Le Harve

[margord]

On a British Isles cruise and taking a tour to Rouen. Ship docks at 7 a.m. but tour not till 1:30 p.m. How far from the dock is the city of Le Harve and is it worth going to and walking around for a couple of hours? If so what do you suggest to do?

[Hlitner]

I tend to be a bit anti-excursion this would be one of those cases. The train from Le Havre to Rouen takes about 55 min and costs about $20 (less if you are 60+). Once in Rouen we were able to walk everywhere (we love to walk) and enjoyed the city. There are a couple of trains in the morning and return trains that leave Rouen at 4:05 and 6:05. When we were there (last year) we had planned on renting a car and driving (we do a lot of driving in Europe) but the train schedule (and price) was so convenient that we had no need for a car. The Cathedral is quite special and the city has its nice shopping streets.

 

Hank

[dolche]

We are in LeHavre from 7 am-9 pm on a Thursday, and are contemplating renting a car with the idea that in 14 hours we'd be able to visit all 3 of the above places. Since you considered renting a car last time you were there, what is your opinion of this possibility? It seems that perhaps Rouen and Honfleur are both 1/2 day places? Otherwise our plan is just to take the train to Rouen and then spend some of the end of the day in Le Havre, as that seems like more a sure thing than the bus route to Honfleur.

[Hlitner]

We have rented cars in LeHavre (several times) and usually needed to use a taxi to get to the rental car place. But there is one rental car agency right in the port terminal but I cannot remember the name (might have simply been "Rent a Car"). You will be covering a lot of miles going east, south and west of Lehavre but the fun of having a rental car is you can change your plans as the day progresses. But if you do get over the Etretat you might also want to make a quick visit to nearby Fecamp. And if you get to Honfleur,,,,keep in mind that Deuville is relatively close. So many choices....so little time.

 

Hank

[dolche]

Yes--it's hard to choose! Guess we'll just have to plan on going again some day.:) I've read about the rental agency at the port, but apparently they charge about twice as much as the one in town--the price of convenience--and close earlier, which shortens the day enough that it makes it less appealing. So it's hard to know--but thanks for the input. I've read your Rouen recommendations in several threads, and suspect that we'd very much enjoy our day there, and also enjoy the ease of the train!