Rouen and Le Havre

[cleobella]

Just starting to think about our next cruise and the itineraries I am looking at have Rouen and/or Le Havre. I know you can go into Paris from Le Havre but what else can you see in these areas-especially sights that do not involve lengthy transport from the port?

[hubofhockey]

Just starting to think about our next cruise and the itineraries I am looking at have Rouen and/or Le Havre. I know you can go into Paris from Le Havre but what else can you see in these areas-especially sights that do not involve lengthy transport from the port?

 

We are going to do an excursion to a D-Day Normandy excursion from Le Havre next summer. I know it will be beautiful and emotional and something, as an American, that I cannot wait to do.

 

I don't get the whole Le Havre to Paris for the day trip. It is six plus hours on a train and in other transit for 2-3 hours of a drive by partial day in Paris. Better options for Paris are 3 days pre cruise or even ending your cruise a day early in Le Havre and spending 3 days there before flying home from Paris. On certain Princess itineraries, Le Havre is the the day for the final disembarcation day and some end the cruise in Le Havre and take the train to Paris.

[John Bull]

The train from Le Havre to Paris is something over two hours, but as Ljbercow's post there's getting to stations, waiting time, metro etc, which all adds up. Certainly at least 6 hours total, plus a spare hour of wiggle-time to get back (relying on a last train is always risky).

How long you'll get in Paris depends on ship's departure time - often mid-evening from Le Havre. Yes, it can be done, & you'll be able to tick Paris off your list. I wouldn't, but I'm not you. Folk even day-trip Paris from London.

 

But yes, if your it's your ship's final port-of-call before ending somewhere like Southampton or Dover & you're not keen on post-cruise time in the UK, you can jump-ship (by arrangement) in Le Havre, give Paris the time it deserves, & fly home from there. Folk do it. I'd do it, but I'm not you.

 

Rouen is halfway to Paris up the River Seine, and only accessible to small cruise ships like Fred Olsen or Azamara or the expensive boutique cruise ships. It will save mebbe an hour e/w on the train, many overnite in port but that's to sail the river in daytime so I don't know whether it's a better option for Paris. You need to figure ship's timings, get some evening time in Paris (stunning).

 

Le Havre itself IMHO is a bit of a boring dump.

The only sensible public-transport option is to Rouen (mebbe stop off at Monet's garden, a few miles from the rail station at Vernon)

Or the D-Day beaches, but it can only be done by tour van, taxi or car rental. And it will be a long day. The Canadian & British beaches are closer to Le Havre than the US beaches, but you should also be able to fit in Omaha/American cemetery. The best lazy-day destination from Le Havre is the fishing port of Honfleur. About 25 mins from the ship, over the Normandie bridge, by taxi or van.

 

JB :)

Edited November 6, 2011 by John Bull

[2theship]

Last fall we shared a taxi to Rouen with two other couples. I think it was about 30 Euros per person. Our driver spoke a little English and stayed with us for the entire day. There are some interesting sights in Rouen (it was where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake) and some remnants of WWII.

 

We spent a little more than we would have on the train but we were on our own schedule so it was an easy day.

[amazinglife]

Rouen is easy to do on your own by train. Take a taxi to the train station. It takes approx. 1 hour to get there. Once there you can walk in to the heart of the city. It is very charming and quaint. Honfleur is another option but you would have to take a bus from the back of the train station.

[luvoldies]

Just starting to think about our next cruise and the itineraries I am looking at have Rouen and/or Le Havre. I know you can go into Paris from Le Havre but what else can you see in these areas-especially sights that do not involve lengthy transport from the port?

 

I just returned from a cruise that stopped in Le Havre and Cherbourg and I put together tours in both ports that stayed in the area. From Le Havre we saw Honfleur and Rouen; from Cherbourg we went to Caen, Bayeaux, and Omaha Beach. The tours were amazing, led by a wonderful guide, Pierre Doublet (cabtourservices@orange.fr). He was professional, informative, and accommodating. If you email him, tell him Claire says hi!

[Keith1010]

For those of you who have never visited Normandy I highly recommend it. It was both an educational and emotional experience and one that I will remember for the rest of my life.

 

Keith

[Hlitner]

Just a suggestion when it comes to Normandy. As has been pointed out to us here in an earlier post, that region is more then 12,000 sq miles so it helps to be specific in recommendations. For example, Rouen and Chartres are both within Normandy and even Mont Sant-Michel is on the western edge.

 

Hank :)

Edited November 19, 2011 by Hlitner

[Mura]

We were on a cruise with Renaissance in May 2001 which had a port of call at Le Havre. When I saw how long a trip it was to the Beaches, we decided to spend the day in Honfleur and had a wonderful visit. It's a lovely little town with several worthwhile sites and is very close to Le Havre. You can go by local bus or cab.

 

When we did our Normandy trip it was by car, which is when we did Rouen and the Beaches. I've seen negative comments about Rouen but we had two full days there (three nights but we arrived around 6pm on the first night) and it is well worth a visit.

 

We spent several days in the Beaches area so we were glad that we didn't try to see them from the coast. (When I consulted the tourist bureau in Bayeux about the possibility of a day trip I was advised not to try: the distance is too long and the roads are not good.)

 

From our drive a year and a half later I wouldn't say the roads were not bad, but it is a long drive. Not bad if you're going to stay in the area for a few days, but trying to do it in one day is very time consuming in terms of coming and going. I know many people do it! And if you think you won't get back to the area, then it's worth a try.

 

Mura

[Mparis184]

The train from Le Havre to Paris is something over two hours, but as Ljbercow's post there's getting to stations, waiting time, metro etc, which all adds up. Certainly at least 6 hours total, plus a spare hour of wiggle-time to get back (relying on a last train is always risky).

How long you'll get in Paris depends on ship's departure time - often mid-evening from Le Havre. Yes, it can be done, & you'll be able to tick Paris off your list. I wouldn't, but I'm not you. Folk even day-trip Paris from London.

 

But yes, if your it's your ship's final port-of-call before ending somewhere like Southampton or Dover & you're not keen on post-cruise time in the UK, you can jump-ship (by arrangement) in Le Havre, give Paris the time it deserves, & fly home from there. Folk do it. I'd do it, but I'm not you.

 

Rouen is halfway to Paris up the River Seine, and only accessible to small cruise ships like Fred Olsen or Azamara or the expensive boutique cruise ships. It will save mebbe an hour e/w on the train, many overnite in port but that's to sail the river in daytime so I don't know whether it's a better option for Paris. You need to figure ship's timings, get some evening time in Paris (stunning).

 

Le Havre itself IMHO is a bit of a boring dump.

The only sensible public-transport option is to Rouen (mebbe stop off at Monet's garden, a few miles from the rail station at Vernon)

Or the D-Day beaches, but it can only be done by tour van, taxi or car rental. And it will be a long day. The Canadian & British beaches are closer to Le Havre than the US beaches, but you should also be able to fit in Omaha/American cemetery. The best lazy-day destination from Le Havre is the fishing port of Honfleur. About 25 mins from the ship, over the Normandie bridge, by taxi or van.

 

JB :)

 

We took a bus to Honfleur from LeHarve. It was an easy transport and we had a wonderful day. Paris was too far to consider as a day trip. If you are a photographer you will love Honfleur, get your camera ready!

 

Marion

[Mura]

Musicians and music lovers (of the classical bent) who go to Honfleur should not miss the Maisons Saties. Erik Satie was born in Honfleur and the house he was born in (now two) has a wonderful exhibit.

 

We headed there first and then to the cathedral and lunch. At the restaurant they recommended that we go to the Satie house(s) and were SO pleased when we said we'd already been there.

 

Not that they cancelled the bill ...

 

And there was plenty to see in Honfleur. We spent the entire day there.

 

Mura

 

P.S. I will say again (probably to no effect) that seeing Normandy or Paris from Le Havre can be enjoyable, but you spend so much time travelling to get there that you really can't see anything. Or at least not enough. I always say to people who are willing to travel 3-4 hours to get to a major city (like Paris or Berlin) that if you think you can never come back on your own, then do it. But you won't see much. These cities deserve visits on their own.

 

And there is a lot of territory to cover when you go to the Beaches. When the tourist bureau in Bayeux said that I shouldn't consider trying to see the Beaches from Le Havre, I believed them. And when we did get to Normandy a year later, I understood.

[chubbypiggy]

We took a bus to Honfleur from LeHarve. It was an easy transport and we had a wonderful day. Paris was too far to consider as a day trip. If you are a photographer you will love Honfleur, get your camera ready!

 

Marion

 

In May, one of our cruise ports will be LeHavre. We will be there on a Monday. We plan to go to Honfleur. Could you kindly answer the following questions?

 

1. Where is the bus station?

2. From the port, how do you get to the bus station?

3. If you took the taxi to the bus station, how much was the taxi fare?

4. If you walked to the bus station, how long was your walk?

5. Where did you find the bus route timetable?

6. How often do the buses run? How long was the ride?

7. How much was the bus fare? Is exact change required?

8. After you arrived at Honfleur's bus station, how far (by taxi/walk) to town?

9. Did you take the return bus back to LeHavre port?

10. For the going & returning buses, were there a lot of passengers? Were you able to find seats? Buses available at least once each hour?

 

I am sorry that I have so many questions :D; I just want to be clear (in order for me to decide if I should take the bus or a taxi).

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance. :)

[Mura]

We did Honfleur in May 2001 so any fare issues (assuming I remembered what we paid) wouldn't be current.

 

We DID walk back to the ship from where the bus dropped us off (we took a taxi to Honfleur and that was expensive) and it was quite a long walk through a not very nice part of town. I don't mean it was dangerous, just that it wasn't very pretty or comfortable. My guess would be that a taxi would not have been all that expensive to/from the bus, but it's only a guess. Come to think of it, I do have a vague recollection that a couple we were with announced that it was ridiculous to pay $8 for four people to take a cab, and the walk was "short". Well, we thought it would have been worth $8 for two of us!

 

As far as the location of the Honfleur station, I don't remember a long walk to get to the stop. We did have a very long wait for the bus to arrive (this was around 5pm) which others said was most unusual. The ride was perhaps half an hour. And I think (but am not at all positive) that we were able to pay the bus driver.

 

I know you'll get more thorough answers from someone who did this more recently than we did.

 

Mura

[TourDeCruise]

We will be in LeHavre twice this year on two different cruises for a total of 3 days as one cruise has an overnight and two days there. We were in LeHavre last September on a cruise and did the RCI Paris & Seine River cruise which was fantastic, especially since it was my dh's first time in Paris.

 

This year we plan to venture out on our own. We may go to Paris by train since we have an overnight where we can come back late or even stay overnight in Paris. Also, under consideration are going to Rouen by train, Giverny by train, and Honfleur by bus. Here is some information on Rouen, Honfleur, and Giverny that I have acquired so far.

 

Rouen by train and Honfleur by bus

 

On a Cruise Critic rollcall thread, I received these directions to the LeHavre train station. They should work for getting to the bus station too. Note: I have not done this yet, so I cannot confirm.

"Walk out of cruise berth is about 15 minutes walk through couple of adjoining berths, then over a small bridge and around to a 1st set of lights to town entry. There you have a choice:-

 

1. Turn left and walk through town center and to railway/bus interchange via shopping district (which is bit longer but more interesting as you pass by some interesting shops and patisseries / cafes) OR

2. Direct route to the railway/bus interchange .... down one of the main residential boulevards which is directly ahead of you."

Giverny

 

For Giverny, has anyone gone there by train to Vernon from LeHavre and then onto Giverny? Did you have to transfer trains at Rouen or somewhere else or is it direct from LeHavre to Vernon? Once at the Vernon train station, did you walk, bike (rent), take a taxi, or take the bus? Comments on ease and how long to budget for the transportation and visit to Giverny?

 

I still need to research it more to see if a train transfer is involved, but this is what I found so far on getting to Giverny on our own. Giverny does not have train service; however, Vernon, which is 4km from Giverny, does have train service and is on the Paris-Vernon-LeHavre line. You could take the train from LeHavre to Vernon. In Vernon, you can walk on a nice path 4km to Giverny. Or you can rent a bike at the train station or possibly at nearby cafes and cycle to Giverny. Or you can take the bus or hire a taxi from Vernon to Giverny. Then do the reverse to come back to LeHavre after a few hours in Giverny. I read that walking or cycling to Giverny is very unpleasant if you take the regular roads, but there is a bike & walking path and it is supposed to be a very pleasant ride or walk.

 

Vernon is supposed to be a nice place to visit too. There may be additional gardens at the American Museum in Giverny.

 

Any additional information or confirmation of directions or transporation is appreciated!

 

Kathy

[chubbypiggy]

Instead of taking the bus, I am thinking maybe we (four of us) can pick up a taxi at the LeHavre pier and have the driver drops us off at Honfleur's old port (Vieux Bassin). Then we can spend 4-6 hours on our own for sightseeing/shopping/eating... Then we can get a taxi and take us back to the LeHavre port.

 

Last year at the LeHavre port, I remember seeing a lot of taxis at the pier (we didn't use the taxi; we took Princess' shuttle to LeHavre town). So I don't see any problem getting a taxi to take us to Honfleur.

 

My concern is, will it be difficult to find a taxi at Honfleur's old port to take us back to LeHavre's port?

 

Any input would be appreciated!!

[Mparis184]

I don't remember seeing any taxis in Honfleur when we were there but to be honest I wasn't looking for them either. Check on the Internet and see if you can arrange for one in advance. The bus was so easy to take we never thought about a taxi.

 

Marion

[Mparis184]

1. Where is the bus station? Not too far from the port - walking distance

2. From the port, how do you get to the bus station? Walked

3. If you took the taxi to the bus station, how much was the taxi fare?

4. If you walked to the bus station, how long was your walk? 15 minutes or so. There were a group of us from Cruise Critic so the walk was a lot of fun and seemed very quick.

5. Where did you find the bus route timetable? Internet

6. How often do the buses run? How long was the ride? Every hour I think - ride 30 or 40 minutes

7. How much was the bus fare? Is exact change required? Yes, exact change - 7 Euros I believe

8. After you arrived at Honfleur's bus station, how far (by taxi/walk) to town? You are right there - a few blocks to the heart of town

9. Did you take the return bus back to LeHavre port? Yes

- into LeHavre and then we walked back to the port

10. For the going & returning buses, were there a lot of passengers? No Were you able to find seats? Yes Buses available at least once each hour? Yes

 

[Gaznjo]

When we where in Le Havre last year I booked a taxi driver for the day and we went to Eretrat, Fecamp, Deauville and Honfluer..... the places we visited were lovely... just the weather was horrible .... ha ha .... and the traffic on the Normandy Bridge....

 

check out my blog entry..

 

Part 1

 

Part 2

Part 3

 

http://www.taxis-le-havre.com/tarif.php

Edited February 10, 2012 by packetau

[John Bull]

In May, one of our cruise ports will be LeHavre. We will be there on a Monday. We plan to go to Honfleur. Could you kindly answer the following questions?

 

1. Where is the bus station?

2. From the port, how do you get to the bus station?

3. If you took the taxi to the bus station, how much was the taxi fare?

4. If you walked to the bus station, how long was your walk?

5. Where did you find the bus route timetable?

6. How often do the buses run? How long was the ride?

7. How much was the bus fare? Is exact change required?

8. After you arrived at Honfleur's bus station, how far (by taxi/walk) to town?

9. Did you take the return bus back to LeHavre port?

10. For the going & returning buses, were there a lot of passengers? Were you able to find seats? Buses available at least once each hour?

 

I am sorry that I have so many questions :D; I just want to be clear (in order for me to decide if I should take the bus or a taxi).

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance. :)

 

The bus service is operated by http://www.busverts.fr/

 

I don't know if this (fairly poor) auto-translation works on your side of the pond:

http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.busverts.fr/&ei=PJM0T8v1NpTX8QOo2a2xBg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDYQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbus%2Bverts%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1W1GGLL_en-GB%26biw%3D1005%26bih%3D501%26prmd%3Dimvns

 

The frequency is very very very limited -I'm not sure how Marion recalls anything like an hourly service :confused:

Weekdays (du Lundi au Vendredi), there are effectively only one or mebbe two suitable buses each way, depending on your disembarkation & back-on-board times.

On sundays (dimanche) there's only a bus to Honfleur at 1.08pm & one back at 5.07pm (arrives Le Havre 5.32pm)

This is why I didn't mention it & why most cruisers travel by taxi/van.

But, as Marion has demonstrated, yes, some cruisers use the bus.

Yes, it takes about 25 mins.

 

Check your visit day/date and back-on-board time against the timetable.

The commune/common is Le Havre, the lignes/lines/routes are 20 and 50, the timings of the Prestobus 39 are totally unsuited.

 

The Honfleur bus station (gare routiere) isn't a station as such, just a few bus bays with one bay allocated to Bus Vert. But it's just a two minute walk from the east (Le Havre) side of the harbour & any local can direct you to it.

 

I've always seen plenty of taxis in Honfleur during the summer, but I've no idea whether they're available to hail or they're waiting for pre-booked passengers. I think most cruisers fix up with their outbound driver to come back for them at an agreed time

 

JB :)

Edited February 10, 2012 by John Bull

[chubbypiggy]

Thank you all for your answers. Your help is much appreciated.:)

[Hlitner]

We want to add our support to JB's comments and recommendations. Public transit between LeHavre and Honfleur are quite limited and anyone planning to use the regional buses (such as #20) are well advised to carefully study the schedule in advance of their trip. We have been to this region many times (on both cruises and driving vacations) and our favorite form of transportation to get to places like Honfleur, Deuville, Fecamp, Etretat, etc are a rental car. Private tours are also an effective method to explore the region but can be very expensive if you want a private car/driver.

 

Hank

[Mparis184]

Oh JB I am getting old and it was 2 years ago that we visited LeHaver. I thought the bus was more frequent but I have been known to be mistaken ( one or twice in my lifetime...LOL) We found the bus easy to use and very convenient. The times on the bus schedule were perfect for us on the day of our visit so I thought the bus were more frequent between LeHarve and Honfleur.

 

Marion

[sheeng]

We will be in LeHavre twice this year on two different cruises for a total of 3 days as one cruise has an overnight and two days there. We were in LeHavre last September on a cruise and did the RCI Paris & Seine River cruise which was fantastic, especially since it was my dh's first time in Paris.

 

This year we plan to venture out on our own. We may go to Paris by train since we have an overnight where we can come back late or even stay overnight in Paris. Also, under consideration are going to Rouen by train, Giverny by train, and Honfleur by bus. Here is some information on Rouen, Honfleur, and Giverny that I have acquired so far.

 

Rouen by train and Honfleur by bus

 

On a Cruise Critic rollcall thread, I received these directions to the LeHavre train station. They should work for getting to the bus station too. Note: I have not done this yet, so I cannot confirm.

"Walk out of cruise berth is about 15 minutes walk through couple of adjoining berths, then over a small bridge and around to a 1st set of lights to town entry. There you have a choice:-

 

1. Turn left and walk through town center and to railway/bus interchange via shopping district (which is bit longer but more interesting as you pass by some interesting shops and patisseries / cafes) OR

2. Direct route to the railway/bus interchange .... down one of the main residential boulevards which is directly ahead of you."

Giverny

 

For Giverny, has anyone gone there by train to Vernon from LeHavre and then onto Giverny? Did you have to transfer trains at Rouen or somewhere else or is it direct from LeHavre to Vernon? Once at the Vernon train station, did you walk, bike (rent), take a taxi, or take the bus? Comments on ease and how long to budget for the transportation and visit to Giverny?

 

I still need to research it more to see if a train transfer is involved, but this is what I found so far on getting to Giverny on our own. Giverny does not have train service; however, Vernon, which is 4km from Giverny, does have train service and is on the Paris-Vernon-LeHavre line. You could take the train from LeHavre to Vernon. In Vernon, you can walk on a nice path 4km to Giverny. Or you can rent a bike at the train station or possibly at nearby cafes and cycle to Giverny. Or you can take the bus or hire a taxi from Vernon to Giverny. Then do the reverse to come back to LeHavre after a few hours in Giverny. I read that walking or cycling to Giverny is very unpleasant if you take the regular roads, but there is a bike & walking path and it is supposed to be a very pleasant ride or walk.

 

Vernon is supposed to be a nice place to visit too. There may be additional gardens at the American Museum in Giverny.

 

Any additional information or confirmation of directions or transporation is appreciated!

 

Kathy

 

 

Hi Kathy

 

Are we going to be cruising together again? We are on the Constellation's May Transatlantic. What about you?

 

Sheila & Jim.

[sheeng]

I answered my own question, Kathy! I checked your recent posts. You have been having way too much fun! We have also..... tried Azamara and Paul Gauguin...... WOW!

 

Sheila.

[TourDeCruise]

Hi Kathy

 

Are we going to be cruising together again? We are on the Constellation's May Transatlantic. What about you?

 

Sheila & Jim.

 

Hi Sheila! Maybe you want to come on the October 25th "Wine" cruise on the Constellation with an overnight/2 days in Le Havre? It also has 2 days/overnights each in Bilbao and Le Verdon (Bordeaux area), plus Vigo and Oporto at one day each. It is a great itinerary at a reasonable price. You're right. We're having too much fun - I retired in May 2010! My reward for all those years of hard work. My retirement gift from Jack was a Mediterrnean cruise on the Azamara Quest. It was a wonderful cruise. Every time someone asks about my favorite port, I answer there are too many, but Norway is my favorite country. Are you still living in Belgium? Kathy