Things to do around Le Havre..

[Funseekers]

Looking for suggestions for tours around the port of Le Havre. We are sailing on the Norwegian Star in September (10 days London-Copenhagen) and originally wanted to take the tour to Paris.. after much thought we have decided to forgo the long bus trip since we would only get  2-3 hours in Paris.  This will be my husbands and I's first time to Europe although we have cruised a lot. Typically when we cruises we don't usually book excursions through the CL.. but will if that will be the best option.  Any suggestions would be much appreciated. 

 

~Lorinda

[John Bull]

9 hours ago, Funseekers said:

Looking for suggestions for tours around the port of Le Havre. We are sailing on the Norwegian Star in September (10 days London-Copenhagen) and originally wanted to take the tour to Paris.. after much thought we have decided to forgo the long bus trip since we would only get  2-3 hours in Paris.  This will be my husbands and I's first time to Europe although we have cruised a lot. Typically when we cruises we don't usually book excursions through the CL.. but will if that will be the best option.  Any suggestions would be much appreciated. 

 

~Lorinda

 

Hi, Lorinda,

Altho' some might disagree, IMHO Le Havre itself is pretty boring

 

There are two obvious destinations from Le Havre ......................

 

The sights of D-Day.

The closest US sight, about 1 3/4hrs away is Omaha Beach / the American cemetery - both are evocative and with plenty to see, and there are other US sights nearby such as Pointe du Hoc and the Longues battery.

There's no suitable public transport, you need either a tour or a rental car. Overlord Tours is the best-known tour operator tho' there are others, and your ship will also offer D-Day tours.

DIY by rental car is surprisingly easy, but you need to research the route, the sights & the logistics. Sharing via your cruise's RollCall would halve the cost. 

Check your ship's departure time - for most it's 8pm.

 

Honfleur

For an easy laid-back day, a small & attractive fishing / tourism port on the other side of the Seine estuary & about a 30 minute drive from your ship. By bus is possible but awkward & a very very limited frequency especially on sundays. Most folk share taxis.

If you rented a car you could also explore the coast a dozen miles beyond to the small twin towns of Trouville & Deauville. Again, finding sharers halves the cost.

 

JB 🙂

 

[edinburgher]

Both of the above merit consideration, but Honfleur is an easy enough DIY option should you choose that option and super attractive to visit.

 

Many previous threads and posts about the logistics of getting to/from Honfleur, simply use the search box to bring them all up.  And others on your Roll Call may also want to go there and to share a taxi with you.  You might enjoy that more than an organised tour.

 

On another visit we took the train to Rouen, also worthy of a visit, and on our final visit to LH we explored the Alabaster Coast, but Honfleur is a perfect "first time" visit should you have no connection to the D Day battles.

Edited May 17, 2022 by edinburgher

[carlmm]

It migth not be the ancient Europe you might be looking for but Le Havre itself is rather interesting from an architectural and city pallning point of view. Almost completely destroyed in WW II, the work of Auguste Perret is a most interesting city made from concrete looking for human needs. Nowadays a world heritage site. There is (used to be) a sight seeing "train".

You could do this in the morning and take teh short ride to Rouen in the afternoon.

[Harters]

1 hour ago, carlmm said:

Almost completely destroyed in WW II

Learning that ruined my original plans for our day in Le Havre. My local battalion landed there in September 1914 and spent a few days around the town, before moving to go into action. I'd originally hoped to visit some of the places mentioned in letters home but all seems to be gone.

[carlmm]

Just now, Harters said:

Learning that ruined my original plans for our day in Le Havre. My local battalion landed there in September 1914 and spent a few days around the town, before moving to go into action. I'd originally hoped to visit some of the places mentioned in letters home but all seems to be gone.

You might do some more in depth research in this special case. The destruction was total in the city centre.

In other areas/ parts of the town, there are pre war buildings remaining.

[Harters]

Thanks for that tip. I had assumed a wipe-out. But I'll now do some Googling to see if there's anything about specific locations.  I do know that three of my local men are buried in the largish war graves cemetery on the edge of town, so I may go and pay my respects.  

[Funseekers]

I think we are leaning towards going to Honfleur DIY tour. Thank you all for your help.

[edinburgher]

I lthink we are leaning towards going to Honfleur DIY tour

"Leaning towards" is not yet  a definite plan.

 

To help you decide for sure, Google Honfleur for info and pics/images.  It really is very pretty, and for a first visit to Europe,I think you will be charmed as it will be totally different from any previous experiences you have enjoyed elsewhere.

 

 

Edited September 5, 2022 by edinburgher

[mousefan73]

Any tips on DIY Honfleur? googling and not finding updated specifics.. Public transport?

thx

[Hlitner]

13 hours ago, mousefan73 said:

Any tips on DIY Honfleur? googling and not finding updated specifics.. Public transport?

thx

Honfleur is a relatively small village.  Once you find a way to get to the town (usually via taxi or a bus) those who are able to walk a couple of miles can explore nearly then entire town.  There are some downtown streets that have their share of shops, a few larger stores, etc.  Our favorite area is across the road from the main downtown area where you find the small harbor area which is lined with cafe/restaurants and some shops.  DW and I love wk around this entire area (this will take no more than 30 min) and read the menus (usually posted on chalk boards) of each of the restaurants.  If it is a nice day, we love to have a long lunch outdoors (most of the places have both indoor and outdoor dining) where we soak up the atmosphere, enjoy the small harbor view and people watching, as we enjoy good French food/wine.   The best Moules Frites (mussels and fries) we have ever enjoyed was at one of these places.  The best description of Honfleur (especially this small area around the harbor) is charming.  My hint" for eating lunch in France is to look at each restaurants posted "menu" or "formula" which is their special of the day.  These "menus" will generally represent a very good value when compared to simply ordering off the regular/full menu.   Sometimes the "menu" will even include a 1/2 Carafe of house wine.  For folks that are not  wine snobs, the house wines (usually served by the glass, half carafe, or full carafe is usually very drinkable wine at an excellent price.  Cafes/restaurants often buy these wines by the barrel from which they fill the carafe or sometimes an open/cleaned wine bottle.  The French take their wine very seriously, and it would be rare for a cafe to have a bad house wine!  

 

Hank

[mskaufman]

Here are some pictures we took in Honfleur this summer.  Next summer we will probably go to Mont St Michel from Le Havre

 

Belgium France 2022 (shutterfly.com)

 

 

[KansasScrapper]

We are thinking about renting a car.  Not having a lot of luck finding one open when we are there on a Sunday.  Looking at doing a tour with Viator for a day to the DD sites.  Anyone had luck on renting at this port?

[Hlitner]

On 11/1/2022 at 7:31 PM, KansasScrapper said:

We are thinking about renting a car.  Not having a lot of luck finding one open when we are there on a Sunday.  Looking at doing a tour with Viator for a day to the DD sites.  Anyone had luck on renting at this port?

Renting a car on Sunday (or the 299 (lol)) French holidays) is a problem at other than major airports and train stations.  Not aware of any Le Havre rental offices open on Sundays.  We actually consider Sundays/Mondays as part of our planning before we choose a particular cruise for just this reason.  We have rented at this port (from rentacar.fr, Hertz, and Europcar) but never on a Sunday.  A tour is probably your best option on that day of the week (assuming you can find a French tour company that works on Sundays :).

 

Hank