monet’s painting, Impression, Sunrise, was painted near Honfleur and is credited with the start of The Impressionist art movement.
- Building in this region are half timber and very similar to the Tudor style seen throughout England. There is some debate as to who inspired whom here!
- Honfleur was not bombed in ww2 by the Allies during D-Day, because there was no deep sea outlet for their supply boats nearby, hence there are still many intact old timber buildings
- Honfleur had been a fortified city in 1365 but the walls were torn down in the 17th century and the materials used to build other structures; for example Salt storage units. The Caen Gate is the only real part of the fortification still visible today
- The fortification around Honfleur was built using local Caen limestone
- William the Conquerer, from this Normandy region, took Caen limestone to England and used it to build Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London and Canterbury Cathedral
It was a great walking tour and I would highly recommend this for anyone visiting Honfleur. It was midday by the time our tour finished and we were both feeling a bit tired so decided to head back to the apartment for a rest. The crowds were a bit overwhelming also, given the public holiday, and there was barely a spare seat at any of the many restaurants dotted along Quai Sainte-Catherine overlooking Vieux Bassin. It was a bit of a pity that our one full day for Honfleur was today as some of the smaller museums and places of interest were closed due to the holiday. It would be a good idea to check for public holidays when planning any trips and I have to admit I had forgotten to do this for the French and Italian part of our trip.
Neither of us were feeling on top of our game so we spent the rest of the day back at the apartment and enjoyed the peace and tranquility in the sunny back garden. We had planned to go out for dinner but that didn’t eventuate either. Hopefully we’ll both feel better tomorrow as we have a day of travel to Bayeux. We had loved Honfleur but did not get to enjoy it fully as we would have liked given we were both a bit unwell. I had only factored a 2 night and 1 full day visit but I would highly recommend a visit of 3 nights and 2 days at a minimum so as to have time to enjoy all Honfleur and the surrounding area has to offer. This is one place we may have to re-visit!
