Day 0: Home to Detroit
Our usual ride to the airport had other plans, so we figured out a new way to get there: We rented a car in town and dropped it off at the airport in Detroit. Good for future reference! We splurged a little on this trip and booked Delta Comfort Plus (now Delta Comfort). The additional legroom did feel less cramped and the dedicated overhead bin space was nice. This might be our new normal for longer flights.
Day 1: Paris to Honfleur
Our checked bag did not come off the conveyor in Paris but Air France baggage service was helpful; they had it. Why, we don’t know. (It might have been because the bag is so small. We only really need it to transport hiking poles so it’s a really small duffel.) We had a nice chat with them while were were waiting for them to track down our bag — we learned how to say Honfleur — and they pointed us to the taxi people.
Taxis were well organized. They escorted us to the queue, where someone noted where we were going and pointed us to a taxi. We hopped right in and were on our way. We got to Gare St Lazare around 10:15. It was easy to buy tickets using the Trainline app and get on a train to Le Havre at 10:40. We were a little sleepy on the train, thanks to not much sleep on the plan. The train paralleled the Seine for much of the trip. In Le Havre we had to hunt down the bus stand — the one person Steve asked didn’t understand. Most of the bus stands were clustered in the same area. We bought bus tickets on their app, which I’d downloaded ahead of time. The bus had a luggage compartment and we were not the only travelers.
Once in Honfleur it was an easy walk across lots of cobblestones to our hotel. The room was ready — we got a free upgrade — so we went out walking the town.
Along our walk we picked up some Calvados at one of the ubiquitous “local products” shops and ate at an Italian restaurant I had booked ahead. (We’ve found it’s good to avoid too many decisions on the first day!)
Day 2: Seawall and Garden Walk
We slept in, then had a good buffet breakfast at the hotel. Then we took a walk along the seawall and back through the Garden of Personalities and a pretty local park.
The dog statue prompted some Google searches. The current statue replaces a statue of a dog that was stolen. The new statue was a gift from the Russian ambassador during a Russian Film Festival.
We had our first French meal — including frog legs and mussels, très français — in a brasserie overlooking the market square. We ordered off the set menu, which is often handwritten on a chalkboard like the one shown here. They had them inside for easier viewing. We learned to take photos of them and use Google Translate to research options.
Afterwards we walked down to the port to check it out at night.
Day 3: Wandering the Town
It was raining when we set out in the afternoon, so we went to the church first, since we hadn’t been inside yet.
Then we just wandered the streets, up the hill and then down toward the park, trying to hit some streets and areas we hadn’t seen yet. Honfleur is great for just walking around. There are lots of old buildings and other quirky things to see.
We had burgers at Chez Justine et Quentin. First time eating a burger with knife and fork; too big and drippy. (And tasty.)
Day 4: Market Day
Since our bus to Bayeux wasn’t until 2:15 and check out was 11:30, we had time to kill. We walked down to the beach again. The tide was in, the sun was out, and there was no fog, so we got completely different views.
We walked back through the park again. When we went to walk around town we discovered it was market day. So we walked around a good chunk of the market. (It was scattered all around town.) We learned market days are important in France, and Honfleur has one of the best. Even a carousel popped up overnight. Though it did not look operational.
Essentials
Lodging
Honfleur has lots of hotels and a lot of them are in the old town near the port. But not a lot of them have elevators. We booked Le Cheval Blanc (The White Horse), which did. It also offered a good value breakfast that included local cheese, eggs, bacon, apple tarte, and fresh apple juice. Yes, apple pie for breakfast! We got a free upgrade to a room with a port view. The room itself was modern though the public areas of the hotel showed more age and character. The location was great too.
Dining
There are lots of restaurants to choose from in Honfleur. We had good pizza at Il Parasol, a tasty French meal at Brasserie d’eglise, and innovative burgers at Chez Justine et Quentin, including one with camembert and mustard sauce.
Transportation
There’s no train station in Honfleur. We took the train to Le Havre and got a bus from there. We left via express bus to Caen, where we got a train to Bayeux. Honfleur is compact enough we could walk everywhere.