The Delights of Honfleur
A lovely French village where historic, artistic and culinary riches converge
The moment my husband, Gerhard, and I arrived in Honfleur in December 2019, we were smitten.
The village is located on an estuary of the Seine River facing the English Channel, and we watched as the sunlight danced above the harbor on white fluffy clouds in a cold December sky. The smell of salt hit our nostrils as we walked along the Vieux Bassin (Old Dock), putting Gerhard—a landlocked Austrian who is in love with the sea—into rapture.
On our left, boats in various shapes and sizes were moored at the edge of the dock while a long row of tall, narrow homes dating from the 17th and 18th centuries stretched out on our right. Their earthen shades of tan, brown, gray and white provided a stark contrast to the bright-colored awnings of the shops at their base.
Small, cobble-stoned streets began to beckon us further into the village, past half-timbered, slate and brick homes whose ground floors boasted vibrant shops, restaurants, museums and art galleries.
In December 2019, we were in the midst of a major life transition. I officially retired from my job in Vienna on December 1 and then spent the next couple of weeks helping to pack up our apartment. On December 18, we loaded up our station wagon and headed west, across Germany and France. Our destination was Cherbourg-en-Contentin, where we would take the overnight ferry to Rosslare Harbour in Ireland and then drive five hours across the country to our new home near Dingle in County Kerry.
We arrived along the French coast a day before we were to catch the ferry. Finding ourselves with a bit of free time to explore the area, we happened upon Honfleur by chance.
What we discovered was a small port town (population 6,751) near the major port of Le Havre (population: 166,462). We only had a few hours to explore the town that trip, but we were so enamored by the beautiful location and the charming shops and streets that we have since returned two more times to explore Honfleur in greater depth.
A bit of history
Honfleur’s history dates back to at least the 11th century. Emerging as a key port during the Middle Ages, its position on the Seine estuary made it a valuable trading, fishing and boat building hub, as well as a defensive outpost.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Honfleur played an important role in the Age of Exploration. Notably, the explorer Samuel de Champlain departed from Honfleur on his journey to eastern Canada, where he founded Quebec City in 1608. In the process, he established an important link between Honfleur and the French communities in the Americas.
Over time, Le Havre became more and more influential while the port of Honfleur declined. Although the Honfleurais would surely have resented this development, it benefited them greatly during the Second World War: Le Havre was badly bombed, but Honfleur was completely unscathed.
Today Le Havre is a modern concrete and steel city, whereas Honfleur retains the charm of its historic buildings, cobble-stoned streets, and the amazing Saint Catherine Church, which dates from the 15th century and is built entirely of wood.
Saint Catherine’s Church
The first church on the site was built of stone in the Middle Ages, but it was destroyed by the English during the Hundred Years’ War that France and England waged with each other from 1337 to 1453. Following the war, Honfleur’s residents needed a new church, but they were too poor to build another one from stone.
In response, local shipbuilders, who were skilled in naval carpentry, proposed building a new church using wood from nearby forests. The results were both beautiful and unique because the church ended up looking like the inverted hull of a sailing ship!
A second unique feature of the church is that it has two naves. The second was added in the 16th century to accommodate a growing population. A third unique feature is that the church’s bell tower is located in a building that is separate from the main structure. This was done to protect the wooden church from potential fires caused by lightning strikes on the bell tower.
Today Saint Catherine’s is the largest wooden church remaining in France. It is absolutely amazing to me that it is still standing considering its flammable materials, but it is truly beautiful to see.
Honfleur in the 19th century: The age of creativity
As I began to research Honfleur in greater depth, I learned that something amazing happened in the middle of the 1800s: Poets like Baudelaire and artists like Boudin, Jongkind and Monet were drawn to the area and began to create genre breaking works there. The composer Erik Satie was born in Honfleur and spent part of his childhood there (although he seems to have composed his music entirely in Paris).
The Poet: Charles Baudelaire
I think it is likely that Baudelaire did not actually want to leave Paris for Honfleur. However, he had led a dissolute life, was addicted to alcohol and drugs, and was out of money. So he ended up moving in with his mother, who was living in Honfleur at the time!
Baudelaire was born in Paris in 1821, and he died there in 1867 at the age of 46. His magnum opus is Les Fleurs du mal (The Flowers of Evil), which consists of 100 poems that explore themes of beauty, sin, decadence, eroticism and the passage of time.
Honfleur enabled Baudelaire to escape the chaos of his urban life in Paris and focus for a time on his writing. Unfortunately, most of his fame came after his death. Les Fleurs du mal is now regarded as one of the greatest achievements in French poetry.
A birthplace of Impressionism
The story for the painters who were drawn to the area is a much happier one. In fact, Honfleur is now credited as one of the birthplaces of Impressionism.
Before this “radical” movement appeared, the rules of art for centuries had stipulated that artists paint in the studio. Their goal was to capture their subject in as much reality and detail as possible while blending and shading their colors with precision.
In contrast, Impressionists discovered they could capture the momentary and transient effects of sunlight by painting outdoors, or en plein air. They used free brush strokes that took precedence over lines and contours and attempted to capture a moment in time as they experienced it.
The Painters: Boudin, Jongkind and Monet
Three painters were particularly influential in Honfleur.
Eugène Boudin was born in Honfleur in 1824 and died in 1898 in nearby Deauville at the age of 74. He was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors and is celebrated for his seascapes and depictions of the sky, which often feature the Normandy coast.
Johan Barthold Jongkind was born in the Netherlands in 1819 and died in France in 1891 at the age of 71. A Dutch painter and printmaker, his work is characterized by its use of light and natural scenes.
Claude Monet was born in Paris in 1840 and died in Giverny, France, in 1926 at the age of 86. He is considered the founder of Impressionism and a key precursor to modernism. Monet frequently visited Honfleur and often painted its harbor and surroundings.
Saint-Siméon Farm
Something really interesting developed in Honfleur that drew these three artists—and many more—together. And that is the Saint-Siméon farm. Dating from the 17th century, Saint-Siméon was not only a farm but also an inn. At the time, it was presided over by the redoubtable Mother Toutain, who welcomed fishermen, painters, writers and many others to her establishment.
In 1862, Jongkind arrived at Saint-Siméon with several of his artist friends from Paris, including Boudin, Alfred Sisley and the young Claude Monet. In fact it was while walking along the Normandy Coast with Jongkind and Boudin that Monet, aged 22, discovered it was possible to paint from nature.
Monet would one day write to Bazille from Saint-Siméon : "Every day, I discover even more beautiful things, it's enough to drive me crazy! I want to do everything so much... My head is spinning! I am very happy with my stay here, although my studies are far from what I would like... We are wonderfully happy in Saint-Siméon!...". A little later, in the autumn, he wrote to him again: "There are a lot of us at the moment in Honfleur... Boudin and Jongkind are here, we get on wonderfully. I am very sorry that you are not here, because, in such company, there is much to learn, and nature is beginning to become beautiful...". —Wikipedia
The artists mixed together freely at the farm; ate delicious meals; shared their ideas, techniques and dreams; and produced amazing works of art. Altogether, more than thirty artists would frequent the place, including Corot, Courbet and Bazille.
The Composer: Erik Satie
Erik Satie was born in Honfleur on 17 May 1866. After the birth of two younger siblings, his father moved the family to Paris. Satie’s mother died when he was just six years old, and his father sent the children back to Honfleur to live with their grandparents. When Satie was twelve, he and his brother and sister rejoined their father (and new stepmother) in Paris.
Similar to Baudelaire, Satie was a complex personality who struggled with addiction and financial lack for most of his life. He never married, and his home for most of his adult life was a single small room: first in Montmartre and then in Arcueil, a suburb of Paris. He was a lifelong heavy drinker and died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1925 at the age of 59.
The pieces Satie composed were often characterized by simple melodies with highly original modal harmonies. Among his earliest compositions were the Gymnopédies (1888) and the Gnossiennes (1889) for piano.
I’ll admit that I am not very familiar with most of Satie’s music—except for the Gymnopédies, which I love. Honfleur has turned the house in which he was born into a museum that incorporates both visual and auditory elements and is well worth a visit.
Culinary Traditions
Last—but by no means least—the food in Honfleur is delicious. Thanks to its location at the edge of the sea, many restaurants feature freshly caught seafood such as oysters, mussels and scallops. (I have never actually tasted the oysters because they, along with liver and lima beans, are the three foods that I detest! However, the mussels and scallops are delicious.)
Normandy is a major apple growing region, so apples and apple cider often play an important role in meat dishes served in Honfleur, such as Duck à la Normande. Normandy is also famous for its delicious creamy cheeses such as Camembert and Pont-l'Évêque. (Which makes Gerhard happy because one of his favorite desserts is a simple cheese plate.)
Calvados
And what better way to end this post than with a nod to Calvados, the world-famous apple brandy distilled in Normandy. If you're familiar with cognac or whiskey, Calvados shares some similarities in terms of its aging process and complexity.
On our first trip to Honfleur, Gerhard and I noticed a small, dark shop filled with bottles and barrels. On the street in front of the shop was a prominent sign advertising Calvados. We took a couple of steps down from the street into the establishment and had a lot of fun talking with the owner, learning about Calvados, and tasting different varieties from different years.
We discovered that young Calvados has prominent fruity notes of crisp apples and pears, reflecting the cider from which it is distilled. As it ages, these fruit flavors deepen and transform, becoming richer and almost caramelized.
We bought a couple of bottles of our favorites. Now, every time we enjoy a sip or two, we immediately think of Honfleur and can’t wait to return again!
Pour l'enfant, amoureux de cartes et d'estampes,
L'univers est égal à son vaste appétit.
Ah! que le monde est grand à la clarté des lampes!
Aux yeux du souvenir que le monde est petit!
To a child who is fond of maps and engravings
The universe is the size of his immense hunger.
Ah! how vast the world is in the light of a lamp!
In the eyes of memory, how small the world is!
—Charles Baudelaire ( From The Voyage, which is the final poem in Les Fleurs du mal.)
Listen to Satie’s Gymnopedie 1
Notes
The Saint Simeon Farm still exists, but it is now a five-star hotel and restaurant! I haven’t stayed in it—I generally prefer less grand hotels—but it does look like fun if you should want to splurge. In any case, the pictures on the website are lovely.
The audio of Satie’s Gymnopedie 1 comes from the Free Music Archive and was played by Kevin Macleod.
What a beautiful write-up of Honfleur. I've only been there very briefly, and got the impression that the town had a larger population. And I had no idea that Erik Satie was born there! A lovely post.
What a storied history Honfleur has. And love that you stumbled onto it accidentally, and kept returning. The number of artists/creatives who were drawn to it seems almost legendary. The town itself is sweetly charming, captured by your great photos. St. Catherine's church--lovely, and the size! And last but not least, a culinary delight as well!