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This journey through Normandy offers a chance to take in the landscapes behind the easels. Few regions in the world are so synonymous with a school of painting. Monet, Caillebotte, Sisley, Manet, Renoir and so many others created Impressionism in this area, such was their fascination with the light, the expanses of sky and the bucolic settings. Even though their masterpieces are nowadays scattered around the world's finest museums, anyone can come here to view the scenery that they loved and painted so much. Didn't Claude Monet say of the shoreline at Honfleur : "Every day I see something new and more beautiful here, so much so it's enough to drive one mad!"
To give you inspiration, Relais & Châteaux presents the Routes du Bonheur: suggestions for travel itineraries that you can fully personalise according to your wishes and the experiences you would like to discover. Our consultants are available to help customise your route and assist you in making reservations at our properties. It is up to you to reserve any recommended activities on-site or nearby that might interest you.
*Total price provided for information only, based on accommodation for two people in a double room for the number of nights per property as indicated on this page, exclusive of recommended activities, properties that cannot be reserved online and restaurants.
Hotel and restaurant in the woods. Cazaudehore, the name of a family and a place, has epitomised the art of living and hospitality in Saint-Germain-en-Laye for three generations. Twenty minutes from Paris, in the heart of a forest of hundred-year-old oak trees, the hotel offers a retreat which is close insofar as it is easy to reach but one which gives the feeling of escape to somewhere else. This feeling casts its magical spell in a stunning garden, with modern comfort and gourmet treats and the strains of jazz in the winter. Cazaudehore "La Forestière" is a family home, a place to enjoy a meal or sit by the fire and escape for a few days. A perfect getaway on the outskirts of the capital.
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I have often stopped off in this village during my long cycle rides. Designated among the “most beautiful villages in France”, Lyons-la-Forêt hides its splendid half-timbered houses and beautiful pink-brick buildings within an enormous beech grove. At the weekend, the superb 17th century covered market hosts a very fine market of small-scale local producers. My wife enjoys browsing in the antique shops, especially L’Empreinte, at 28 Place Isaac de Benserade. The ideal place to refine your interior decoration…
Moulin d’Andé, The Mill at Andé
I have often come to walk along this stretch of the Seine. Designated as a historic monument and completely restored, the mill at Andé has been playing host to musicians and strollers for over fifty years. Numerous violin and piano recitals are given each year in this relaxing, bucolic setting. Don’t miss taking a walk in the vast grounds.
Giverny and the Impressionists
This is the location of Claude Monet’s house and gardens, the place which so inspired the great painter. Thanks to the remarkable work of the gardeners to preserve the botanical heritage, visitors can discover the atmosphere which surrounded the artist at the end of the 19th century. Giverny is the birthplace of the Impressionists, and at least one visit is essential to really understand this painting movement. A trip to the Musée des Impressionnismes is the perfect follow-up to a visit to the house and gardens.
First thoughts of Argenteuil bring to mind the famous paintings of bridges and poppy fields by Monet. This was also the birthplace of the Association of Impressionist Painters in 1873. A place where painters would congregate, in close proximity to the capital. Renoir and Caillebotte depicted sailboats there, whereas in 1874, Manet named his painting depicting a boater and his companion on the banks of the Seine after the town.
Restaurant in town. Born in Normandy, two-star Chef Gilles Tournadre has remained faithful to his region. This progressive Chef knows everything there is to know about the culinary traditions of Normandy. On the banks of the river Seine, close to the cathedral painted by Monet, he adds his personal touch to the local style, joyfully reinterpreting the classics and giving them a new twist, as with his version of the traditional Normandy pressed duck recipe and his Rouen-style roasted pigeon. A staunch defender of top-quality and locally sourced products, he will always prefer to serve a fresh line-caught fish, brought to shore by the local fisherman, rather than an exotic fish from overseas.
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It took three centuries (12th-15th) to build one of France's finest Gothic cathedrals in Rouen. With its lantern tower rising high above, in 1876 it was still the tallest building in the world! Its international reputation was sealed by Monet, who painted it in 28 works. In recent years, the painter's depictions have been projected onto the front of the cathedral. A sight to see ...
Normandy Impressionist Festival
Launched in 2010, this amazing festival featuring a rich programme of events in this region themed around the Impressionists. In Rouen, we discovered a wonderful exhibition entitled: "The Impressionists' City: Monet, Gauguin and Pissarro in Rouen". It has been a hit success and each year follows a main theme: the city, water, portraits etc. Our region belongs to the great masters more than ever ...
On the route
Étretat: Cliffs and Light
This is one of the painters' preferred landscapes: Étretat and its famous white chalk cliffs have in turn inspired Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet. The latter had a real fascination for this carved section of coastline and painted 75 canvases here, including some 50 in the winter of 1885-86 alone! Even today, the same light that reigns over the pebbled beach retains its mysterious quality and is still a sight beheld by painters who come here from all over the world ...
Hotel and restaurant on the seafront. Once a refuge for impressionist painters, La Ferme Saint-Siméon is celebrated for its bucolic surroundings and beautiful Seine estuary light. Monet and Courbet would come here and work on their colours, and Baudelaire would flee the melancholy of Paris in search of inspiration. The farm, close to the old harbour of Honfleur and the Eugène-Boudin Museum, has now been restored throughout and provides an outstanding spa with beauty and relaxing treatments based on organic ingredients such as milk and Normandy apples. “Oh, Saint-Siméon”, exclaimed the painter Eugène Boudin in one of his journals. Indeed it is hard not to love the place, and even harder to leave it behind.
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Honfleur is famous for its little harbour, cobbled streets and old mansions. It is also the birthplace of celebrated musician Erik Satie. The houses named after him offer a wonderful scenography and musical journey that conjure up the genius and "crazy" sides to the artist. Headphones on, you walk through a world that is amusing and poetic. A journey of amazement through the universe of the composer of Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes.
The Ferme Saint-Siméon, refuge of the Impressionist painters
The seaside Ferme Saint-Siméon has long been the refuge of Impressionist painters. Everyone knew how to find it and artists enjoyed the hospitality of the maternal Madame Toutain. Monet and Courbet loved the romantic surroundings as well as the beautiful estuary light. They would both practise their colour work whilst Baudelaire visited to escape the Paris spleen and seek inspiration … Painting classes are still on offer today in the gardens of the farm.
On the route
The Musée Eugène Boudin collection, Honfleur
Less than a ten minute walk from the hotel, the Musée Eugène Boudin – named after the forerunner of Impressionism – reveals one of the region's finest collections of paintings. Born in Honfleur in 1824, Eugène Boudin was a stationer who reinvented himself as a painter and whom his close friend Camille Corot would later nickname the "king of skies". A modern building in the heart of the old town, the museum that bears his name also houses works by the great Impressionist masters including Monet, Corot, Courbet and Jongkind.
Musée d’art moderne André Malraux, Le Havre
You could be misled by the name of this museum. The modern art museum that André Malraux inaugurated in 1961 houses one of the finest Impressionist collections in France. Works by Eugène Boudin meet those of Pissarro, Renoir and Manet. There are also canvases by Van Dongen, Vallotton and De Staël. All of these paintings are enhanced by the light-filled building. Captivating pieces such as Claude Monet's Waterlilies (1904) are worth the visit alone ...
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