APPENDIX TO NORMANDY PICTURESQUE.
Sketch of Route, showing the Distances, Fares, &c., to and from the principal Places in Normandy.
Travelling Expenses over the whole of this Route (including the journey from London to Havre, or Dieppe, and back) do not amount to more than 4l. 4s. first class, and need not exceed 3l. 10s. (see p. 240). Hotel Expenses average about 10s. a day.
Thus it is possible to accomplish month's tour for £20, and one of two months for £35.
There are no good hotels in Normandy (excepting at the seaside) according to modern ideas of comfort and convenience. Caen, Avranches, and Rouen may be mentioned as the best places at which to stay, en route.
Havre to Pont Audemer.—Steamboat direct.—Fare 2frs. Or viâ Honfleur or Trouville, by boat and diligence.
Dieppe to Pont Audemer.—Railway (viâ Rouen and Glosmontfort) 65 miles. Fare, first class, 12frs. 50c. (10s.)
PONT AUDEMER (Pop. 6000). Hotels: Pôt d'Étain (old-fashioned in style, but no longer in prices); Lion d'Or.
Pont Audemer to Lisieux.—Diligence. Distance, 22 miles.—Or by Ry. 43 miles; fare, 8frs. 50c. (7s.) Fare.[64]
LISIEUX (Pop. 13,000). Hotels: de France, (on a quiet boulevard, with garden); d'Espagne, &c.
Lisieux to Caen.—Railway, 30 miles. Fare, 5frs. 50c. (4s. 6d.)
CAEN (Pop. 44,000). Hotels: d'Angleterre, (well-managed, central, and bustling); d'Espagne, &c.
Caen to Bayeux.—Railway, 19 miles. Fare, 3frs. 40c. (2s. 9d.)
BAYEUX (Pop. 9,500). Hotels: du Luxembourg, Grand Hotel, &c.
Bayeux to St. Lo.—Railway 28 miles. Fare, 5frs. (4s.)
[Bayeux to Cherbourg. Rly. 63 miles. Fare, 11frs. 40s. (9s. 6d.)]
[For Hotels, &c., see App., p. iv.]
ST. LO (Pop. 10,000). Hotel: du Soleil
Levant (quiet and commercial.)
St. Lo to Coutances.—Diligence, 16 miles.
COUTANCES (Pop. 9000). Hotels: de
France, du Dauphin, &c. (indifferent).
Coutances to Granville.—Diligence, 18 miles.
GRANVILLE (Pop. 17,000). Hotels: du
Nord (large and bustling, crowded with
English from the Channel Islands);
Trois Couronnes, &c. (See p. 123.)
Granville to Avranches.—Diligence, 16 miles.
AVRANCHES (Pop. 9000). Hotels: d'Angleterre,
de Bretagne, &c. (accustomed
to English people.)
[Excursion to Mont St. Michel and back in one day; Carriage,
15frs, (12s. 6d.). Distance, 10 miles; or by Pont Orson
(the best route), 13 miles.]
Avranches to Vire.—Diligence, 36 miles (viâ Mortain).
VIRE (Pop. 8000). Hotel: du Cheval
Blanc.
[Mortain to Domfront. Diligence, 17 miles. (Pop. 3000.)
Hotel de la Poste.]
Vire to Falaise.—Diligence, 34 miles [or by Rly. 65 miles.
Fare, 12frs. (9s. 9d.)]
FALAISE (Pop. 9000). Hotels: de Normandie,
&c. (All commercial.)
Falaise to Rouen.—Rly. 83 miles (viâ Mezidon and Serquiny).
Fare, 15frs. 50c. (12s. 6d.)
[At Serquiny turn off to Evreux, 26 miles. Fare from Serquiny,
4frs. 60c. (3s. 9d.) Hotel: Grand Cerf.]
ROUEN (Pop. 103,000). Hotels: d'Angleterre,
d'Albion, &c. (none first-rate,
generally full of English people.)
Rouen to Havre by the Seine; or by Rly.
List of the Watering-places of Normandy, from east to west, with a few notes for Visitors.
Dieppe (Pop. 20,000).—Busy seaport town—fashionable and expensive during the season—good accommodation facing the sea—pretty rides and drives in the neighbourhood—shingly beach, bracing air.
Hotels: Royal, des Bains, de Londres, &c. Ry. to Paris.
Fécamp (13,000).—A dull uninteresting town, inns second-rate and dear, in summer—situated on a river, the town reaching for nearly a mile inland.
Hotels: de la Plage, des Bains, Chariot d'Or. Ry. to Paris.
Étretat (2000).—Romantic situation—bracing air—rocky coast—shingly beach—only two good hotels—a few villas and apartments—no town—very amusing for a time.
Hotels: Blanquet, Hauville, Dil. to Fécamp, and Havre.
Havre (75,000).—Large and important seaport on the right bank of the Seine—harbour, docks, warehouses, fine modern buildings, streets, and squares—picturesque old houses and fishing-boats on the quay—bathing not equal to Dieppe or Trouville.
Hotels: de l'Europe, de l'Amirauté, &c., and Frascatî's on the sea-shore. Ry. to Paris; Steamboats to Trouville, &c.
Honfleur (10,000).—Opposite Havre, on the Seine—old and picturesque town—pleasant walks—English society—sea-bathing, "mais quels bains," says Conty, "bains impossible!" Living is not dear for residents.
Hotels: du Cheval Blanc, de la Paix, &c. Ry. to Paris.
Trouville (5000 or 6000).—Fashionable and very dear at the best hotels—ample accommodation to suit all purses—good sands—splendid casino—handsome villas, and plenty of apartments. Less bracing than Dieppe or Étretat.
Hotels: Roches-Noires, Paris, Bras d'Or, &c. Ry. to Paris.
Deauville.—A scattered assemblage of villas and picturesque houses—very exclusive and select, and dull for a stranger—grand casino—quite a modern town—separated from Trouville by the river Touques.
Hotels: Grand, du Casino, &c. Ry. to Paris.
Villers-sur-mer.—A pretty village, six miles from Trouville—crowded during the season—beautiful neighbourhood—good apartments, but expensive—inns moderate.
Hotels: du Bras d'Or, Casino, &c. Ry. to Paris.
Houlgate.—One large hotel surrounded by pretty and well-built châlets to be let furnished; also many private villas in gardens—beautiful situation—good sands—small Casino—becoming fashionable and dear—accommodation limited.
Dil. to Trouville, 11 miles.
Beuzeval.—A continuation of Houlgate, westward; lower, near the mouth of the Dives—one second-rate hotel close to the sands—quiet and reasonable—sea recedes half-a-mile (no boating at Houlgate or Beuzeval)—beautiful neighbourhood—a few villas and apartments—no Établissement.
Dil. to Trouville or Caen.
Cabourg.—A small, but increasing, town in a fine open situation on the left bank of the Dives—good accommodation and moderate—not as well known as it deserves to be.
Hotels: de la Plage, Casino, &c. Dil. do. do.
[Then follow nine or ten minor sea-bathing places, situated north of Caen and Bayeux, in the following order:—Lies, Luc, Lasgrune, St, Aubin, Coutances, Aromanches, Auxelles, Vierville, and Grandcamp; where accommodation is more or less limited, and board and lodging need not cost more than seven or eight francs a-day in the season. They are generally spoken of in French guide-books as, 'bien tristes sans ressources;' 'fit only for fathers of families'! St. Aubin, about twelve miles from Caen, is one of the best.]
Cherbourg (42,000).—Large, fortified town—bold coast—good
bathing—splendid views from the heights—wide
streets and squares—docks and harbours—hotels—good
and dear.
Hotels: l'Univers, l'Amirauté, &c. Ry. to Paris.
Granville.—See pp. 122 and following; also Appendix, p. ii.
The average charge at seaside hotels in Normandy, during the season (if taken by the week) is 8 or 9 francs a-day, for sleeping accommodation and the two public meals; nearly everything else being charged for 'extra.' At Trouville, Deauville, and Dieppe, 10 or 12 francs is considered 'moderate.' Furnished houses and apartments can be had nearly everywhere, and at all prices. The sum of 10l. or 15l. a week is sometimes paid at Trouville, or Deauville, for a furnished house. Conty's guide-book, 'Les Côtes de Normandie,' should be recommended for its very practical information on these matters, but not for its illustrations.