Hotels in Étretat

Étretat is a wonderful destination, and perfect for the late-season / off-season (October), because Normandy is really more about the amazing scenery and less about sunbathing. The off-season is much less crowded and much more storybook. The town is charming, and has a fair number of good restaurants and cafes - enough to make a week-long stay quite varied as you get to know the place. It's really great for those who want to *walk* around - the trails along the beaches and cliffs are spectacular - photographers and artists will love this place. Fans of the character Arsene Lupin and author Maurice LeBlanc will love the museum (LeBlanc's home) and shops catering to "Lupinophiles". The tourism information office in the town center is absolutely outstanding, and saved our trip when there was an unexpected train strike. You can take a bus into Le Havre or Rouen if you need to do real shopping, but there is a grocery, a pharmacy, a barber, a stylist, a cosmetics store, and one of everything that a village needs in Étretat. You may need an umbrella, and you can buy one in the village center store. Good, stiff, full umbrellas are much better than weak, folding, travel umbrellas (mine BROKE from a strong cliff updraft!), and are worth buying in Étretat. They can be bought cheap at the town center store, and they not only make the windy and unpredictable Normandy weather much more tolerable - they fly home as your "personal item". Normandy is beautiful, windy, rainy, sunny, wet, dry, cool, warm, wild, relaxed, historical and romantic. Étretat is 100% Normandy!

You'll experience a laid-back small seaside town. Once a favorite holiday spot of painters (Monet painted a beach scene here) it is very relaxing ocean town. Our favorite activity was hiking the beautiful cliffs on either side of the beach. I also enjoyed photographed the scenery. We enjoyed an excellent dinner of Normandy mussels at La Flottille and we enjoyed our stay at the Hotel d'Angeleterre.

The walk along the cliffs is spectacular, but not for people who can not handle a vigorous climb and uneven ground. Be careful with children as there are no railings or barriers in most areas and the ground is not safe near the cliffs, exactly where the kids want to go. Be sure to ask at the tourist office in town the times of low tide and high tide. The tide comes in VERY quickly and you can get stranded in places along the beachside of the cliffs within minutes. There is a boulanger on the main street coming into town that sells amazing french pastries, as well as coffee to go - a rarity in small French towns. Be sure check out the chapel on the hill as well as local gardens. Plan on two days to see everything in the area.

We walked to the little town from our hotel. It was utterly charming, and so much fun! The walk up to the top of the cliffs is not for the faint of heart. It was a little bit frightening as it is a little windy, and there are no railings. (It is obvious this is being written by an American). But, it was breathtaking, and such a beautiful and memorable experience. Even though it was stormy, the sunsets were gorgeous, and the coolness of early March didn't make the trip any less fun. Everywhere we went, we were greeted with warmth and kindness. I want to go back!

One of the most amazing views of the beach from a cliff. If you have kids in a buggy,the climb is going to be difficult using the stairs. I'd recommend driving to the church parking on the cliff or taking the shuttle

Etretat is a small cozy little coast-village. In the winter, two days were enough. But we can imagine that during the summer time a longer stay would fit perfectly. The nature is stunning, and you can have beautifull hikes along the sea.