Le Bec-Hellouin (Eure, Normandy): A Village full of charm

We take advantage of our 2.5 months in Rouen to rent a car from time to time and radiate around Rouen.
Our 1st destination: Le Bec-Hellouin, one of the most beautiful villages in France, 44 minutes by car from Rouen.

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Météo France announces rain everywhere in France but we passed between the drops. If it rained during the first 15 minutes of the trip, we even had a few clearings during our visit.

The path leading to the village is already super beautiful, we go along a small beautiful stream, before parking just behind the church. These beautiful half-timbered houses typical of Norman villages, it promises an interesting visit! It is only a few days that the restaurants are authorized to open so the activity hardly resumes, but the flowers in full bloom are ready to welcome the tourists. This village is also one of the most flowery towns and villages in France.

The first restaurant spotted seems not to have opened its doors yet, but the chairs and tables are all clean. I wouldn’t be surprised if they welcome their first customers this weekend.

It is a little cold and we are super happy to enjoy a hot chocolate in a super cute tea room(L’antre de Cloches), surrounded by roses.

The creperie next door is open. It benefits from a central location, with an excellent view of the central square, full of flowers and the tower of the Bec-Hellouin abbey.

It is at this time that the bells ring out, encouraging us to join the daily mass in the abbey.

The name Bec-Hellouin is formed from the Norman word “bec” (meaning stream) and Hellouin, the founder of the Abbey. In the 11th century, Herluin, a knight at court, retired to his lands at Bonneville-Aptot. He had an abbey built and with it, the village.

During the Hundred Years’ War, the monks burned the village to stop the advance of the English troops, in vain… The village was occupied during the Second World War, then bombed and taken over by the Canadians. It was with the return of the religious community of the Olivetan Benedictines that the village was once again rebuilt. It has been recognized as “one of the most beautiful villages in France” since 2006 already!

We don’t know where to start, there are absolutely too many beautiful things to look at, too many flowers, too many Instagram corners.

The abbey is located right next to a cute stream. It doesn’t look like an abbey but a castle, it is huge and very well maintained. The scandal linked to this abbey still seems to mark the spirits if we believe Google Suggest. By typing the name of the abbey, the first suggestion isn’t about the visit of the abbey, the visiting hours, but “abbey bec-hellouin scandal”. It would be a case in March 1990, Philippe Aubin, in charge of the Bec-Hellouin Abbey (Eure), and Mother Sainte-Marie-Ephrem, superior of the neighboring monastery, resigned for “sentimental and emotional” reasons.

Still according to Google Suggest, people would come here to learn permaculture at the farm next door: the Bec-Hellouin organic farm. Before, it was open to the public, eager to discover, during a one hour guided tour, how an organic farm works. From 2020, this farm will only open its doors to apprentice farmers. The store is also closed to the public. You can consult the list of courses & trainings on their website.

The small church next to the central square is charming but not exceptional. If you wish to know all the places of interest of this pretty little village, the tourist office clearly indicates the 19 points to visit. You can click on the pictures to zoom and save them.

Second stop of the day: poppy fields

Part 2: Practical Tips

• This village is one of the 800 tourist places in France that we recommend. To access the Google Maps map of the 800 places in question, click here
• Car rental: we compared the offers and that day, the cheapest was 24€/day with Enterprise. To compare the rental offers, you can look on Lastminute(link)
• Tearoom: L’antre de Cloches, several hot chocolates to choose from, within 4€. Magnificent rose garden
• Free parking
• There are only 2 lodgings in the village, the best being L’Atelier de Tess (link Booking)