Honfleur

The Vieux Bassin at Honfleur is lined with tall narrow houses faced in slate, built up to six storeys on a small footprint, reflected in the water; the composition drew painters from the 1820s. Eugene Boudin was born here and worked outdoors on the Normandy coast before it was normal to do so, and it was Boudin who persuaded the young Monet to leave the studio, which makes this one of the places Impressionism came from. Sainte-Catherine, built by shipwrights after the Hundred Years War using ships' carpentry, is the largest wooden church in France, with a bell tower standing separately across the square.

What you actually see

• The Vieux Bassin - slate-fronted houses reflected in the old harbour.
• Sainte-Catherine - the largest wooden church in France, built by shipwrights.
• The separate bell tower - the campanile standing apart from the church.
• The Boudin museum - work by the painter who taught Monet to work outdoors.

When to go

April to October; Honfleur is extremely crowded in July and August and at weekends. Spring and September are better. The harbour is at its best early morning before the coaches.

Honest expectations

The town is small and gets overwhelmed by day-trippers and cruise passengers from Le Havre. Restaurants on the harbour are priced accordingly. Parking is difficult.

Nearby

Deauville lies west; Le Havre is across the Seine bridge.