Veules-les-Roses

As I mentioned in my previous post, Veules-les-Roses was the last place I visited in Normandy. I went there with the host family I was staying with. Like Étretat, I hadn't heard of it before, but it's a village that's very popular with tourists, because it's so pretty.

When we got there, we went for a walk along the beach.

After lunch (and being ambushed by wasps 😨) we walked around the centre of the village, which was really nice. The smallest river in France, Veules, flows through the village, and that is where the first part of the name comes from. The second part comes from the fact that there are lots of roses (and other flowers) around the village.

As demonstrated by the photos, it's a very picturesque village. It reminds me a lot of the villages in the Cotswolds, near where I come from.

So the following week was my last week at the language school before returning to England. However, my travels weren't yet finished...

Dieppe

During my last weekend in France, I went on two excursions. The first one was to Dieppe and the second one was to Veules-les-Roses. I saw too many things in both places for just one blog post! So this one will be about Dieppe.

I particularly wanted to visit Dieppe because of its castle. (I have a slight obsession with castles and palaces!) It is just like something out of a fairytale, and what makes it even better is that there's a museum inside with various artefacts, including impressionist paintings.

The hill that the castle is on makes a great place for taking photos!

After visiting the castle, I had a look around the city. I saw L'église Saint Rémy...

...and L'église Saint-Jacques.

Next I went to the harbour.

And then I went for a walk along the beach.

The final thing I saw was the city gates.

Dieppe was probably my favourite place that I visited in Normandy, because it was so scenic and historical. It is also a very small city, so it's easy to travel around on foot. Overall, it was a nice way to spend my last Saturday in France!

Le Havre

One weekend, I decided to take the train to Le Havre, as I particularly wanted to visit Musée Malraux, an art gallery with many impressionist paintings.

The gallery is right by the ocean and has glass walls so you can see the sea, which makes it a really nice setting. Another advantage is that it's not too busy, unlike other galleries I've visited over the last year, such as Musée d'Orsay and the Uffizi gallery. I enjoyed looking at the impressionist paintings in the permanent collection, and also the exhibition that was taking place at the time (Né(e)s de l'écume et des rêves), an art collection inspired by the sea.

Afterwards, I explored the city, which was mostly destroyed during World War Two and rebuilt in the years that followed.

Buildings I saw included St. Joseph's Church...

...the cathedral...                                 

...and the city hall.

Before going back, I went for a ride on the funicular railway. There are very good views from the top. It made me think of Valparaíso!

I found Le Havre to be a really interesting place for a day out, especially for people who like art.

One of the good things about being based in Rouen is that it's easy to get to other nearby cities on the train. Le Havre is 50 minutes away, and Paris St. Lazare is about an hour and a half away. The closest city is Dieppe, which takes 45 minutes to get to. And that's where I went next!