Pont-Audemer (Eure, Normandy): the little Norman Venice

After Le Bec Hellouin and the poppy fields, we continue our little tour in Normandy stopping in Pont-Audemer for lunch. In thisn’t so small village, water is omnipresent, so it is called “the little Norman Venice”.

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

We have to admit that we have never been to Venice, so it is impossible for us to confirm if it really looks like it 🙂

The city center is small but very dense, with a lot of traffic. In the surroundings there is even an area with shopping malls. Pont-Audemar is on the list of the “most beautiful detours in France”, i.e. beautiful cities, not very far from the freeway, but with the necessary infrastructure to welcome tourists. The church in the city center seems to be the must-see of the town. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit the interior (mourning ceremony).

Formerly a town of tanners, apart from a few houses with medieval architecture, the half-timbered houses, there is no trace of tanneries. An n-th fire broke out at the old tannery last year, squatted since its closure in 2005.

The interest of the city lies in this small walk to hunt small streams between two rows of houses. The tourist office has put this pedestrian route online(download the PDF file here), which you can follow to discover its picturesque town center. The walk should take you 2 hours in total

It is surely these views that give the nickname “little Norman Venice” to this city. Not far from there, we have lunch in a small restaurant(O Cine Fil), which has just reopened after the confinement. Finally, things aren’t so different than usual, except that we have much more space, the waiters wear a visor and as soon as we leave our place, we have to wear a mask.

We go around the church to discover other half-timbered houses…

and this pretty bridge which gives us a beautiful view of the canal and the church. It’s good to hear the birds and see so much greenery.

Next stops of the day : Trouville sur Mer and Deauville

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)
• Restaurant / Bistro: O Cine Fil. Menu and dish within 15€