Normandy

Rent-in-France - holiday homes to rent in Normandy, France 

Search the Rent-in-France property rental directory for various types of holiday homes to rent in Normandy. Choose from a number of self catering cottages, gites and farmhouses to rent all over the region. Situated between Picardy (to the east) and Brittany (to the west) Normandy is located along the English Channel coast of Northern France. The Region comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands. It is an historic region with interesting architecture, attractive coastline and a beautiful countryside of rocky crags and deep river gorges which are ideal for watersports. Stay in a Normandy self catering holiday cottage and be sure to experience the plenty of popular tourist attractions worth visiting, including Mont St Michel, the Normandy Landing beaches and the Bayeux Tapestry. Famously recognised as the start of  the war in Western Europe, Normandy became the landing site for the invasion and liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany during the Battle of Normandy in World War II. The territory is divided between French and British sovereignty. The continental territory under French sovereignty covers 30,627 Sq/km and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France.

Although there are many people who want to see the two regions united, they are split into separate parts: Basse-Normandie (Lower Normandy) and Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) consisting of the French departments of Seine-Maritime and Eure, and Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) of the departements of Orne, Calvados, and Manche. Le Havre, Caen and Rouen are the three main cities in this region. There are four smaller cities including Evreux, in the Eure, Cherbourg, an active seaport, Dieppe, a minor seaport, and Alencon, capital of the Orne. 

Take a self catering Normandy holiday rental and you are guaranteed some great cuisine during your stay. The area offers you a huge variety of fresh fish and shellfish. Many of the restaurants along the coast serve excellent fruits de mer, a traditional seafood dish which is made up of raw and cooked shell fish which translates to ‘fruits of the sea’. Turbot and oysters from the Cotentin Peninsula are major delicacies throughout France. Normandy is the chief oyster-cultivating, scallop-exporting, and mussel-raising region in France.  The large number of markets will offer you the chance to purchase local produce such as fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, herbs and flowers when renting a holiday gite in Normandy. Many of the meat dishes including Lamb, gamey duck,chicken and excellent beef are all served with a creamy sauce with and dash of Calvados, giving it the unique and characteristic flavour of the region. Normandy is also famous for breeding many top racehorses. 

Things to see and Places to visit  in Normandy, France

Le Havre  With its endless rows of breeze block buildings and perfectly straight boulevards which stretch of from the central square, which is dominated  by a magnificent cathedral, Le Havre is somewhat of a town that appreciates the love of concrete. Whilst walking around the streets of this wonderful seaside city you could be forgiven for thinking your are walking around  a forgotten outpost of the Eastern bloc. Le Havre was all but destroyed during the bombings of World War II and the Belgian architect Auguste Perret  totally re built the town after the war. This town is what stands here today. Le Havre is a strange but fascinating city which is well worth a visit during your stay in Normandy , an excellent example of post war planning and architecture. 

Caen The capital of Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) the historic city of Caen has played a huge factor in Normandy’s history since the city was born in the 11th century when founded by  William the Conqueror. An excellent base to explore the D-Day beaches and the nearby Bayeux  Caen has become a busy university city and commercial centre with a number of magnificent museums including the spectacular Caen Memorial. 

Rouen Located on the River Seine, it is the historical capital city of Normandy and the Haute-Normandie region. Previously was one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe. Well known for its Notre Dame cathedral. A city that has been devastated many times throughout the years during  great fires, the plague and bombings during the second world war. The last 60 years have seen the city beautifully restored and Rouen is now an ideal base to explore northern Normandy, in particular the famous painter Monet’s home in Giverny. 

Bayeux Famous for its tapestry to commemorate the Battle of Hastings, known to the French as La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde (Tapestry of Queen Matilda). This is one major reason which sees the town of Bayeux receive millions of visitors each and every year. Bayeux was also the first town after D-Day to be liberated and is one of the few lucky towns that survived the bombings in World War II unscathed. Bayeux is a town with  small winding streets that make there way in and out of some fine ancient buildings. The perfect location for setting up base and exploring the invasion beaches that are situated just to the north of the town.

Mont St-Michel  is a rocky tidal island which is located approximately one kilometre off the country's north coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. A UNESCO world heritage site founded way back in the 8th century the abbey of Mont St-Michel with its slender towers and sky scraping turrets are one of the classic images of northern France today. Rising up from the white sands below, Mont St-Michel is situated on top of a small island encircled by stout ramparts and battlements and is only connected to the mainland by and old causeway. The bay that surrounds the Mont St-Michel is famous for it extraordinary tides. The difference between low and high tides can reach 15m due to the gravitational pull of the moon and depending on what season it is. There are few places to stay around the base of the Mont itself so most people tend to stay in the nearby town of Beauvoir which is situated opposite. Being one of Frances top tourist attractions it is unsurprisingly busy with fully loaded coach tours arriving each morning with bellowing children, be advise that if you wish to experience a peaceful visit Mont St-Michel is much quieter if you turn up in the afternoon.

The Climate In Normandy 

Generally the weather in Normandy is mild and wet with few frosty days and a lot of rain, helping to produce the picturesque lush green countryside throughout the region. The average temperature sits between 10°C and 12°C and even during the hottest months, July and August, the average temperature sits around 18°C. However, the climate does remain mild during the winter months and even in the coldest parts the temperature rarely drops below 3°C. 

Travelling to Normandy 

There are many options when it comes to getting to Normandy, one of the easiest ways is by sea. There is a choice of 4 cross channel ferry ports which are Rouen, Le Havre, Cherbourg and Ouistreham/Caen. Each of these ferry ports offer you direct route to Normandy from England or Ireland. Transmanche Ferries offer daily links between Newhaven and Dieppe, Brittany Ferries offer daily links between Portsmouth and Caen and Cherbourg, Cherbourg is also available from Poole. Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris is the most convenient airport to access Normandy where you can rent a car or catch a train. Less than an hour away is Beauvais Airport which receives daily low cost flights from both the UK and Ireland provided by Ryan Air.Although the smaller towns don’t have regular links by train, the French rail network SNCF does provide daily and regular links from Paris.