PORT AND OLD BASIN OF HONFLEUR

A must-see, iconic site, any visit to Honfleur starts with the Vieux Bassin! Created in 1681 by Abraham Duquesne (a great ^17th-century French naval officer), and commissioned by Colbert, the Vieux Bassin is a key piece of the Honfleur puzzle. Its image is engraved in the collective unconscious. Between the Quai Sainte-Catherine to the west and the Quai Saint-Etienne to the east, the area, lined with picturesque houses mostly built in the ^17th and ^18th centuries, has never ceased to inspire painters, photographers and artists of all kinds. Claude Monet, Gustave Flaubert, Raoul Dufy, Johan Barthold Jongkind and Eugène Boudin, among others, have taken the quays of Honfleur around the world. The tall houses clustered around the Vieux Bassin, combined with the famous luminosity of the Normandy sky, form a mythical backdrop. Some of these houses are corbelled, and many are slate-trimmed and listed as Historic Monuments. Craftsmen, painters and art galleries continue to immortalize the old port, which is lively in all seasons.

Today, the Vieux Bassin is Honfleur's marina, with 80 berths, 30 of which are reserved for visitors. Old sailing ships are often moored at the foot of the harbour master's office, preserving the town's typical maritime character. The Capitainerie, or Lieutenance, at the end of the Vieux Bassin, is so called because it served as the home of the King's lieutenant from the ^17th century onwards. On the quayside, not far from the old salt granaries, stands the beautiful ^14th and ^15th century church of Saint-Etienne, now the Musée de la Marine. Finally, overlooking the channel, the 1978 drawbridge completes our tour of the basin.

Already an important town during the Hundred Years' War, Honfleur became a military port under Louis XIV. As the port of departure for Samuel de Champlain's expedition, which led to the founding of Quebec in 1608, Honfleur was one of the great cradles of American exploration. In those days, the fleet fished for cod right up to the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, not far from Quebec City. After the loss of Newfoundland and Canada in the ^18th century, maritime activities were reduced to coastal shipping.

Bars and restaurants abound around the Vieux Bassin, often charging high prices. If you're looking for a bite to eat or a drink, take a stroll down one of the narrow streets adjacent to the Old Basin!