Hôtel de la Plage
Dieppe - 20 Boulevard De Verdun
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This town, with its somewhat rough seaside charm, has a very special atmosphere: the sea is omnipresent and maritime culture permeates every street corner. The best time of day is at sunset: you can watch the cliffs turn colour and admire the medieval castle, which looms over the harbour, the real beating heart of the town.
Dieppe is a pleasant place that lingers in the heart: it enchants its visitors with its charm as the lair of corsairs and explorers of bygone days.
Dieppe is a lively town all year round. During the summer it comes alive with many nautical festivals, musical events, cultural exhibitions and the not-to-be-missed International Kite Festival, which takes place over the cliffs every two years and welcomes more than 40 nationalities: a breathtakingly colourful festival.
November, meanwhile, sees the Herring and Scallop Festival, a simply enormous event. In the streets of the city, hundreds of barbecues grill thousands of herring and scallops and you can smell an inviting aroma. It is a great popular, joyful and colourful festival that tells Dieppe’s maritime history.
Also not to be missed is the beautiful Saturday morning market where you can sample all the local delicacies.
This imposing castle, made of sandstone and red and white brick, is mighty, harmonious and magnificent. Inside, it houses an exceptional collection of carved ivories, one of the richest in France, as well as a beautiful set of nautical charts, navigational instruments, cutters and models of sailboats, bearing witness to the town’s maritime history.
Don’t miss the small path that starts at rue du Faubourg de la Barre and takes you on foot to the esplanade of the castle: from up there, the view of the city and the beach is impressive. In front of you, you can admire the immensity of the sea, with its enchanting shades of blue and green, embracing a breathtaking spectacle .
It took almost 400 years to complete the construction of Dieppe’s main church: it is an admirable example of French Gothic architecture.
Don’t miss the particularly elaborate western rose window and the bizarre gargoyles atop the façade: there are more than 100 of them. The church was commissioned by fleet captain Jean Ango, who provided King Francis I with his ships for the first explorations across the ocean: in fact, one of the friezes sculpted in the Chappelle du Trésor, depicts Brazilian Indians, drawn from the descriptions of sailors and explorers returning from their expeditions.
It is one of the liveliest areas of the city: the maritime atmosphere is enchanting and you can stay for hours watching the hundreds of boats moored at the quays. There are plenty of cafés and restaurants around, where you can enjoy Dieppe’s tasty seafood cuisine. Don’t miss dinner at the harbour, tasting the town’s typical dish, marmite dieppoise, a creamy soup of fish, shellfish and crustaceans.
Early in the morning, you can watch the fishing boats unload the scallops caught during the night.
The large pebble beach offers a wonderful view of the city and at low tide you can pick up shells and coloured stones. Don’t miss a pleasant stroll along the promenade, walking to the base of the cliffs.
Here you will also find many thalassotherapy centres for an afternoon of relaxation and wellness.
For a truly romantic walk, we recommend a visit to Pollet, the old fishing quarter where the ivory and spice trade used to take place. Walking through the old alleys, such as the cobbled Rue du Petit Fort, you can admire wonderful half-timbered houses and pretty fishermen’s houses with white flint walls.
From this area, you can climb up to the chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours at the top of the cliffs, from where there is a spectacular view of the city.
One of the most fascinating sights in Dieppe is the bridge that connects Le Pollet to the rest of the town: it is the oldest swing bridge in the world . The original mechanism dates back to 1889, an incredible device that is still used today: the bridge is the shortest way to get to the centre.
If you want to learn all about the maritime history of the city, visit the Cité de la Mer, an interesting museum where every aspect of navigation, fishing, shipbuilding, the coastal environment, with several marine aquariums, is told.
Through these themes, spread over 1,600 m², you will discover all the richness of the Haute-Normandie coastline: from the drakkar to the working trawler, from the herring oven to the scallop dredger, from the pebble reefs and seahorse to the codfish.
Dieppe retains a very strong link with Canada, following the Second World War and, in particular, Operation Jubilee. On the morning of 19 August 1942, in fact, 250 ships, 8,000 men consisting mainly of Canadians, landed at Dieppe: the aim was to destroy the German military defences, bring back information, documents and prisoners.
The choice of location fell on Dieppe because of its deep-water harbour, its wide beach and its proximity to the English coast. Unfortunately, the operation turned out to be a bloody failure. In just a few hours, more than 2,000 Canadian soldiers perished.
The memorial, located near the Tourelles, the remains of the ramparts that surrounded the town, traces the Anglo-Canadian raid through documents, objects, photos, uniforms, period weapons and a souvenir film.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
Nicknamed the city of four ports, Dieppe is a famous seaside resort blessed with a distinct oceanic climate: winters are mild and summers rather cool.
A stopover in Dieppe is a good starting point for exploring the Alabaster coast, before arriving at Etretat and Fecamp. If you plan to stay in the town, we recommend a hotel in the old town, the soul of Dieppe: the alleys winding through the town and the atmosphere of the fishermen’s port give the centre a unique charm, to be savoured especially in the evenings.
The most convenient and closest international airports are those that gravitate around the French capital: Paris Beauvais, Paris Orly and Paris-Charles de Gaulle. From here, you can rent a car and start your trip to Normandy.
Paris is approximately 208 km from Dieppe, 2 hours and 40 minutes by motorway A13, A151 and N27.
With Flixbus you can easily reach the French capital in an economical and practical way: buses leave from Bercy Seine, Porte Saint Ouen or Defence.
TER and INTERCITES trains depart from Paris Saint-Lazare station to Dieppe with several daily connections.
What's the weather at Dieppe? Below are the temperatures and the weather forecast at Dieppe for the next few days.
Dieppe is a town in the Seine-Maritime department, overlooking the English Channel.
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