Le Havre-Etretat, the love destination!
At the seaside or in the countryside, 10 suggestions for amazing romantic places to go on the Alabaster Coast.
The Hanging Gardens
Inaugurated in 2008, this exceptional 10-hectare site overlooks the Seine Bay and offers superb views of the sea and Le Havre.
There are plenty of benches to enjoy in the various gardens that remind us of Le Havre’s explorers. The rose garden and plant maze are also well worth a visit! Fancy something a little warmer? Travel the world in the greenhouses with their evocative scenes of tropical forest and desert ecosystems! After this gentle walk, the Orangeraie serves great snacks based on local products. The Gardens also host many exhibitions as well as the MoZ’Aïques festival in mid-July.
A trip to the end of the world
Are you looking for the end of the world? It’s at Sainte-Adresse! Le Havre’s beach promenade continues north to a wilder site at the foot of the cliffs of the Alabaster Coast. You can then measure yourself against the work of Fabien Merelle, created as part of the artistic season Un Eté au Havre (One summer in Le Havre). Standing 6.24 metres high, Jusqu’au bout du monde (To the end of the world) symbolises the love that binds the artist to his daughter, represented on his shoulders.
This walk is a favourite among Le Havre’s lovers, especially at sunset.
The steps
Le Havre is full of surprises for those who know how to take their time. Between the upper town and the lower town, you can criss-cross the coast thanks to numerous flights of steps and quiet little streets. Beautiful houses and villas from the early 20th century, sea views and orientation tables punctuate your ascent. Don’t miss the Montmorency Steps, recently filled with colour where you can let your other half do a little modelling! And at the very top, you can visit the Fort! or maybe the Hanging Gardens.
The steps are signposted. A circuit is also available on request at the Tourist Office. Le Pays d’Art et d’Histoire (Land of Art and History) also organises guided tours in season.
The Mazzoni pastry shop, temptation in Le Havre
Close to the beach, Clément and Yoko make subtle pastries for couples to enjoy! At Mazzoni, surprising galettes, divine grapefruit tarts and many other creations updated to mark the passing seasons are sure to thrill your tastebuds!
A weekend cosying up by the sea
Between Etretat and Le Havre, the discreet Saint-Jouin Bruneval is the perfect place for your romantic getaway. In the heart of a 20-hectare park and meadows where horses gallop, Pins de César**** offers a number of very refined rooms. Depending on the season, you can enjoy an open-air Jacuzzi or the fireplace in your room! Unless you prefer a moment of wellness at the Nuxe Spa.
For dinner, the panoramic restaurant Le Belvédère offers some difficult choices: gaze at the cliffs of the Alabaster Coast, marvel at a true gourmet dish or stare longingly across at your partner!
Graville Abbey
A stroll through this site away from the hustle and bustle of the city has plenty of surprises: its terraced gardens overlooking the estuary, its 19th-century cemetery, the oldest in town, its Romanesque abbey church and museum partly devoted to religious statuary make Graville Abbey in Le Havre a site apart, both romantic and mysterious.
In June, the abbey church hosts a medieval music festival: the Prieurales.
Château du Bec, for a night out among the stars
A listed castle surrounded by a large wooded park and ponds: Château du Bec is an idyllic site for a lovers’ night out.
After an evening spent looking at the stars, you can return to your room: a bubble on a pond where you can fall asleep to the sound of the lapping water, a wooden hut suspended on the hillside listening to the mysterious sounds of the forest, or a hut on the riverbank to enjoy breakfast on the water!
A boat trip in Montgeon
Close to the city centre of Le Havre, the Montgeon forest provides a great refuge for a wonderful walk. Hand in hand, you can choose your path through this 270-hectare site. Impressionist at heart? You can sail in a boat on a vast stretch of water like in the paintings of Monet and Renoir, escorted by a few swans.
The romance ends with great rolls in the grass: 30 hectares of lawns and meadows await you!
Le Donjon,
a cosy Anglo-Norman château
On the heights of Etretat, this charming hotel and its restaurant provide a great bolt-hole for a weekend: romantic rooms with flowery wallpaper or soft colours, gardens, swimming pool, cosy lounges and cocktail bars, spa area, Le Donjon is the ideal place for moments together as a couple. In the kitchen, the chef will delight you with gourmet cuisine tasted in a room with a sea view, entirely decorated by the designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, a great lover of the place.
Bains des Docks Aquatic Centre, for a zen moment
The swimming pool designed by Jean Nouvel is one of the best in France. At Bains des Docks, you can of course swim in a 50-metre outdoor pool, but above all relax in a balneotherapy area with saunas, hammam, whirlpools and massage showers, or maybe enjoy treatments in its spa area. An experience for body and mind!