Zeebrugge and LeHavre

[Mooneydiva]

Can anyone please tell me how far it is from Zeebrugge to Brugge, and from LeHavre to Normandy?

 

I understand Brugge is just wonderful. . .Anything we need to plan to see?

 

Having been to Paris, Normandy is our choice for an excursion when docked at LeHavre. Any thoughts on those excursions?

 

Thanks!! :D

[paul929207]

As I recall it is about 45 minutes from LeHarve to Honfleur. The D-day beaches are farther.

 

Things to see in Normandy:

 

Honfleur

D-day beaches

Caen

Bayeau - The Bayeau Tapestry, made in 1068, tells the story of the Norman Conquest of England. It is about 225 feet long.

 

Paul

[English Jane]

Le Havre is in Normandy. My top chioce would be Mont St Michel. Also great are Honfleur, Deauville, Giverny, D-Day tour (Caen / Arromanches area).

 

In Bruges / Brugge - take a horse-drawn tour from the central square. The english speaking drivers will also give you a fascinating commentary. Top purchases are lace and - of course - chocolate.

 

Jane

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[pamkev]

Jane,

I see that you live in England, would you mind or anyone else for that matter, please let me know how easy it is to get to Canterbury from Dover. We will be staying in Dover 2 nights precruise in Sept and would like to go to Canterbury or Kent. Can we do this by train and if so how long a ride to there and is it doable.

 

Thanks for any info

[English Jane]

How about hiring a car and doing the following tour.

 

Castle to Cathedral (Dover to Canterbury)

 

Dover

Dover is mainly known as a cross channel ferry port, but it is a town

steeped in history. It has one of the finest Norman Castles in the country

with a commanding view over the straits of Dover. In the cliffs underneath

is Hellfire Corner, which was a wartime command post controlling the

straits of Dover, Other places to visit in the town include the Roman

painted house, Victorian Gaol, the White Cliffs Experience and the Grand

Redoubt. On the return you will pass Kearsney Abbey, if your ride is on a

Sunday, the East Kent Railway Steam Train at Shepherdswell, and past

Higham Park Gardens.

1. From the town centre follow the one way street system north towards

Canterbury. Pass along the High Street and London Road and at the end

of the one way street system bear left and climb Crabble Hill, at the traffic

lights fork left signposted River and Crabble Corn Mill.

2. Turn right into Lower Road. Pass the mill and continue along Valley Road.

Turn right at T unction and immediately left into left into River Street. Turn

left at the junction by Dublin Man O War Public House. Turn left at the

next junction into Alkham road signposted Kearsney Abbey.

3. Turn right by park signposted Temple Ewell and pass under bridge. Turn

left at crossroads at the top of a short slope and head into the countryside.

Pass under Railway Bridge and enter village of Lydden. Just before

chapel fork right into Stonehall Road signposted Eyethorne. After a dip in

the road turn right at T junction and climb hill to the top and junction with

busy main A2.

4. Take great care at this staggered crossroads, turn left followed almost

immediately right signposted Coldred. Continue through Coldred to

Shepherdswell and by the village stores turn right to go to railway station.

On Sundays steam trains run on the East Kent Railway, a former Colliery

line, which starts at the station.

(6 miles)

5. From the station return to the village stores and turn right towards Wollage

and leave village of Shepherdswell. Straight on at next crossroads

following signs to Wollage Green and Wollage Village. Straight on at

crossroads signposted Nonnington and Snowdon. Take next left

signposted Barnham and Canterbury and left at T junction. Pass

Woodpecker Hotel and at T junction turn left onto B2046 signposted

Barham and Canterbury.

6. Straight on at roundabout and cross over bridge over A2. At T junction

turn right and almost immediately left signposted Barham. At crossroads

turn right and enter village of Barham passing church and Duke of

Cumberland Public House. At T junction turn right into Valley Road.

(12 miles)

7. Leave village of Barham. Pass Black Robin Public House (an excellent

food stop if you are hungry) and take the next turning in the left signposted

Kingston. 200 meters up the lane turn right into a bridlepath and slowly

ride along this track to Bishopsbourne. In a while this track becomes a tree

lined road past a cricket field.

8. Enter the village of Bishopsbourne. Pass Mermaid Inn on your left and the

Blacksmiths Forge on your right. Just before church turn right and at foot

of hill, turn left (unsigned), and ride through Bourne Park.

9. At T junction on Bridge Hill turn left and descend hill to Red Lion Public

House. Turn right and follow Cycle Route 16/17. Enter village of

Patrixbourne noting the diversity of styles of architecture in this most

attractive village. At mini roundabout at the end of the village veer left and

almost immediately fork right into Hode land and up the hill to Hode Farm.

10. On left hand bend go straight ahead into private road through orchards.

Enter Canterbury through a housing estate, Pilgrims Way. Bear right over

railway bridge where road becomes Pilgrims Road. By Chaucer School

turn left into Spring Lane. At T junction turn left into St. Martins Hill and

almost immediately right into special Cycle lane in North Homes Road.

11. Follow special track along North Homes Road and continue straight ahead

into Cycle path. At junction with busy Military Road cross road to central

island, turn left and cross again. Enter alleyway and follow to Northgate.

12. At junction with road turn left, and take the second turning on the right into

St. Radigunds Street. Pass Millers Arms, pass over River Bridge and turn

right into the Causeway. At next junction go straight ahead into Station

Road West and follow road through new housing estate until you come to Canterbury West Railway Station.

(19 miles)



By train



Dover Priory to Canterbury takes about half an hour depending on how many stops your train makes in between the two.

 

Jane

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[Mooneydiva]

Le Havre is in Normandy. My top chioce would be Mont St Michel. Also great are Honfleur, Deauville, Giverny, D-Day tour (Caen / Arromanches area).

 

In Bruges / Brugge - take a horse-drawn tour from the central square. The english speaking drivers will also give you a fascinating commentary. Top purchases are lace and - of course - chocolate.

 

Jane

x

 

Sorry. :confused: I mis-wrote the question. What I meant to ask was the distance between the port and the D-Day beaches/tours.

 

Thanks for the info. . . .

 

Chris :cool:

[pamkev]

Thanks Jane we have thought about renting a car. How hard is that to do in Dover?

[paul929207]

Renting a car in Dover:

 

Hertz has (had?) an office right near the pier in Dover. We rented a car at Gatwick and returned it in Dover. The Hertz angent closed the office and drove us to the pier.

 

Paul

[M&A]

Can anyone please tell me how far it is from Zeebrugge to Brugge, and from LeHavre to Normandy?

 

I understand Brugge is just wonderful. . .Anything we need to plan to see?

 

Having been to Paris, Normandy is our choice for an excursion when docked at LeHavre. Any thoughts on those excursions?

 

Thanks!! :D

 

We visited Brugge last May during our Transatlantic. There is a train from Blankenburge, which is close to Zeebruge port, it's about 10km and a fast 10 minute train trip. It was a Saturday when we were there and the trains leave from Blankenburge not Zeebruge. A weekend return trip was around 5 Euros - very good deal.

[momofmeg]

Jane,

I see that you live in England, would you mind or anyone else for that matter, please let me know how easy it is to get to Canterbury from Dover. We will be staying in Dover 2 nights precruise in Sept and would like to go to Canterbury or Kent. Can we do this by train and if so how long a ride to there and is it doable.

 

Thanks for any info

 

Hi Pam! I will be in Dover one night pre-cruise myself! You are on the Connie TA right?

 

I would like to know more about the offerings around LaHarve myself-I am not interested in taking a 3 hour bus drive both ways to see Paris. chocolate and lace does sound good!

[normandy44]

American Normandy Beaches are between 1H30 and 2H from le Havre when you drive at a normal speed. May I suggest to you to drive to your furthest point first which could be Pointe du Hoc (Rudders'srangers battle)

It is 2 Hours far from le Havre but you have the motorway all the way long.

Then you will catch the coastal road and after Pointe du Hoc you will stop at Omaha beach - After you drive to Colleville where stands the American War Cemetery - and you finish with Arromanches with the ruins of the British Prefabricated port. There if you have time enough you may visit the excellent war museum and attend at the 360° movie performance

And then back to le Havre. It takes 2 hours from Arromanches.

If you are a good driver you may try to go to Utah. But Utah is much farther and you may be short of time. Depends at what time your boat leaves le Havre. You may also make a stop in Bayeux where the famous tapestry is exhibited. But this stop takes at least 1H.

Don't forget that in France when you speak of Normandy it means a region, a large part of France. What you want to see is named "the landing beaches" and those beaches are a very small part of the Normandy coast. Friendly yours :)

[daiB]

Can anyone please tell me how far it is from Zeebrugge to Brugge, and from LeHavre to Normandy?

 

I understand Brugge is just wonderful. . .Anything we need to plan to see?

 

Having been to Paris, Normandy is our choice for an excursion when docked at LeHavre. Any thoughts on those excursions?

 

Thanks!! :D

 

 

 

Hi Mooneydiva,

 

You do not say which cruise line you are with. However I think that most will have a shuttle bus which goes direct to Blankenberge. and it lets you off outside the railway station. Here you can get your train to Brugge. They are at 10 or 20 past the hour every hour. The journey takes 10 minutes.

 

From the square opposite you can catch a tram to Oostende. It takes about 30 to 40 minutes and costs only a few euros.

 

However why not stay in Blankenberge itself. It is a pleasant seaside resort with plenty of shops, a good beach, a casino, and many cafes.

[Hot2Travel]

Le Havre is in Normandy. My top chioce would be Mont St Michel. Also great are Honfleur, Deauville, Giverny, D-Day tour (Caen / Arromanches area).

 

In Bruges / Brugge - take a horse-drawn tour from the central square. The english speaking drivers will also give you a fascinating commentary. Top purchases are lace and - of course - chocolate.

 

Jane

x

 

Jane, We have one day in port LeHavre and considering seeing Bruges. How far is it and what are our options for transportation and travel time?:) :)

[English Jane]

Hi,

I wouldn't recommend Le Havre to Bruges - it's at least a 3 hour drive and a train would also be quite tricky. Bruges is much nearer to the French ports of Calais or Boulogne but Le Havre is quite a long way further west along the French coast. The ports that are really convenient for Bruges would be Zebrugge or Rotterdam.

 

There are many fantastic places near to Le Havre however. Just a 20 minute drive away is the very prettty port of Honfleur for example. As I have visited this area many times (and there is also a local that sometimes posts) if you have any specific interests we could give you some further suggestions.

 

Jane

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[Hot2Travel]

Hi,

I wouldn't recommend Le Havre to Bruges - it's at least a 3 hour drive and a train would also be quite tricky. Bruges is much nearer to the French ports of Calais or Boulogne but Le Havre is quite a long way further west along the French coast. The ports that are really convenient for Bruges would be Zebrugge or Rotterdam.

 

There are many fantastic places near to Le Havre however. Just a 20 minute drive away is the very prettty port of Honfleur for example. As I have visited this area many times (and there is also a local that sometimes posts) if you have any specific interests we could give you some further suggestions.

 

Jane

x

 

Thanks Jane for the reply. Honfleur sounds like what we are looking for. Investigating the charm and architecture of a 17th century town and picturesque port untouched by the wars would interest us.

Any info you may have and transportation suggestions would be appreciated.:) :)

[English Jane]

There are some buses but they can be infrequent. A better bet would be a taxi - they are lined up right outside the port. I should think you could make a deal to be collected at a later time - it's only a 20 minute drive away at most. You could happily spend a whole day in Honfleur

 

In Honfleur there are some fascinating little museums, beautiful churches and many art galleries. The main reason for visiting is the scenic harbour with small streets behind which are great for wandering around. I'm sure you'll love it.

 

Jane

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[Mooneydiva]

Thank you, everyone, for your replies.

 

Normandy44, I know Normandy is a region. . . I was writing the post quickly and without thinking, so I wasn't more specific. Thank you, for your thoughts on the beaches and such.

 

I didn't mention that we'll be on Celebrity Century, arriving on a Sunday, if I'm not mistaken. We have driven through Italy and Ireland, so we're not opposed to driving while in LeHavre, especially since we're there 12 hours or so. From what I understand, the car rental agencies are closed on Sunday. Do you know if that's true?

 

I am now also very interested in Honfleur. If anyone has suggestions for that area, I would appreciate it. Do any of you have transportation suggestions?

 

Re: Bruges. . .I am so excited about going to Bruges. Celebrity has a tour of Brussels (too large and too far away, in my opinion), and I think they have one or two tours of Bruges. However, I get the impression that we can do a walking tour ourselves.

 

Ho long do I have?????

 

Chris :cool:

[Kindlychap]

You are better off without a tour in Brugge/Bruges. It is quite small enough to walk.

 

There are some cracking museums, and the canals and building are lovely. A canal trip is worth doing if the weather is good - and I'm sure that the carriage ride is too, although the horses look a little sad.

 

But the glory of Brugge is food. Mussels, Beer and Chocolate. Eat in the main square, with a large bowl of mussels. Superb.

 

Don't try and save money on the chocolate - you're better off with four good ones than twelve cheap ones!

 

We went a while back on the Arcadia (:( ) - and it was raining (:mad: ) but we still had a wonderful time.... (:D )

 

Matthew

[irb33785]

You seem to know your way around. We will be in Brugges and I would like to know the best places to look for lace, beer and chocolate. Any help will be much appreciated since we only have the day. We will be taking a van from the port to the city (pre-arranged). With much gratitude for your in sight, Brenda

[Mooneydiva]

Thank you, Matthew, for your ideas.

 

I, too, am interested in knowing a good place to get chocolate :D . . .

beer. . ..

lace. . . .

My husband will like the mussels. . .I'm afraid I don't eat them. :(

 

I was thinking that a tour in Brugge wouldn't be necessary. I'm glad to see that others thing that, too.

 

Chris :cool:

[English Jane]

Hi,

 

Bruges was made for walkers, and the tangled streets mean you can go for hours without repeating a vista. East of the Markt is the beautiful Burg square, home to the Basilica of the Holy Blood (Burg 13, 050 336 792, www.holyblood.org), with its Romanesque St Basil’s Chapel, art and religious relics (1139-49). The Town Hall is an imposing 14th-century Gothic building housing a collection of historic artefacts.

Over the bridge from Burg, there’s a fish market (vismarkt) every morning from Tuesday to Saturday. Nearby, Dijver street holds the Groeninge Museum (Dijver 12, 050 448 743, closed Mon), with Belgian and Dutch paintings, including works by Jan van Eyck and Hieronymous Bosch, and the Gruuthuse Museum (Dijver 17, 050 448 762, closed Mon) with a fine collection of medieval art.

 

Further south, the Church of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, Mariastraat, 050 345 314, closed Mon) boasts Michelangelo’s Madonna with Child in its collection. Also in Mariastraat, the Memling Museum (Mariastraat 38, 050 448 770, closed Mon) displays the Flemish painter Hans Memling’s work inside one of Europe’s oldest surviving medieval hospitals. Next door, the collection at the Archaeological Museum (Mariastraat 36, 050 448 711, www.raakvlak.be, closed Mon) dates from the Stone Age.

 

The main shopping district is between ’T Zand, with its Saturday morning market, and the Markt. ’T Zand’s Concert Hall (Concertgebouw, 050 476 999, www.concertgebouw.be) showcases international and Belgian music and theatre – don’t miss the views from the café on the Lantern Tower.

Minnewater, in the south of the city – known as the Lake of Love, with its swans and willows – is ideal picnicking territory. North of the centre, the Choco Story Museum (Wijnzakstraat 2, 050 612 237, www.choco-story.be) is a tempting chocolate-making museum.

Note that information on all museums can be found on the tourist office website.

• Tourist information: ’t Zand 34 (050 448 686, www.brugge.be); branch at train station.

 

There are several lace shops - they all sell very similar goods and the prices are reasonable. As a rough rule, the further away you are from the central square - the more reasonable the price. Not all the lace is made in Bruges - for the most authentic lace I believe there is a school of lace that sells the highest quality work but I'm not sure where it is.

 

All the chocolate is expensive by US standards but it is really a different product. Handmade using top quality cocoa - again there are several shops and the prices are similar. 'Godiva' is one make that tastes gorgeous but there are many others just as lovely. The chocolate shops tens to double as sweet shops with very extensive 'pick and mix' also - they're very colourful.

 

Beer -

De Garre, 1, De Garre: Hidden in a backyard, this pub offers a nice atmosphere and about 100 different kinds of beer, including home-brewed ones.

 

t Brugs Beertje, Kamelstraat. This excellent pub has hundreds of different beers and an authentic beer-cafe atmosphere. The front bar is crowded; what looks like the door through to the restrooms opens on another bar area.

 

Art tavern "De Kogge": this friendly place on Braambergstraat, near the fishmarket, is a wonderful place to stop by for a few drinks. This family-run place is amazingly friendly, and with 6 beers on tap, as well as 20 more on offer, it is a great place to sample some beer along with the local crowd. The building was previously owned by the Guildhouse of the Cereal-Carriers

 

Vlissinghe tavern, on Blekerstrat (on the way to the Jerusalem church, is one of the less touristy bars and has a nice selection of draught and bottled beers - closed Mondays and Tuesdays. It's probably the oldest pub in Bruges dating from 1515.

 

My favourite spot - The Begijnhof or convent, between the centre of the station and the city, with white painted small houses and fine plane trees.

 

Have a great time,

Jane

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