A PHOTOGRAPHER’S VISIT TO HONFLEUR AND TROUVILLE IN WET, WINDY, WINTER
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Visit Honfleur and Trouville on the Normandy coast and be sure to pack a camera. Winter and summer alike I love these 2 seaside towns and visit them as frequently as I can. It is just over a 2 hour drive from Paris and a car is handy as you’re going to be whizzing between them. A lot more is said of Deauville but for me Honfleur and Trouville have more character and offer a greater variety of photos.
In winter I like to arrive in Trouville in time for lunch at Le Central, a big bustling brasserie that serves wonderful fresh small shrimps or fried whitebait with 2 small soles, although it’s all good here and very friendly. It’s particularly popular with locals, which is always a good sign. Now, a good meal and a couple of glasses of sauvignon later it is time to take out the camera.
Trouville is a fishing port and fresh fish vendors are lined up along the estuary. In warmer weather table and chairs are set up and it is here alfresco, that a delicious fresh seafood lunch can take place. The estuary is very photogenic with it’s fishing boats and loads of seagulls.
Right at the end is the casino and then the boardwalk, little huts and parasols. In summer I like to photograph Trouville in colour and in winter I tend to go for black and white.
I spent New Years day there this year and we drove from Paris in torrential rain but miraculously by the time we’d finished lunch the rain had stopped. Many of the shops were open in the pretty little back streets of Trouville making for good pictures with people walking by with their collars hunched up. After we took to the boardwalk and onto the windswept beach. The tide was way out and the storm had brought in piles and piles of shells of all sorts making for more interesting shots. There were people walking their dogs and screaming gulls swooping down and flying off.
We had booked into a wonderful bed and breakfast in Honfleur called La Cour Sainte Catherine so by about 4 or so we headed over there. It is a pretty drive through Villers, Criqueboeuf and Pennedepie. There are dozens of great bed and breakfasts and hotels at all prices all the way from Trouville to Honfleur. Some are off the beaten track but easily accessible by car. Most of them open in winter and some offer attractive prices compared to the summer.
The first thing you see approaching Honfleur is the stunning marina lined on two sides with its historic 16th-18th century buildings. A drawbridge connects the marina to the fishing port and on the other side is the town hall and many more beautiful buildings and cafés. It is a jaw dropping sight and you won’t know where to stand to get the best pictures. You’ll walk around it 10 times anyway so will find plenty of possibilities!
Behind the marina is the town with its charming, narrow winding streets, historical buildings, attractive shops, art galleries, food shops, cafés, restaurants and of course the marvellous 15th century church. Taking picture postcards of Honfleur isn’t difficult, what is harder is to take some time and try and take different pictures: The dog in the bicycle basket outside a pretty shop, bottles of calvados, or a particular building or sign, so that they stand out.
I like a telephoto and a wide angle. For the telephoto I would set the camera with an aperture priority so as not to miss anything and at f2.8 or f4 and focus on what you want and the background will fall away and hopefully give you good bokeh, but that’s another story! With a wide angle, just get up there nice and close and get the atmosphere.
We walked down to the harbour to take pictures of the almost full moon over the Marina before dinner. We chose to eat at Coté Resto, a bistro serving well presented dishes with a twist, at reasonable prices. In France we have 4 main types of restaurants, cafés, brasseries, bistros, or gastronomic. Honfleur has its fair share of good eating places, we are in Normandy after all! The brasseries offer moules frites that can be excellent (Le Capital in Trouville). If you are looking for a treat (gastronomic) then I would go to Le Bréard.
It wasn’t sunny the next day either, but we took a walk up to the Chapel Notre Dame de Grace and came back down via a different route and joined the coastal path. We walked along the beach with the industrial skyline of Le Havre barely visible across the horizon. It isn’t a pretty beach in summer but at low tide one can walk all the way to Trouville. I took a bunch of black and white pictures. I love landscapes, and the starkness and the textures did it for me.
A last walk along the cobbled streets of Honfleur, a few more photos and the purchase of a good bottle of calvados – tastes better when bought locally! We check our watches and set off for Trouville, in time to buy some fresh fish for dinner! We’re photographers but we do like our food! In 2018 I will be offering tailor made photography tours to Honfleur and Trouville. Join me, you will not be disappointed!
http://www.coursaintecatherine.com/guest-house-charme-honfleur-accomodation
https://www.thefork.com/restaurant/cote-resto/9313
https://www.restaurant-lebreard.com