"A Romantic Weekend at Etretat" Top 5 Page for this destination Étretat by Renteboy

Étretat Travel Guide: 110 reviews and 367 photos

Etretat from the West - Étretat
Etretat from the West
Etretat in general

Please find my journal I wrote during my weekend Etretat.

It is now Friday evening and we are having a break in our residence so it is the ideal opportunity to write something about this quite but ooh so lovely town.
In fact besides hiking, one museum (of the Gentlemans burglar: Arsene Lupin) and a dozen restaurants and hotels ... these is "nothing" to do here. Ok, that doesnt mean you cant do anything over here, but sometimes this is what you are looking for. (I hope the wine doesnt makes this report to difficult to read :-) )
Speaking of wine, as we entered the village in the evening and this morning we visited the Tourist Office which is in the center of the town. On our way back we bought some wine, a baguette and some cheese… (du vin, du pain et du Bourcin) to plunge ourself in our French adventure. After our large breakfast we put on our walking shoes and went exploring the East side of the town.

Because the weather wasn’t that nice, we shorten our trip to a 2hour walk and went back to the village and get some refreshments went back to our place to take a short nap <yawn> and here we are now, exploring maps and reviewing the pictures of today. Pretty lazy day, but that’s was the goal of getting here… to chill, relax and enjoy some hiking.

It is now Saturday afternoon and just back from a lovely walk in the outer part of the town I would like to write something more about this city now.
This small village is situated at sea-level surrounded by cliffs and counts a dozen of streets. Near the sea you find most of the shopkeepers and at the center of the town you find the town hall with the Information Center in front of it. At the end of the town you find the church and on the hill slopes and edges of the town you find most of the Villas which gives this town a more "higher class".

History of Etretat
Old picture of the town hall - Étretat

Old picture of the town hall

Until the beginning of the XIX century, Etretat is only a hamlet for fishing men, but in the beginning of that century painters and songwriters discover this quite little town and got inspired by it. Painters like Isabey (1822) Bonington (1823 et 1825), Le Poittevin (1931), Jongkind (1847 et 1851), Mozin, Stanfield doesn’t ring a bell with me, in fact I never heard from them at all, but all these names and numbers make a big impression in a travel report, don’t you think? :-) Anyway, they where the reason people gained interested in Etretat. Other names involved are Alphonse Karr (writer), who wrote some lovely stuff in a few roman’s which I will translate into: “wow, incredible beautiful harbor created by nature surrounded by gigantic rocks … wow and stuff”
With these events the higher class found there way to this town and builded very beautiful villas in the second part of the 19th century and start living over here. A golf club was created on the south slope of the villages at 1906, which has a gorgeous view over the sea and landscape.

Nature and Nice2Knows
'l Atelier - Étretat

'l Atelier

The most remarkable rock formation is “La port d’Aval” (“the door of approval”), “Trou a l’Homme” (“hole at men” … don’t shoot me for these pervert words, I didn’t invented them :-) ) and “L’ Aiguille” (“the needle”) behind it.
You have to wait for the right time to travel over the beach which submerged when the sea level drops. On the window of the Tourist Information point and on the west side of the beach (at the stairs) you will find a tide-table which shows the hours of the max and min state of the tides. Please take into account a margin of at least 4 hours before high tide to get back before your exit has been blocked by the sea. We went for a short walk trough the “Trou a l’Homme” to see the beach at the other side, but in fact you can walk for an hour along the coasts that has been released by the sea. The lowest ebb tide was at 21PM but we gave it a try round 19PM and it was already possible to kick off, so you get at least 4h to do … whatever you want to do!

If you don’t stay in a hotel and you want to get breakfast, there 2 bakeries in town and 2 small supermarkets which are also open on Sunday until noon. There is a small shop at a corner which sells whine, fruit and cheese so at our first day we bought the local cheese in a hart shape. I personally am not a great cheese lover, but I must say I really liked this one. Very sharp nose and taste but not that aggressive aftertaste (first one is, I’m telling ya).

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Very lovely town, surounded by nature's beauty
  • Cons:This can be a touristic place told a local guy (over 2milj vistors/year)
  • In a nutshell:amazed, lovely, nice, small, nature
  • Last visit to Étretat: Mar 2006
  • Intro Updated Aug 6, 2006
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Reviews (27)

a very old picture - Étretat Lovely buildings (‘l Hostesserie de la... Things to Do (11)

In 1912-1913 a new road was build which crossed the path of a XIV century building (a candle shop) which they... more travel advice

Our favorit - Étretat Lovely buildings (part II) Things to Do (11)

There are some of the buildings I would share with you. Each of them has there own history which would took to much to... more travel advice

As it is now - Étretat Lovely buildings (l' Atelier) Things to Do (11)

This town has been seeded by old buildings. One of them is called "l' Atelier" or "the workshop". It has been build in... more travel advice

Monument in front of the church - Étretat Word War Memories Things to Do (11)

This village had his share in the destruction during the Word Wars. Lots of buildings where lost due to dynamiting. As... more travel advice

Comments (6)

  • Reply
    sourbugger's Profile Photo
    Jun 6, 2008 at 4:44 AM

    like the page. ta for your birthday greetings, by the way.

  • Reply
    zeroviu's Profile Photo
    Jun 23, 2006 at 3:53 PM

    Nice page Rb . i will read more after the summer beer (3 day)

  • Reply
    Oksana79's Profile Photo
    Apr 20, 2006 at 8:18 PM

    Hi there How r u? I love your France page , Great job!!! And thanks for b-day greet! have a nice day

  • Reply
    chbuchie's Profile Photo
    Mar 14, 2006 at 9:29 AM

    toffe pagina's en leuke foto's!!!

  • Reply
    aemilys's Profile Photo
    Mar 8, 2006 at 12:46 PM

    what a wonderful page!...I do so love Etretat and it is nice to see that this lovely old town is getting the attention it deserves merci et gros biz de Paris

  • Reply
    b1bob's Profile Photo
    Mar 6, 2006 at 6:42 AM

    Nice page on a town I have never heard of before. I will read more. Just letting you know I was here. Greetings from the Southern United States.

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