Port

Honfleur

4.3Honfleur, FranceCôte Fleurie and Alabaster Coast

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Maximum length: 26 m
VHF channel: 9
Maximum draught: 3 m

Lock-gated harbour at the mouth of the Seine estuary in Calvados, with the Vieux Bassin and Bassin de l'Est hosting around 50 visitor berths.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Entry through the Honfleur sea lock between the two outer jetties, opening from HW minus 2 to HW plus 3 on Le Havre. Strong tidal streams in the estuary, buoyed channel from the Ratier north buoy. Keep clear of commercial traffic heading to Rouen. VHF 9. Max draught 3 m in the basins.

Practical

Around 50 visitor places split between the Vieux Bassin at the heart of town and the Bassin de l'Est. Water and electricity at every berth. Fuel at the outer fuel berth before the lock. Showers and capitainerie on the Avant-Port. All shops, market and restaurants within 100 m of the Vieux Bassin.

Ashore

Saturday market on Place Sainte-Catherine, 150 m from the Vieux Bassin. Musée Eugène-Boudin at 300 m, with works by Boudin, Monet and Dubourg. Église Sainte-Catherine, the largest timber-built church in France, at 200 m. Pont de Normandie viewpoint at 3 km.

History

Samuel de Champlain sailed from Honfleur in 1608 to found Quebec. The town was a major port for voyages to Canada and West Africa from the 16th to 18th centuries. Eugène Boudin was born here in 1824 and taught the young Claude Monet to paint outdoors on the estuary beaches.

Story

The Église Sainte-Catherine was built by ship carpenters in the 15th century using shipbuilding techniques, with a separate bell tower to protect the nave from lightning.