Dieppe

Dieppe is a town in Normandy on the north coast of France, approximately opposite Brighton on the English coast.

Dieppe has a long and interesting history, having been an important port linking William the Conqueror's English kingdom with his Normandy duchy in the 11th century, and later an important port for smuggling. It endured centuries of conflict right up until 1944. Today, it's an important ferry and fishing port, and a pleasant seaside resort.

Understand
Perhaps because of its drippy-sounding name, Dieppe is unfairly characterised in the British media as a boring and rainy resort, popular only for its ease of access from Newhaven. Well, the town can't do anything about the weather, but there is little truth to the rest of the cliché. Dieppe is in fact the nearest beach resort to Paris, and is lively all year round. It has a fine beach, a good range of activities, several pretty harbours, lots of attractive brick architecture and numerous critically-acclaimed seafood restaurants.

Dieppe is also well-known for a raid on the area during World War II, on the 19th of August 1942, by a predominantly Canadian force. Casualties were heavy and some consider the attack a disaster for the Allies, but others argue that it provided intelligence that was essential in planning the D-Day invasion. Later in the war, as the Allies drove east after D-Day, Canadian troops had the left flank and liberated Dieppe. You will rarely find a French flag flying in Dieppe without a Canadian flag alongside it.



By boat
DFDS Seaways from Newhaven, England carries cars and foot passengers across the English Channel in about 4 hours, with tickets starting from £23 each way on foot, £45 each way with a standard car, or £90 with a private van (Dec 2023). The ferry has a bar, shop, restaurant, and lounge deck.

By train
There are trains to Dieppe from Rouen (50 min, from €5) or Paris (2 hr trip, connection via Gare de Rouen from €16; direct trips from €20 as of Dec 2023). The town also has a small aerodrome 3 km away in Saint-Aubin.

By bus
Flixbus runs service to Dieppe from Charles de Gaulle Airport (3 hr 40 min, from €10 or €12 depending on day of travel), as well as several transportation hubs in Paris (2 hr 45 min to 3 hr 45 min depending on stop, from €10, as of Dec 2023 ).

Get around
Dieppe is a small town with a population of about 35,000 (54,000 for the metropolitan area called Dieppe Maritime). Most of the tourist destinations are within walking distance of hotels, but you can hire bicycles for a few euros per day from opposite the tourist information office in the harbour area.

See
The historic town centre, reconstructed by M. De Ventabren, architect to Louis XIV, after the bombardment of 1694.
 * Avenue Verte - Hire a bike, and head for the 40-km, traffic-free Avenue Verte, which follows the old Paris-Dieppe railway. Follow the Rue du Géneral Chazny out of town, through Rouxmesil-Bouteilles to Arques la Bataille. Bear left then right to Saint Aubin le Cauf. You'll find the start of the Avenue Verte before you get to St Aubin.
 * Saint-Marguerite-sur-Mer. With neighbouring Varengeville, an attractive area just 5km to the west of Dieppe. The painter Georges Braque is buried in the Church of Saint Marguerite.
 * Avenue Verte - Hire a bike, and head for the 40-km, traffic-free Avenue Verte, which follows the old Paris-Dieppe railway. Follow the Rue du Géneral Chazny out of town, through Rouxmesil-Bouteilles to Arques la Bataille. Bear left then right to Saint Aubin le Cauf. You'll find the start of the Avenue Verte before you get to St Aubin.
 * Saint-Marguerite-sur-Mer. With neighbouring Varengeville, an attractive area just 5km to the west of Dieppe. The painter Georges Braque is buried in the Church of Saint Marguerite.
 * Avenue Verte - Hire a bike, and head for the 40-km, traffic-free Avenue Verte, which follows the old Paris-Dieppe railway. Follow the Rue du Géneral Chazny out of town, through Rouxmesil-Bouteilles to Arques la Bataille. Bear left then right to Saint Aubin le Cauf. You'll find the start of the Avenue Verte before you get to St Aubin.
 * Saint-Marguerite-sur-Mer. With neighbouring Varengeville, an attractive area just 5km to the west of Dieppe. The painter Georges Braque is buried in the Church of Saint Marguerite.
 * Saint-Marguerite-sur-Mer. With neighbouring Varengeville, an attractive area just 5km to the west of Dieppe. The painter Georges Braque is buried in the Church of Saint Marguerite.
 * Saint-Marguerite-sur-Mer. With neighbouring Varengeville, an attractive area just 5km to the west of Dieppe. The painter Georges Braque is buried in the Church of Saint Marguerite.

Do
The Saturday morning market is a must-see. It is one of the largest and one of the most popular markets in Normandy. From 08:00 to 12:30 you can find almost everything there.

Event

 * International Kite Festival, held every other (even numbered) year in September.

Eat
There are plenty of traditional restaurants, especially for seafood, around the quayside area.



Vegetarian
You won't find a veggie French restaurant in Dieppe; in this regard the town is unfortunately typical of France as a whole. In fact, vegetarians will have a hard time in most restaurants here. Two good options serving vegetarian food from other cuisines are:



Drink
For a town of its size, Dieppe has quite a few bars and pubs, and most of them stay open late, typically until 02:00 weekdays and 04:00 on weekends.

Go next

 * Newhaven - Go across the channel to Newhaven in East Sussex. Services take around 4 hours and leave from the outer harbour and are run by DFDS Seaways. Despite the size of this car ferry, places reserved for pedestrians are relatively limited, so you will need to book in advance, although it is much cheaper to travel without a car.


 * Rouen