ORNE HOLIDAY COTTAGES AND GITES | Orne holiday rental houses and cottages in Normandy, France. Orne is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. The department is in the Lower-Normandy region, its rural landscape ensures one in five of the population is involved in farming. The Orne is known for its meadows, orchards, forests of oak and beech trees, rivers, half-timbered houses, and traditional farmhouses - there is much to admire when staying in an Orne self catering holiday villa or cottage.