What to see in Étretat ?

Étretat is above all a geology that imposes itself: the cliffs of Aval and their natural arch structure the landscape long before the town even truly exists. The seafront attracted Monet, Maupassant and Courbet not by chance, but because Norman light transforms there every hour, turning white chalk into shades of grey and ochre. The village remains modest, almost a hamlet, which gives it a human scale rare along the coast.

The best period runs from May to September, but absolutely avoid July and August weekends when the cliff paths become impassable with crowds. Allow a full day, two if you want to explore the cliffs of Amont on the northern side. Étretat is reached by car from Le Havre in thirty minutes; coaches exist but remain impractical. The classic trap: concentrating only on the view from the beach and neglecting the climb onto the plateau, which offers the opposite perspective, far more striking.