15 Delightfully Charming Things To Do in Honfleur

Nestled along the Seine River, Honfleur is a charming seaside town steeped in maritime traditions. This picturesque port town, known for its stone and half-timbered houses and narrow cobblestone streets, has long been a hub of fishing and seafaring activities.

Strategically placed on the Seine estuary, where the Seine River (the same river that flows through Paris) meets the sea, a thriving trade market helped Honfleur flourish and become wealthy.

Plus, the picturesque setting of the town, especially around the Vieux Bassin, has inspired many Impressionist artists throughout the years, and it certainly inspired me! I was so incredibly charmed by the quaint port setting.

Here are the top things to see and do in Honfleur – read on to discover why this enchanting town is a must-visit destination in northern France.

15 Can’t Miss Things to Do in Honfleur

1. Vieux Bassin

The Vieux Bassin, or the Old Basin, is the soul of Honfleur. This rectangular-shaped port has been the center of fishing in Honfleur for centuries, and has been the location of the local fish market since the early 1800s.

Here, you can find boats moored against the pier lined by stately historic homes. Cafes and restaurants spill out onto the streets and tables fill the terraces.

It’s an incredibly picturesque scene and a nice place to stroll and grab a bite of lunch. As you can imagine, seafood features prominently on the menus of most restaurants! Mussels in particular are a very common dish in this part of Normandy.

On Saturday mornings there is a market set up in the port, which is a nice extra area to stroll through.

2. Musée Marin

The Maritime Museum of Honfleur is located in St. Stephen’s Church and sits right along the Vieux Bassin. The church was originally built in the 1300s, is the oldest church in town, and was in use until the French Revolution.

After the revolution, it was used for different purposes, such as a stock exchange, warehouse, and theater, before being converted into a maritime museum.

Here, you can admire models of different types of ships and memorabilia from military vessels, instruments of navigation, and weapons, as well as displays of how fishing was used in Honfleur.

I thought it was a charming and interesting look at Honfleur’s fishing history. 

Note: If you want to visit several of Honfleur’s 4 museums, it’s worth purchasing the Honfleur Museum Pass, which costs €13 and grants access to all the other. It can be picked up at any of the museums in town.

3. Rue des Petites Boucheries

Rue de la Petit Boucherie is a charming little alleyway between the Musée Marin and Rue de la Ville, named for the butcher stalls that used to fill the street.

This street was painted by one of the many Impressionists who flocked to the northern coast of France, that painting today hangs in the Eugene Boudin Museum in town.

4. Les Greniers à Sel

Les Greniers à Sel, or the salt granaries, are cellars dating back to the 1600s that could hold up to 10,000 tons of salt! The salt was generally used during cod fishing expeditions to preserve the fish.

Today, the historic granaries hold art exhibitions and festivals. There was a really nice art show on display when we were in Honfleur, and it’s worth stopping in.

5. Eglise Sainte Catherine

The Saint Catherine Chuch is the main church in town, near the Vieux Bassin, and it is a stunner! It is special because it is constructed entirely of wood, thanks to the plentiful wood and cheap woodworking labor available in Honfleur.

This is the largest wooden church in France, and the inside is very beautiful. There are two parallel, identical naves, half-timbered walls, and a vaulted ceiling, reminiscent of an overturned boat.

The bell tower is detached from the church and is home to a few small exhibits. You used to be able to climb up the bell tower, but when we were there the bell tower was closed for safety reasons. 

6. Musée Eugène Boudin

Born in 1824 in Honfleur, Eugène Boudin was an impressionist painter who spent much of his life in Normandy. He loved to paint scenes from the city of Honfleur, as well as coastal and countryside pieces from the surrounding region.

Boudin encouraged the creation of the fine arts museum in Honfleur and donated 70 of his works to the museum. About half of the artwork on display is from Boudin, but there are other Impressionist paintings (including a few Monets), as well as some sculptures, on display as well.

I appreciated that the vast majority of the artwork was scenes from Honfleur, Normandy, and the coast. This really is a “regional” museum and the artwork is lovely.

7. Musée du Vieux Honfleur

The Museum of Old Honfleur (also known as the Museum of Ethnography) gives you an intimate look at what Honfleur was like “back in the day.”

Situated in a historic building that used to be adjacent to the prison (where you can visit the cells), most of the museum is in the house. Each room represents a different aspect of life in Honfleur.

For example, you walk through the printing press room, the bourgeois room, the sailor’s room, the merchant’s room/general store, as well as bedrooms, kitchens, and rooms about clothing choices. 

It was a fascinating place to visit, as there were an amazing number of personal items on display – you saw outfits, hats, combs, toothbrushes, journals, ribbons, etc.

All of the items and displays made it easy to imagine what life was like for people in the 18th and 19th centuries living and working in the village.

8. Musée Satie

Erik Satie is a well-known composer in the music world, and he lived and worked in Honfleur for many years.

He was born in Honfleur in 1866, and he had a large influence and collaborated with many of the top artists and composers of his day, including Picasso, Jean Cocteau, Debussy, and Stravinsky.

His museum is a whimsical immersive experience that exposes you to his music and creativity as you go through different, themed rooms set to the soundtrack of his music.

The 2D room, and the room where you pedal a merry-go-round to make the middle umbrella open up, were particularly delightful.

The museum doesn’t share all that much about Satie, especially if you don’t read French, but the experience is rather interesting. 

9. Jardin des Personalités

This seaside garden is just outside of the Old Town of Honfleur and is SO charming and well-designed (despite my initial thought that the garden would be kind of kitschy).

Designed to be a free park serving the dual purposes of cultural immersion + playing area for Honfleur’s children, the garden pays homage to notable men and women associated with Honfleur.

Between the large, open green spaces and flower gardens are dozens of little flower-filled hedged alcoves shaped like boats, with busts and placards about influential people who lived in Honfleur.

It was fascinating to read about the many people showcased and to admire the beautifully designed alcoves – each one unique from the last.

Monet’s alcove was the fanciest, as he got a little human-made island on a pond, filled with water lilies and a small bridge out to the island – a nod to his fairytale gardens at Giverny.

10. Walk Along the Seaside Promenade

When we visited, this garden didn’t show up on Google Maps at all, but we loved it and thought it was a must visit in town. This lovely promenade follows the coast from the Vieux Bassin all the way around to the end of the Jardin des Personalités.

You can admire different boats coming in and out of the port, see where the Seine meets the sea, and just all around admire the sea views.

11. Le Jardin Retrouvé

The Retrouvé Garden is a massive hidden gem in Honfleur, hidden in plain sight just around the corner from the Vieux Bassin.

This public garden is so pretty – filled with fountains, statues, flowers, flower-covered archways, a little pond, a playground for children, and some walking paths.

Even though there were some decent crowds in the Old Town and Vieux Bassin area, the Jardin Retrouvé was blissfully peaceful and uncrowded. 

12. Saint Leonard Church

The Saint Leonard church is just a few minute’s walk outside of the Vieux Bassin area.

The murals on the archways and decorated ceilings made this church very pretty. We also really liked the statues of the different saints, including Jeanne d’Arc (Joan of Arc), surrounding the church’s nave. 

13. Chapelle Notre Dame de Grace

This quaint sailor’s chapel is on the Mont Joli hill, which sits just above town.

This is a small but special spot, dedicated to the fishermen who live and work in Honfleur – boats and steering wheels are hung up in the chapel and are placed by the altars for praying.

Don’t miss the large rack of bells on the ground on the north side of the church – at the top of the hour you can see them playing!

Right in front of the chapel is a viewpoint overlooking the Seine and over to Le Havre.

14. Mont Joli Viewpoint

Just a 5-minute walk down the road from the chapel is a gorgeous viewpoint over Honfleur and the Pont du Normandie bridge.

This is different than the viewpoint right in front of the chapel, which looks towards Le Havre and the sea. While this is an okay view, the Mont Joli Viewpoint is much more beautiful and shouldn’t be missed.

To reach either the viewpoint or the chapel is a short (20-minute) but pretty steep walk from the Old Town area. If you have a car, I’d consider just driving up here, but it’s also very doable on foot, just be prepared for a climb!

15. Pont du Normandie

The Normandy Bridge was built in 1995 to connect the upper and lower regions of Normandy, and at over 2km long, is the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world!

The suspension cables give it a very distinct design and the bridge is a distinctive backdrop to Honfleur.

While you can’t walk on it, you can view it from the Mont Joli Viewpoint and can see it from the coastal pathways. And if you’re traveling between Honfleur and Le Havre or Etretat, you’ll almost certainly be driving across this bridge.

Practical Information

Map of Attractions

How Long Do You Need in Honfleur?

You can easily see and do everything in Honfleur in a single day. Attractions are close together and don’t take all that much time. You could possibly compress your time into 4-5 hours, especially if you don’t visit all the museums.

Where to Stay in Honfleur

Alternatively, Honfleur does make for a good base if you’re exploring more of the coast of Normandy. I’d recommend these three hotels in Honfleur if you want to stay for a day or more in town:

• Hotel L’Ecrin : Gorgeous 18th century mansion with Old World decor, a greenhouse terrace, and lovely garden area with pool.
• Les Maisons de Lea: Charming hotel in historic salt warehouses and 16th century homes. Option to rent out an entire villa – perfect for groups.
• Hotel Le Dauphin: A charming hotel in a historic building right in the heart of Honfleur, with options for family rooms.

The Wrap Up

Honfleur is a quaint and picturesque gem on the northern coast of France and was one of my favorite places that we visited in Normandy. It’s definitely worth adding to your itinerary!

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