Vieux-Bassin & the Lieutenance
Honfleur's old harbour is one of the most painted corners of France, and standing here you instantly understand why Monet, Boudin and Courbet couldn't stay away. Tall, slate-fronted houses six storeys high crowd the quayside, their mirror images trembling in the dark-green water below.
The Quays at Golden Hour
The Quai Sainte-Catherine and Quai Saint-Étienne frame the basin on two sides, lined with restaurants whose terrace tables spill almost to the water's edge. Arrive before 9 a.m. or after 7 p.m. to see the reflections without tour-group crowds blocking the shot.
The Lieutenance — a 16th-century gatehouse that was once the governor's residence — anchors the eastern end of the basin and makes an unmissable foreground for photographs. Look for the carved stone plaque marking the spot where Samuel de Champlain departed to found Quebec in 1608.
Walking the Surrounding Streets
Duck into Rue de la Bavole and Rue des Logettes, the narrow lanes immediately behind the quay, where half-timbered Norman houses lean so close overhead they almost touch. Independent galleries selling original seascape paintings occupy almost every ground floor.
The Greniers à Sel — two enormous 17th-century salt warehouses on Rue de la Ville — have been converted into a cultural venue hosting concerts and exhibitions, and their massive oak-beamed interiors are worth a peek even when nothing is on.
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