From the Viking invasions until the Impressionist painters, without forgetting the seafarers of the 16th and 17th c., the history of Honfleur is rich and the town remained authentic.
Go back in time wandering in narrow cobbled streets between half-timbered houses and get to the very picturesque Old Dock. Try to imagine the ships of seafarers, such as Samuel de Champlain, who left from Honfleur for his expeditions to Canada, and founded the city of Quebec in 1608.
The very special atmosphere of this place attracted painters : Courbet, Eugene Boudin, Jongkind or their “pupil”, Claude Monet and his Impressionist friends. Honfleur is still today a city of artists, with a lot of galleries.
You will get through the Caen gate and see the “ Lieutenance” only remnant of the old medieval fortifications. Keep going a little further through the old quarter of the ship-owners, and discover the uncommon church St Catherine, the biggest wooden church in France, which was built not long after the end of the Hundred Years War, by the ship-builders of Honfleur.
Then your guide can also lead you at the top of the hill “Côte de Grâce”, a pilgrimage place since the 10th C. From there the view on Honfleur and the impressive Normandy Bridge is outstanding ! The car will pass in front of the “Ferme St Siméon”, where Monet and the painters stayed in the 19th C.