Le Havre is a real rarity among the cities of northern France. Where otherwise medieval half-timbered houses crowd the narrow alleyways in the centres, Gothic churches dominate the picture or buildings in the style of the Second Empire recall the splendour of bygone times, the harbour city at the mouth of the Seine breathes the spirit of modernity architecturally through and through.
Founded in 1517 by the then King Francis I, Le Havre flourished in the centuries that followed and became one of the most important port cities in France. In June 1944, bombing destroyed large parts of the old town. Instead of rebuilding the buildings, it was decided to make a new start and rely on radically progressive architecture that would offer people a modern environment in which to live, work and live, without distinction of social background. Star architects of the post-war decades such as Auguste Perret and Oscar Niemeyer created unique places that today secure Le Havre a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
But it’s not just the architecture: the city’s location by the sea and its long beaches contribute a lot to Le Havre’s special appeal – especially for holidaymakers on a day trip or a city break.
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Sights Of Le Havre – Part 1
The Le Havre train station in the centre is the starting point for the first exploratory walk through the city. This tour of about 5 kilometres will take you to discover the southern part of Le Havre, close to the mouth of the Seine and the port facilities.
From the station, take Cours La Fayette, which runs past the station building on the right and towards the Vauban basin. At the traffic lights, cross Quai Colbert and take the floating footbridge that crosses the basin towards the docks.
On the other side of the basin is Quai Frissard, go right. Cross a bridge and turn right at the roundabout onto the Vauban bridge. At the traffic lights, cross the boulevard towards Avenue Vauban and pass the International Trade Centre.
At the next crossroads, turn left onto the very wide avenue (Quai George V). You will then reach the “Bassin du Commerce”. Walk to the middle of the basin to take the large white footbridge. The bridge is particularly impressive after dark, when the curved construction is colourfully illuminated.
From the bridge you can already see one of Le Havre’s most extravagant sights. “Le Volcan” by architect Oscar Niemeyer is a bright white building with a smooth surface and entirely modelled on the shape of a fire-breathing mountain. Today, the eye-catcher built between 1972 and 1982 houses a cultural centre. After a detour to the volcano, return to the footbridge over the basin.
Turn left onto Quai de Lamblardie, then take the first right (Rue Chevalier) towards the Saint-François district. Cross the square of the old Saint-François church and take Rue de Bretagne, which runs to the right of the church.
At the end of the street, turn right onto Quai Casimir Delavigne, then continue at the roundabout onto Quai de l’ïle, passing in front of the shipowner’s house and crossing the bridge. The road leads through the port district, the architecture here is mainly functional.
Leave Quai Notre-Dame on your right and then take Rue des Galions on the right. After a short distance, cross Rue Saint-Jacques. Walk past the Natural History Museum, unless you want to pay a free visit to the museum. Then take Rue du Docteur Belot on the left until you reach Rue de Paris, go down this on the left. Soon the cathedral will appear on your left, a building from old Le Havre that survived the bombings of the Great War.
At the end of Rue de Paris, the view opens up again to the sea, or more precisely: to the Bassin de la Manche, as the part of the harbour is called here. Turn right onto Quai de Southampton, stay on the quays and cross the traffic lights towards Chaussée Kennedy.
Walk along the waterfront around the Malraux Museum and on towards the marina if a visit to the exhibitions is not on the agenda. For lovers of the visual arts in particular, a trip to Le Havre’s most interesting museum is highly recommended. The Malraux Museum mainly houses Impressionist paintings, including works by Monet, Sisley and Renoir. Temporary exhibitions also focus on modern art.
The marina is about 5 minutes’ walk from the museum. Follow the path by the sea to about the middle of the harbour basin. At the level of the central dyke that divides the marina in half, turn right into Rue Frédérick Lemaître. You can’t miss the Saint-Joseph church, the tallest building in the city, towering high into the Le Havre sky.
Even from the outside, the sacred building, designed by architect Perret as a beacon of remembrance for the destruction of the war, is a real eye-catcher. Inside, too, it is spectacular. This is mainly due to the impression created by the more than 12,000 coloured glass blocks that refract the incoming light.
After visiting the church, you will have discovered the main architectural sights of Le Havre. If you follow Rue Louis Brindeau eastwards, you will once again reach the Bassin du Commerce and the circle will be complete.
Le Havre Sights – Part 2
Have you got the urge for more Le Havre? Or would you like to continue the tour at this point the following day? Then there is still a lot to discover in the northern part of the city.
Part 2 of the tour starts on Boulevard Clemenceau in the middle of the harbour basin. Steer your steps north to the city’s beach by the sea.
At The Beach
Le Havre is not a seaside resort and other beaches in Normandy are more pleasant for swimming or lying on the sand. Nevertheless, the Plage de Le Havre belongs on the list of the most beautiful beaches in the department on the English Channel.
The 4-kilometre-long promenade is a wonderful place to stroll, with the busy sea and the many ships entering the city’s harbour on one side and the architecturally remarkable centre on the other.
As the end point and/or retreat of an extended stroll through Le Havre, there is no nicer setting. Picnics for all and playgrounds for the children – what more could you want?
The beach is clean, but the pebbles should not be overlooked. During the season, the Plage de Le Havre is supervised and partially barrier-free. Showers and changing rooms are open for free use.
An abundance of restaurants and bars leaves no culinary wish unfulfilled. And: Le Havre beach is probably the only beach in Normandy that can be reached by tram!
Sights – Part 2
At the top of this boulevard, on the border between the municipalities of Le Havre and Sainte-Adresse, you will reach a roundabout. Walk until you reach Rue Claude Monet on the right. Follow this road, which runs parallel to the waterline towards the city centre, first until you reach the “Monument de la Reconnaissance Belge” statue. Here, a bronze commemorates the horrors of the war, which affected the city like few others in northern France.
At this point, at a 90° angle to the monument, turn off into Rue Cochet, with the Château de Gadelles in sight. After about 400 metres, at an x-shaped crossroads, turn far left into rue du Fort. Then walk along the Fort de Sainte-Adresse, where you will find the “Hanging Gardens”. This is the city’s botanical garden, which can be visited free of charge. Live music is often heard in the various gardens.
Depending on the extended detour to the rose garden, the labyrinth or the greenhouses – return to Rue du Fort, which eventually becomes Rue Henri Belanger. Then turn right onto Rue Louis Leprévost until you reach a roundabout near a Carrefour supermarket.
Turn right into Rue Cochet and then, just after the supermarket, turn left into Rue du Docteur de la Boissière, which becomes Rue Michel Delaroche at the end of the important Rue de la Cavée Verte. Once on Rue Félix Faure, cross it after enjoying the very beautiful panorama towards the sea and take the stairs down to Rue Germaine Coty.
At the end of the stairs, turn left and then right again down the stairs of the markets. At the end of the stairs, turn right into Rue des Gobelins and walk for about 7 minutes until you reach a small roundabout. Here you are back in the centre of Le Havre. Walk down the short Rue Foubert to the left and then turn left down Rue du Président Wilson until you reach the crossroads with the traffic lights.
Cross Park Square Saint-Roch and take Avenue Foch on the other side of the street. The boulevard is one of the widest in France, lined on the right and left by the characteristic residential buildings in the style of Auguste Perret. The Magistrale is the central link in Le Havre: Avenue Foch, including its continuation Boulevard de Strasbourg, divides the southern city centre from the other districts and stretches once from the docks in the east to the beach in the west.
Follow the tram line whose tracks run down the middle of the street. Walk up Avenue Foch to the left, crossing the very spacious Place de l’Hôtel de Ville with its fountains and the Town Hall, another listed building from the 1950s.
On the other, eastern side, walk all the way up Boulevard de Strasbourg, passing in succession the Sub-Prefecture and the Courthouse (one of the few buildings from the old Le Havre period that has not been destroyed), until you reach the starting point of the original tour at the Central Station.
Daniel BRIOT | CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
Frédéric BISSON | Attribution 2.0 Generic