Hotel Vent d'Ouest
Fécamp - 3 avenue Gambetta
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Located in the Seine-Maritime département, Fécamp is one of the main ports on the alabaster coast and a picturesque village overlooking the sea.
Long pebble beaches, imposing limestone cliffs, breathtaking viewpoints and legends whispered from the old stones await you. In Fecamp, everything speaks of the sea, storms and hard life on board fishing boats.
Located in the maritime department of Seine in the Normandy region, Fecamp is a charming and pretty seaside resort, overlooking the sea and nestled between two walls of imposing cliffs, very close to Etretat.
Fecamp has always had a strong maritime vocation: in fact, fishing boats used to leave from here to fish cod from Newfoundland, Canada. With its beautiful beach, brick houses and blue sea, it has become a popular seaside resort for Parisians.
In the heart of Fecamp is a fabulous neo-Gothic building, which today houses a distillery. The building is a masterpiece of architectural detailing, with stone lacework, spires and pointed towers, while the interior is a succession of finely decorated rooms, embellished with stained glass windows, carved wooden walls, libraries and vaults made like upturned boat hulls, in honour of the town’s seafaring tradition.
The guided tour will allow you to discover the history and all the steps involved in the production of a very famous Benedictine elixir , a brandy dating back to the Middle Ages. This distillate based on 27 medicinal herbs and spices, the digestive Bénédictine, was supposedly invented by a Benedictine monk: its recipe was lost during the French Revolution and then rediscovered by chance in 1863 by a wine merchant from Fecamp, named Alexander the Great.
The liquor merchant had this building built to provide a prestigious setting for the distillery, which is still in operation today. The visit allows you to discover all the secrets of the production of this distillate and ends with a final tasting.
One of the most scenic points of Fecamp is certainly Cap Fagnet, the promontory that dominates the town. From the top, the panorama is truly exceptional: you can admire the alabaster coastline in all its splendour. In fact, your eyes will embrace the long white cliffs overlooking the sea as far as Etretat.
We recommend you follow the path that winds along the top of the cliffs, which stand out against the blue of the sky and sea. This is where the Vikings landed during their voyages and explorations. The route passes several bunkers that were part of the Atlantic Wall: these small military constructions camouflaged in the terrain were built by the Germans during World War II to protect the coast from Allied landings.
Hidden by the vegetation is also the German military hospital, which can only be visited by prior reservation at the Fecamp Tourist Office: a labyrinth of tunnels carved into the limestone, hiding large halls, transport tracks and dark tunnels.
This immense pebble beach, bordered by its magnificent cliffs, is truly enchanting and we recommend that you take the time to admire it and take a long, regenerating walk.
You can’t miss the view of the cliffs at sunset, when the white stone is tinged pink and offers a magnificent panorama.
Lovers of the sea and the charms of hard seafaring life will not miss the Fishing Museum.
The museum is housed in a former cod drying kiln and its collections depict very well the life of the Norman fishermen. On the top floor is a belvedere that offers a 360° view of the harbour, the city and the coast – a fabulous panorama.
In the gallery there are maps of the town, customs and traditions of the region, while an entire floor is dedicated to the history of cod and herring fishing, the most widespread commercial activity in the area since ancient times. In fact, the fishermen of Fecamp ventured as far north as the Canadian coast of Newfoundland to fish for cod.
A stone’s throw from the museum is the fish market, the best place in town to sample seafood, caught that day.
Sitting on a small table in front of the harbour, watching the hustle and bustle of the fishing boats, you can enjoy a delicious plate of prawns, crab claws, smoked herring, mingling with the locals.
The harbour of Fecamp, with its turquoise waters, is one of the most picturesque places in town. Admire the pleasure boats and fishing boats moored at the quays. You can capture beautiful seascapes, framed by the profile of Cap Fagnet.
The monumental Benedictine Abbey of the Holy Trinity, built within the walls of the Castle of the Dukes of Normandy, is an admirable example of Gothic architecture. Visitors are impressed by its size: the 127-metre long nave, the 40-metre high arches and the soaring 65-metre high lantern tower.
The abbey church, built at the behest of Richard I, houses a precious relic, for which it has become one of the main places of pilgrimage in France. According to legend, at the crucifixion of Christ, Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea managed to preserve a few drops of Christ’s blood in small vials. The two saints hid the vials in fig wood, which they then threw into the sea: the wood would sail out to sea, carried by the currents, as far as the coast of Fécamp.
Surrounding the abbey is the historic centre of Fecamp, full of old half-timbered houses, picturesque narrow streets, quaint and colourful shops, together with the ruins of the Ducal Palace, home of the first Duke of Normandy.
On a nice sunny day, you can walk to the lighthouse at the end of a long wooden footbridge in the middle of the sea. From here you have a magnificent view of the harbour and can admire beautiful sunsets.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
Less crowded than neighbouring Etratat, Fecamp is a good place to find reasonably priced accommodation, finding different solutions to suit different budget requirements.
In order to have all the services at hand and the beach nearby, we recommend you choose an establishment not too far from the town centre.
Fecamp is located on the alabaster coast, overlooking the English Channel, in the stretch between Dieppe and Etretat.
Once you have landed at Paris Beauvais Airport or Paris-Orly Airport and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, Fecamp can be reached by car in about 2 hours and 30 minutes starting from Paris: you should follow the A13 motorway to Rouen and then take the A150 .
Normandy is the only region in France not connected by TGV trains. Due to its proximity to the Ile-de-France, it is one of the easiest areas to reach from Paris by TER and INTERCITES trains departing from Paris Saint-Lazare and Paris – Gare du Nord stations.
With Flixbus, there are daily connections between Paris La Defence/ Paris Bercy Seine and Fecamp.
What's the weather at Fécamp? Below are the temperatures and the weather forecast at Fécamp for the next few days.
Overlooking the English Channel, Fecamp is a lively seaside resort on the Alabaster Coast.
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