Étretat

Étretat is a small coastal village in Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, France. The town is nestled between the famous towering cliffs, which inspired numerous paintings by the impressionist Claude Monet.

Understand
It is on the Alabaster Coast in Normandy. The beach is composed of stones that have been smoothed by the waves of the English Channel and the town is set just behind the beach.

English is not common here, but basic French or use of a phrasebook will get you by. The tourist information centre, next to the bus stop, has a lot of information about the history of the town and can direct you to the beach, a few blocks from the bus stop. Once at the beach, there are trails to hike up to either cliff. There are two large arch formations on the southwest side of the beach is one large arch on the northeast side of the beach; both are spectacular.

Get in
The town is quaint and picturesque, but somewhat difficult to reach because there is no train that goes to town. There are, however, main lines that go to Le Havre and Fecamp, both of which have buses that run a few times daily to Étretat. The bus ride is €2 per person per way, and the trip takes about 45 min through the countryside. Taking one of the taxis queued outside of the Le Havre train station to Étretat will cost around €60.



Get around
The town is very compact, so walking is the easiest way to get around. Parking places are limited in the centre, but there is a free car park in a field off the D39 road which is about 15 minutes walk from the tourist office.

See
You can walk or hike from the town to the tops of the cliffs and get a commanding view of the channel, the beach and the opposite cliffs.