Lower Normandy. Attractions Calvados and Orne on the map

Attractions Calvados deserves a closer look: cider, cheese, calvados, picturesque old towns and trendy resorts nearby. And the beaches are wonderful everywhere. The whole line of beaches is also connected with the history of D Day. For the D Day I give a separate map.

Perhaps few will get to Orne, it is too far from the sea, but it makes sense to study the map of Orne too – maybe you will want to stop there for a couple of days on the way.

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Fecamp attractions

Fecamp attractions / Normandie Fecamp Sehenswürdigkeiten

Fecamp is one of the largest cities on the coast. The next to the south is Le Havre, to the north is Dieppe.

All cities, towns and villages are arranged according to the same principle: high gypsum banks (Alabaster Coast) are cut by a river of greater or lesser strength, a large or small gorge is formed and also an exit to the water, houses grow around this exit.

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Upper Normandy tourist attractions. 1. Seine Maritime

Etretat view to Fecamp Alabaster coast / Etretat Fecamp Blick Alabaster Küste

Main Upper Normandy tourist attractions are a picturesque Alabaster coast with chalk cliffs. The castles here and there are in most cases not the most outstanding and more like the estates of not too rich nobles. Nice villages with old houses. Calvados and Camembert. Gardens planted by talented gardeners. The beaches are pebbly, in some places at low tide you can find sand, which becomes more in the north.

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“Hanging” Valley in Senneville sur Fecamp

Senneville sur fecamp

Nearby hamlet, north of Fecamp, Senneville sur Fecamp. I knew that there was access to the sea, but where exactly was not clear. There are no signposts. I pointed my finger at a promising dead end on the navigator.

List of villages with “hanging” valleys can be found on the map of attractions.

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What to see in Alsace. Alsace attractions from Selestat to Colmar

Elsass Alsace Ribeauville

We continue to explore Alsace attractions. In the previous part, we got from the north to Selestat. Now let’s go further south. Here the number of attractions and picturesque towns increases. Endless vineyards stretch along the hills, and in the half-timbered old villages you will find no less endless vinotheques.

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What to see in Alsace. 1. Northern Alsace

Strasbourg what to see Strassburg Altstadt

What to see in Alsace? Half-timbered towns, cultural attractions, wine routes, castles. Nature is represented by the Rhine and the Vosges. But for hiking the Black Forest mountains seem to me more beautiful than the Vosges. It is worth hiking through the local hills in autumn, when the vineyards become colorful.

In this part we explore Northern Alsace from Germany to Selestat.

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Rouen old town

Rouen old town / Rouen Altstadt

Rouen old town is full of half-timbered houses and in general a nice, green city. I cannot remember cities of this size with so many unkilled half-timbered houses. It is all the more surprising that the city had a rather turbulent life (they could have burned or destroyed everything) and a good income (they could have rebuilt everything in stone).

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Loire cycle route. Tours – Villandry

Loire cycle route / Loire Radweg

The section of the Loire cycle route from Tours to Villandry deserves a your attentioin, even if you’re not a big fan of cycling. Idyllic landscapes, not too tiring road through the fields with poppies and cornflowers along the slow river and at the end of a beautiful castle with Renaissance gardens.

Villandry combines fine with other castles – as a bicycle, car or bus route to several points.

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Savoy Venice – Annecy attractions

Annecy attractions / Annecy Altstadt

Annecy, like many cities with canals, is called the second Venice, in this case adding “Savoy”. You can spend a day on beautiful Annecy old town. Menton castle, gorge du Fier, secret gardens, Mount Sambuy – another three days. If you want to relax and swim in the lake, you can spend 10 days not boring. It’s quite expensive though, in my opinion. More available with car. But as a base for regular trips to Chamonix, Annecy is not suitable even with a car – too far away. Just one visit to get to know.

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