the white cliffs of the Côte d'Albâtre with the Aiguille, the Porte d'Aval and the Manneporte, the paths along the top, the pebble beach, Maurice Leblanc's Clos Lupin and the motorhome stopover at the entrance to the village
Étretat is a fishing village that became a seaside resort, at the bottom of a valley on the Côte d'Albâtre, the coast of white limestone cliffs of the Pays de Caux, between Le Havre and Fécamp. The pebble beach lies between two cliffs: on the left, looking out to sea, the falaise d'Aval, with the arch of the Porte d'Aval, the Aiguille rising out of the water and, further on, the Manneporte; on the right the falaise d'Amont, with the sailors' chapel and the monument to Nungesser and Coli. The cliffs are seen from above, from the paths along the top, and from the village beach: below the rock, today, you no longer go. The motorhome stays at the Espace Maupassant stopover, at the entrance to the village, and the centre, which is small, is explored on foot; on crowded days the commune closes it to cars.
Sleeping
Stops and overnight stays
The motorhome sleeps at the Espace Maupassant stopover, in rue Guy de Maupassant, at the entrance to the village, next to the commune's campsite, just over a kilometre from the sea: it is open all year, has thirty-five spaces and cannot be booked. The municipal campsite next door opens from mid-March to mid-November. If the stopover is full, in Villainville, seven kilometres away, there is another stopover with the bus to Étretat a hundred metres away, and there are the Saint-Jouin-Bruneval stopover by the sea and the Abijune campsite in Le Tilleul. In the village the car parks are paid all year, and whether motorhomes may use them the tourist office does not say.
Area camper Espace Maupassant
73 rue Guy de Maupassant, 76790 Étretat
the stopover closed by a barrier at the entrance to the village, on the edge of the municipal campsite, run by Qipeo and open day and night. There are two water bollards, one inside, included in the stay, and one outside for those who only fill up; then the emptying point for grey water and the toilet, and bins. Electricity is taken from the bollard, controlled with the operator's app. There are no toilets or showers. You go to the centre and the beach on foot or by bicycle, along the rue Guy de Maupassant. Dogs are allowed. The phone number is the one the department's tourism board gives for Qipeo, which is based in Brittany
35 motorhome pitches
ElectricityWaterGrey water
14.32 euros for 24 hours for two adults, including 1.32 euros of tourist tax; water from the bollard inside the stopover is included, and the operator lists separately water at 4 euros for ten minutes and electricity at 6 euros for eight hours. This is the operator's price list in October 2026 · +33 2 98 53 99 39 · qipeo.com
the commune's campsite, next to the motorhome stopover, with pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes, guarded at night. It has an emptying point for motorhomes, toilets with showers, accessible, a washing machine and a tumble dryer, a play area and boules; free wifi is only available at reception. You can pay by card, by cheque, with chèques vacances or in cash. Whether it can be booked, the commune's page does not say
73 pitches in all
ElectricityGrey waterToiletsShowerLaundry
The commune gives the items without the year: 20 euros for a pitch with the vehicle and electricity, 15 euros without electricity, plus 8 euros per adult, 5 euros for children from 4 to 12 and 4 euros for a pet · +33 2 35 27 07 67 · etretat.fr
a new stopover in the countryside, seven kilometres from Étretat, open day and night and run by Qipeo, like the one in Étretat: today it has eighteen spaces, and thirty-nine once the grass has grown on the others. You pay by card. The stop of line 21 of the LiA network, which goes to Étretat, is a hundred metres away: it is the back-up stopover for the days when the one in the village is full. The phone number is Qipeo's
18 motorhome pitches
WaterGrey water
According to the department's tourism board, from 10 to 13 euros a night for two people, and from 4 euros for filling and emptying only · +33 2 98 53 99 39 · qipeo.com
23 rue Lord Louis Mountbatten, 76280 Saint-Jouin-Bruneval
a Qipeo stopover with a view of the open sea, south of Étretat towards Le Havre, open day and night, with dogs allowed. You pay by card. The car park of the Saint-Jouin-Bruneval beach, the tourist office warns, is no longer open to motorhomes
22 motorhome pitches
WaterGrey water
According to the tourist office, from 10 to 13 euros for a stay with water; 4 euros for filling and emptying only, with the short stay, three hours at most · qipeo.com
a four-star campsite in Le Tilleul, the village just south of Étretat, with filling and emptying for motorhomes, pitches and mobile homes, a snack bar and electric bike hire; the heated, partly covered swimming pool opens from early May to mid-September. At night the campsite is closed. You walk down to the sea through the valleuse d'Antifer, the green valley that reaches the beach. The months in which the campsite is open are not given: ask beforehand
97 pitches in all
services not recorded
According to the tourist office from 27 to 59 euros, depending on the pitch and the season · camping-abijune.com
In Étretat you walk: the centre is small, and the cliffs are climbed on foot, by the steps and the paths that start from the two ends of the beach. The motorhome stays at the stopover.
The centre closed to cars: on crowded days, when the car parks in the centre are ninety per cent full, the commune closes the four entrances to the centre with barriers, not before 10:00 and until 19:00 at the latest, and only residents, hotel guests with a booking, the emergency services, bicycles and e-scooters get through. The 2026 order included the school holidays and the long weekends among these days; for 2027 a new one will be needed. In any case, do not take the motorhome into the centre
The village car parks are paid all year, at weekends and on public holidays too, from 9:00 to 19:00. According to the price list in force since 1 January 2025, in the car parks of the orange zone (Fréfossé, Grand Val, route de Criquetot and Gare) half a day costs 7.50 euros and a full day 15 euros; in the centre 3 euros an hour. Whether motorhomes are allowed is not stated. Outside the car parks, the tourist office warns that stopping is forbidden on the side of the Criquetot road at the entrance to the village and at the entrance to Bénouville, on the D11
By bus: line 509 of the Nomad network runs from Le Havre to Fécamp along the coast and passes through Étretat; line 504 brings you to Étretat from Bréauté-Beuzeville station, on the railway line between Paris and Le Havre; from Le Havre lines 13 and 21 of the LiA network also go to Étretat, and line 21 passes a hundred metres from the Villainville stopover. Out of season the commune recommends the train to Fécamp or Le Havre and then the bus. Routes can be looked up on atoumod.fr
Towards Honfleur: the road crosses the Seine estuary on the Pont de Normandie, a toll bridge. From 1 May 2026 it costs 6.10 euros in class 1 and 7.10 euros in class 2, the class in which the local papers put motorhomes; the operator does not say how a motorhome is classified. You pay in cash or by card, and the tolls change every 1 May. Further upstream is the Pont de Tancarville, which costs 3.70 euros in class 2
Low emission zones: Étretat has none. Le Havre has a zone enclosed by the RD 6382 ring road, to the north and east, and the canal de Tancarville, to the south: according to Le Havre Seine Métropole, since 1 January 2025 it only bans vehicles that cannot have the sticker, but the Crit'Air sticker is required to drive in the zone. In Rouen the sticker is required even for those just passing through, and Crit'Air 4 and 5 and vehicles without a class are banned. The sticker is ordered only on the official website certificat-air.gouv.fr
Seeing
Sights
One day is enough for the beach, the two cliffs and the centre: you go up on one side, come down, cross the village and go up on the other. Those who stay longer walk the coast path, towards the Aiguille de Belval to the north and the valleuse d'Antifer to the south. Tap a marker on the map to open its entry below.
1
The beach and the perrey
Beach · free entry · 49.70837, 0.20356
the pebble beach between the Porte d'Aval and the Porte d'Amont, once the harbour where the fishing boats were hauled up out of the water: on the perrey, the seafront promenade that runs along the sea wall above the beach, the wooden capstans are still there, and on the sea wall, on the falaise d'Amont side, a diving board rebuilt like the one used by the first bathers. On the beach an underground river wells up, where washerwomen once came to do the laundry. It is the only stretch of the commune's coast where you may stay: below the cliffs, to the right and to the left, the beach is forbidden. From Easter to November the Voiles et Galets sailing club hires out paddleboards and kayaks, and from March to October the Natterra association runs nature walks on the beach at low tide, for adults and for children. With an orange or red warning for wind or storms the sea wall and the beach are closed.
The falaise d'Aval, the Aiguille and the Manneporte
Viewpoint · free entry · 49.70734, 0.19354
the cliff on the left looking out to sea, which you climb on foot from the west end of the beach, by the path and the steps, up to the grassland at the top, next to the golf course. From above you look down on the Porte d'Aval, the arch carved by the waves at the tip of the cliff, the Aiguille, 51 metres high, and further on the Manneporte, the largest arch, through which, according to Maupassant, a ship could have passed under full sail. Below are the Jambourg beach, the Petit Port and the Trou à l'Homme, the cave where according to legend a sailor found safety, and in the cliff the Chambre des Demoiselles, which legend holds to be the tomb of three girls from the village: a 2025 order of the commune bans the Trou à l'Homme, the Chambre des Demoiselles, the tunnels and the beaches below the cliffs, and at the top going within five metres of the edge. The path continues along the coast towards the valleuse d'Antifer and Le Tilleul.
the cliff on the right looking out to sea, which was once called the falaise du Blanc-Trait, for the white of the rock that could be seen from offshore. You climb the steps from the east end of the sea wall up to the chapelle Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, the chapel of the fishermen and sailors: the first was blessed in 1856, built with materials the sailors carried up on their shoulders, and destroyed by the German occupiers in 1942; today's chapel was rebuilt and consecrated in 1950, with gargoyles shaped like fish heads. It is closed and is seen from outside. From the edge you see the Porte d'Amont, the smaller arch, and opposite the whole bay with the falaise d'Aval; peregrine falcons and cormorants nest on the cliff. Here too you do not go within five metres of the edge. The path continues towards Bénouville and the Aiguille de Belval.
on the falaise d'Amont, next to the chapel, the monument to Charles Nungesser and François Coli, the two aviators who on 8 May 1927 took off from Le Bourget in the Oiseau Blanc to cross the Atlantic and disappeared: Étretat was the last place in France from which they were seen flying past. The first monument was destroyed by the Germans in 1942, and today's dates from after the war; the plaque tells the story. Next to it is the Musée du patrimoine, the village's small museum, with a room on the two aviators: in October 2026 the tourist office no longer listed it, so ask whether it is open before going up. 8 May 2027 marks a hundred years since the flight.
the gardens on the falaise d'Amont, around the villa La Roxelane, where in 1905 the actress Madame Thébault, inspired by Monet, planted the first tree. Today's gardens, less than a hectare, were redesigned by the landscape architect Alexandre Grivko, with hedges and trees clipped into shapes, and a collection of contemporary artworks among the plants, above the sea. They hold the Jardin remarquable label. The dates and times are those the gardens gave to the Normandy tourism board, without the year; in bad weather they may close.
Opening hours from 4 March to 3 April Wednesday to Sunday 10:00-17:30; from 4 April to 10 July every day 10:00-17:30; from 11 July to 23 August every day 10:00-18:30; from 24 August to 1 November every day 10:00-17:30 · 12.90 euros in April, May, June, September and October, 11 euros in March and on 1 November; the July and August price is not given. From 15 to 17 years 10 euros, from 8 to 14 years 8 euros, free up to 7 years · +33 2 35 27 05 76 · etretatgarden.fr · info@etretatgarden.fr
the heart of the village, a stone's throw from the sea. The wooden halles, which look old, date from 1926: they were designed by the architect Émile Mauge, with old salvaged materials, and today they house souvenir shops and craftspeople. In front stands the Manoir de la Salamandre, a half-timbered house from the Pays d'Auge taken apart in Lisieux and rebuilt here. In the 1920s Mauge designed much of the centre, in the Norman half-timbered style. On Thursday mornings there is the market, in the squares around the halles. The town hall and the tourist office information point are in place Maurice Guillard.
the half-timbered house that Maurice Leblanc bought at the end of the First World War and left in 1940, and where he wrote many of the adventures of Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief. The visit is an eight-stage route through the house and the garden, with the audio guide handed out at the entrance. You can pay by card, by cheque, with chèques vacances or in cash. Not far away is the villa La Guillette, built for Guy de Maupassant, which is private and can only be seen from outside.
Opening hours in autumn 2026 at weekends, with entry from 10:00 to 11:30 and from 13:30 to 17:30 and closing at 18:00, and every day except Monday during the All Saints' holidays; ask for the spring hours · 8.50 euros; reduced 6.50 euros for seniors, students and the unemployed; 6 euros under 12 years
the village church, a little outside the centre, inland, linked in the Middle Ages to the abbey of Fécamp. The façade and the first bays of the nave are Romanesque, with round columns and decorated arches, the rest is Gothic; the organ is by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, of 1852. It has been a historic monument since 1840. The opening times are not published.
to the north, beyond the falaise d'Amont, the coast continues with the Aiguille de Belval, a rock that stands balanced on an ever thinner base, and with the Roc Vaudieu, where guillemots nest. Le Havre Seine Métropole makes it a 9.2 kilometre loop, with 191 metres of ascent, about two and a half hours, waymarked in pink: it starts from the school car park in Bénouville, goes down the valleuse du Curé, passes the Roc Vaudieu and the chapel, goes down the steps to the perrey in Étretat and returns on the GR 21. Along the route you can still see the remains of an oyster bed dug in 1777 for Marie Antoinette. The edge of the cliff is dangerous, because the coast is constantly retreating.
to the south, beyond the falaise d'Aval, the valleuse d'Antifer, a green valley running down to the sea, more than a hundred and fifty hectares of the Conservatoire du littoral with orchids in the meadows and a two kilometre path down to the beach. Further on is the Antifer lighthouse, rebuilt and lit on 1 November 1955, 34 metres high. Le Havre Seine Métropole makes it a 12.4 kilometre loop, with 320 metres of ascent, about three and a half hours, waymarked in green, which starts from the Conservatoire car park in Le Tilleul and can also be joined from Étretat, from the place du Général-de-Gaulle car park.
In Étretat the festivals belong to the village: Ascension Day with the wreath laid at sea, the fireworks on the eve of 14 July, the painters' day on the perrey and the potters' market in summer, and in September the trail race on the cliffs. 8 May 2027 marks a hundred years since the flight of the Oiseau Blanc: in October 2026 the commune had not announced anything.
Next: Fête de l'Ascension · 6 May
6May
Fête de l'Ascension
on Ascension Thursday
the village festival, in honour of the sailors and fishermen: mass, usually on the perrey, the procession with the band down to the beach, and from the perrey the mayor and the parish priest board the Fécamp lifeboat and lay a wreath at sea, in the bay between the two cliffs. It is free
to be confirmed
13Jul
Fête nationale
on the evening of 13 July
in Étretat the national holiday is celebrated on the evening before: the children's lantern procession leaves the town hall and goes down to the beach with the band, then come the fireworks at the end of the perrey, in front of the falaise d'Aval, and the dance in front of the town hall. That evening the commune restricts traffic and parking
to be confirmed
12Sep
Trail de la Pointe de Caux
in September
the race on the cliffs, on a Sunday in mid-September, with two courses, one of 28 kilometres and one of 13, which start from the perrey: that morning the paths along the top are full of runners
This year's dates are not out yet
Journée des Arts
a Sunday in late July
the painters' day: those who register in the morning paint on the perrey and in the village, and from 16:00 the paintings are auctioned for charity
Marché des céramistes
in mid-August
for two days some fifteen potters in front of the halles, with the Normandy ceramics hub
Remember
Useful tips
You do not go below the cliffs: a 2025 order of the commune bans the beaches at the foot of the falaises d'Aval and d'Amont, the Trou à l'Homme, the Chambre des Demoiselles and the tunnels, and at the top the five metre strip from the edge. The guides that describe the Manneporte at low tide are out of date. Those who ignore the bans risk a fine, and the fire brigade charges for call-outs that are not emergencies
1 May 2027 is a Saturday, and in France it is the only public holiday on which by law almost all employed work stops: museums, gardens and shops may be closed, so ask beforehand. In 2027 the spring holidays of the schools of Normandy, zone B, run from 17 April to 2 May, and school starts again on the 3rd: on the 1 May weekend the village is full. The Ascension long weekend is full too, from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 May, with the village festival on the Thursday
On crowded days arrive at the stopover early in the morning: it has thirty-five spaces and cannot be booked. If it is full, the Villainville stopover has the bus to Étretat a hundred metres away. In Étretat you get around on foot, because the centre may close to cars from 10:00 to 19:00
The Guézane car park, in Le Tilleul, on the RD 39 at the entrance to Étretat, is a meadow that in summer the owners open free of charge to cars, with a footpath to the centre; a project approved in 2025 provides for twenty-four motorhome spaces there. Whether it will be ready in 2027, and whether you will be able to sleep there, nobody says yet
The beach pebbles are not to be taken away, not even one: they protect the village from the sea, and there is a fine. With an orange or red Météo-France warning the sea wall and the beach are closed
The tides of Étretat can be read on the website of the French hydrographic service, maree.shom.fr. They are of little use for the paths, because you cannot pass below the cliffs
The market is on Thursday morning: those passing through at the weekend buy their fish elsewhere. Cidre Pasquier in Fongueusemare, a cider farm inland, with free tasting, is open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 19:00, and closed on Sundays and public holidays
Marinated mackerel can be made in a motorhome on a single burner, and kept in the fridge for the following days
Étretat · part two
and then?
What to taste, and where to go tomorrow.
Taste
This is the coast of fish: the Thursday market, around the halles, has, depending on the season, sole, sea bass, mackerel, and when the cold arrives herring and scallops. Mackerel is caught mainly from February to August, and in May it is the fish to choose; herring is a fish of autumn and winter, and in autumn the coast holds its festivals, in Fécamp and in Dieppe. The cheese of the department is the heart-shaped Neufchâtel, which however comes from the Pays de Bray, further inland. From apples come cider, pommeau and calvados, and in Fécamp, along the coast to the north, stands the palace of Bénédictine, the town's liqueur. In the village, at the foot of the cliffs, the shop La Mer à Boire, in place du Général-de-Gaulle, sells calvados and cider from small producers, cheeses, fish soup and preserves.
remove the black membrane inside the belly of the mackerel, put them in an oval dish, salt them and leave them to rest for two hours
score the carrots lengthwise and cut them into rounds, and slice the onions into rings too; cut the green of the leeks into strips, the white into rounds
put all the vegetables in a pan with the peppercorns, the cloves and the white wine, and boil hard for ten minutes
add the vinegar and the lemon cut into slices, and boil for another five minutes
dry the mackerel, put them in the boiling stock for five minutes, then take off the heat and drain them
put the mackerel in a dish or a terrine, strain the stock, keeping the vegetables aside, and pour it over them boiling hot
cover the mackerel with the slices of onion, carrot and lemon, put the lid on and leave to cool
the Aiguille and the Porte d'Aval seen from above, with the little beach at the foot of the cliff and the green sea, in JunePhoto: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the bay, the beach and the village, with the golf course on top of the Falaise d'Aval and the Porte d'Aval at the far endPhoto: Gerdami, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0the seafront promenade above the beach, almost empty, with the Falaise d'Aval at the far endPhoto: stephanemat, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0fishing boats hauled up on the shingle, with the Porte d'Aval behind, in MayPhoto: Gordito1869, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0dark wooden huts and a boat on the Terrasse Claude MonetPhoto: Txllxt TxllxT, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the flint pebbles of the beach, close upPhoto: Erik-Jan Leusink ejleusink, Wikimedia Commons, CC0the Falaise d'Aval with the Porte d'Aval and the Aiguille, seen from the other side of the bayPhoto: Alexandre Prevot, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0the Aiguille and the Porte d'Aval at low tide, under a blue skyPhoto: Jörg Braukmann, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the chalk pinnacles on the Falaise d'Aval, with the bay, the village and the Falaise d'Amont beyondPhoto: Txllxt TxllxT, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the wooden steps of the path on the Falaise d'Aval, among the meadows on top of the cliffPhoto: Txllxt TxllxT, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the Manneporte and the beach below the cliff seen from the path, with pink flowers on the edge, in JunePhoto: Txllxt TxllxT, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the Manneporte behind the white flowers on the cliff edge, in JunePhoto: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0La Manneporte, the painting by Claude Monet made at Étretat in 1883Photo: Claude Monet, Wikimedia Commons, pubblico dominiothe Falaise d'Amont in the evening light, with the chapel on the edge and people on the beach, in AugustPhoto: Superbass, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the Porte d'Amont seen from above, with the meadows of the cliff and the turquoise sea, in JunePhoto: Zairon, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the steps of the path up the Falaise d'Amont, with people at the top, in AprilPhoto: Fabio Achilli, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0the village, the beach and the Falaise d'Aval seen from the Falaise d'Amont, in the evening light, in AugustPhoto: Superbass, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the plaque of the Nungesser and Coli memorial: L'Oiseau Blanc left France at Étretat on 8 May 1927, and the first memorial was destroyed in 1942Photo: Dickeybird, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0a pyramidal orchid in flower in the meadows of Étretat, in JunePhoto: Shi Annan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0a street in the centre with restaurant tables and red geraniums, in AugustPhoto: Itto Ogami, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0the Manoir de la Salamandre seen from Rue Monge, the half-timbered house taken apart in Lisieux and rebuilt herePhoto: Txllxt TxllxT, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0the Église Notre-Dame with its tower over the crossing, behind the graves of the cemetery, in MayPhoto: Gordito1869, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0the Romanesque nave of the Église Notre-Dame, with its round columns and decorated archesPhoto: Patrick, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0the pavilion in the garden of the Clos Lupin, Maurice Leblanc's house, with the wisteria in flower, in early MayPhoto: Gordito1869, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
