Honfleur, a charming French town, sits where the Seine River flows into the English Channel, in the northern part of Normandy. Founded by Vikings in the 800s, Honfleur has served for centuries as a port for trade and travel. At its heyday in the 1600s, Honfleur enjoyed a brisk business with Canada (Eh? This surprised me). Then the city across the Seine, Le Havre, grew and replaced Honfleur as the major port here. As trade fell off, Honfleur attracted artists including Claude Monet and his teacher, Eugene Boudin. Today Honfleur has a working harbor, but its big draw is as a tourist destination. Honfleur proved just as delightful as I expected.
The Old Harbor
The harbor front is lined with sidewalk cafes. The jumble of bright-colored umbrellas gives the waterfront such a festive look. 
Saint-Catherine’s Church dates to the 15th century. It’s noteworthy that the church was built by the famous “axe masters” of the naval yards of Honfleur without using any saws. This style of construction can be traced back to the Vikings. 
The Historic Quarter
Honfleur not only has a lovely harbor but it also offers winding cobblestone lanes full of homes and shops, some as old as 1000 years. One reason the town is so well preserved is that it was not the focus of destruction in World War II. Its sister city across the water, Le Havre, was the port used by the Germans and then by the Allies. Sadly, Le Havre was 95 percent destroyed in the war, suffering damage from both the Germans and the Allies. Honfleur survived.
This picturesque port has attracted not only painters like Monet but also musicians. Erik Satie resided here for years. 
If you’re a fan of colorful front doors, Honfleur does not disappoint. 
This one puzzles me. I’m not sure what’s happening here . . . 
You’ll find shops with a variety of treasures. Several places sell local carmels, and they melt in your mouth. I took some home for my office mates and the candy disappeared so fast! 
Planning Your Visit
You can see the harbor and the old town in a short time, or you can plan to spend the night and amble along the colorful lanes at leisure. We were heading on north, so we arrived in the morning and left before lunchtime. Even if you have limited time and are driving through Normandy, a stop in Honfleur is refreshing. I would love to return and enjoy a dinner on the harbor!
Booking.com
We stayed in Bayeux during our time in Normandy, which I recommend as the perfect base for day trips. Honfleur is about an hour’s drive north of Bayeux. Unless you get lost. We have a talent for getting lost. But it was all good because the countryside of Normandy is lovely, with fields of green and Norman cows and tiny villages. And eventually we found Honfleur!
How about you? Do you have a favorite harbor city?
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41 Comments
What a gorgeous town. I wish we had visited it when in Normandy.
What a lovely place!
So much to see here! Am surprised this is Noramandy! It gives me the feeling o a Mediterranean place 9except for the fachwork on some of the walls). You hit all the colorful and interesting points for a travel-post, Sharon, well done! Many thanks for sharing it with your All Seasons buddies. Enjoy Autumn in San Diego:)
So many amazing colors!
WOW! What a charming town! Love, love, love the enchanting photos.
What a marvelous place – absolutely gorgeous! I’d love to walk these streets.
Thanks for joining us this week at https://exploringrworld.com/the-old-harbor-of-honfleur/
The old harbor is indeed charming. I love all the architectural details and the doors!
What beautiful architecture. I love those how calm the water is for those wonderful reflections too.
Such a delightful post! Your reflective photos are especially captivating! Thank you!
This place is right up my alley. The architecture is charming. I love the waterfront. Must add to bucket list.
It’s beauty is in the detail. Your photos show us how much there is to see in this picturesque town.
Magnificent photos and such an interesting harbor! I am especially partial to viewing old doors and windows
This is a wonderfully colorful place! I love all the textures and shapes,
Thanks for being a part of ‘My Corner of the World’ this week!
My Corner of the World
Sharon, your photos are gorgeous as always. They really paint the picture of the town and make me want to visit. #wanderfulwednesday
How gorgeous! I love the colours of the buildings in the harbour. Would also like to visit the Tissue Paper gallery. #wanderfulwednesday
Honfleur is a lovely quaint city. I love the brightly coloured half-timbered buildings.
It must be fun to moor your boat in such a lively place. We have a boat and our marina is within walking distance from our condo, but it isn’t as quaint as this. – Margy
Gorgeous photos! Looks like a beautiful town to visit, I am planning my first trip to France soon and would love to add this to the itinerary if time allows !
We’ve seen so many posts on Honfleur from our Camper community although we’ve never been. What a quintessential French place this is. I love it and out of season I would definitely now visit. thanks for sharing such wonderfully inspiring pictures. Kx
I have visited Honfleur many times as it is one of my French mother-in-laws favorite weekend spots from Paris, BUT it had been a good 10 years since I had been and I visited again in 2018 and wow! Lots of nice updates – and the RV park addition was pretty cool! Still busy during the summer months, but off-season I do love strolling through this town!
Beautiful pictures! I love all the doors and reflections!
So colourful. That door? I thought initially that the handles were to enable it open just at the top, but they are on the outside, so not at all practical plus the main handle would also obstruct their opening. Still mystified. #farawayfiles
This is really a beautiful place, and I really admire your photography. You capture the area perfectly!
Wonderful to revisit this charming place through your lens. I sailed here in 2011 but because I was not photographing seriously or blogging at the time, I have little to remember it by. Such a treat to sail it virtually again here today
What a quaint town. The Saint-Catherine’s Church sounds lovely. I’ve never heard of the “axe masters” before. It must have been difficult to construct without splitting the wood wrong.
oh how I loved seeing your photos of Honfleur. I used to see the pictures of the harbor on other posts etc and then to my delight in 2017 we actually went there. I fell in love and have fallen head over heels with your post. thank you
What a cute little place, looks like an old town from a childrens book 🙂
What a gorgeous town! I especially have a thing for doors and love all of the photographs.
Love the photos. What an interesting place!
I just love this area of France. I’ve only visited briefly once, and unfortunately did not get to Honfleur, but I am planning to go back and now it is firmly on my list. Thank you for this post.
Wow, this looks like my kinda place! Lovely. I especially adore those harbour side cafés, fantastic places for people watching!
#FeetDoTravel
Loved reading about this town. Those seaside cafes and walkways a great place to people watch for sure. And those doors are amazing!
Honfleur looks impossibly charming! Between your post and Clare’s (she’s written about it in the past), I know I would just love it. It seems like the type of place you can do in a day or take your time too, which is nice to know. Lovely photos as always! Thanks for linking up with #farawayfiles
Such a vibrant photo tour of Honfleur. It looks a fabulous place. I think it needs to go on my list!
This post just makes me so happy! I could sit there and look at these beautiful ships all day long! This harbour reminds me of Nyhavn in Copenhagen. I’ve been to Normandy many times but never visited this harbour but now I most definitely will! Thanks so much for making my day!
What an absolutely beautiful town. Love the doors and buildings, they’re all so colorful. I love visiting France and small towns even more. I’m adding this to my next trip there
What a beautiful place! I’d love to visit there!
Looks like a fab place for a stopover on a road trip with my (yet to be purchased) campervan. Thankyou for hihglighting it to us
Wow! Such a colourful place! I would love to visit and take pictures in front of the doors and buildings 🙂
I’ve never heard of Honfleur Harbor but now it’s on my bucket list for my France trip FOR SURE! It’s stunning! I can’t believe how charming and fairy tale-looking the Historic Quarter looks . Thank you for sharing – so happy to discover this place through your site.
My Aunt lived in Le Havre but unfortunately, I only visited a couple of years ago to help sort out her estate after she sadly passed away. I wish I had visited Honfleur as it looks so quaint & beautiful. We went to Etretat which I loved. I think I need to go back & explore a bit more…thanks for showing me why!