Hulalady

We are a couple who are taking a Princess Cruise in May 2013 and our ship will be in the La Havre port for @ 8-10 hours . What would your top tour and/or attraction recommendations be in/from that area for the day?

Ciao,
Hula Lady

kerouac

You should go to Honfleur, on the other side of the Pont de Normandie. Frankly, I find Le Havre interesting as well. I have made photo reports about both places.

<b>Le Havre</b> : http://tinyurl.com/c6fesm2

<b>Honfleur</b> : http://tinyurl.com/bvhgrzb

joannyc

Another vote for Honfleur! Spent 2 nights there and loved it!

Gordon_R

Le Havre is not in Paris (I wish these cruise operators wouldn't mislead people like this).

StCirq

Le Havre itself is a fine place to visit, but for something with a lot of "atmosphere," head to Honfleur. And yes, Le Havre isn't even close to Paris - do cruise operators pretend it is?

bilboburgler

Le Havre has a WW2 undergound hospital but you need to check the town's website http://www.lehavretourisme.com/ or http://www.le-havre-tourism.com/ to see if it is open, the town centre is very 50s modern (in a nice way) and as a kid I used to love running around it. Honfleur would make a nice visit

bilboburgler

Harfleur (one of the other three flowers of france {Barfleur is no 3}) might be a nice day out. Looking at the websites there is no comment on the hospital so I guess that has gone, but a classy Impressionist's art gallery has sprung up, anyone been to it?

Hulalady

Thank you all for your helpful replies.

As for Paris, I believe we can take a tour there from the port. The time will be very limited there... Not sure if we'll get to go there someother time. Would it be worth seeing the city in 2-3 hours, and seeing the countryside to/from Paris... or would it be better to visit the areas closer to Le Havre?

Gordon_R

<i>Would it be worth seeing the city in 2-3 hours, and seeing the countryside to/from Paris</i>

No. It's totally pointless to "see" anything of Paris in such a short time (though I don't mind betting that the cruise line will try to sell you an expensive add-on tour), and the countryside in this area of France is sadly remarkably boring. Stick to areas close to Le Havre as others have recommended and save Paris for another trip when you can actually stay in the city for a few days and relax!

StCirq

No, it would be a waste of time to think you could get to Paris and back and actually do or see anything useful. Go to Honfleur (or as suggested Harfleur or Barfleur).

bilboburgler

Barfleur is way over on the tip of the Cotentin peninsula (i only mentioned it for completeness) I think it would be a waste of a journey, though the mussels are good ,

Harfleur is a little port on the other side of the Seine http://www.harfleur.fr/ very old centre and one of the ports that the Agincourt winners got home via.

Honfleur is on the Normandy coast and is famous for a the central old port and the artist community that grew up there.

See, I'm doing it again.

kerouac

Plan another trip devoted to Paris at some time in the future.

Hulalady

Merci Beaucoup!

I can hardly wait to land in Le Havre and visit Honfleur - Especially after finally viewing the marvelous photos posted by Kerouac. Wish we had more time to experience the area, it's people and culture.