Honfleur?

[amanda blake]

we have been to Paris and this time would like to see honfleur...

 

has anyone done that on their own...we have all day as the day in port for paris is long...

 

any info regarding transportation would be appreciated..I have not found anything that has been helpful...will wait a bit longer before taking the ships tour as a last resort...

 

thank you....

[Karynanne]

We did this lovely little town on our own in May. At the Le Harvre cruise terminal, you can find many taxis or larger van, and can negotiate a fee to take you to Honfleur. There were six of us, and we walked around the town...very quaint with lovely shops, and then had lunch right on the canal, that runs through the town. The same driver picked us up, at a pre-arranged time. Enjoy!

 

Karyn

[Roland4]

We will be going to Honfleur next year on a different cruise and it is my understanding that you can tour the landing beaches at Normandy from there. If that sort of thing is of interest to you.

[Blazerboy]

We were two of the six with Karyn....it's about a half an hour drive... with the six of us, it was cheaper than taking the train/bus from Le Havre....but if you decide to take the bus, they willl have the schedule in the tourist info booth at the pier. But you really need to take a cab to the bus station, so try to work out a deal with a cab driver for the whole trip...Just make sure you leave lots of time....there are great shops, but they are mostly closed from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The village is charming, and most of the restaurants along the canal had fun looking menus....cute streets, a lovely merry go round, and lovely churches...we could have spent twice as long....Have fun.

 

 

Andrew

[Texed]

Andrew always has great advice.:)

[oceanbear]

We were two of the six with Karyn....it's about a half an hour drive... with the six of us, it was cheaper than taking the train/bus from Le Havre....but if you decide to take the bus, they willl have the schedule in the tourist info booth at the pier. But you really need to take a cab to the bus station, so try to work out a deal with a cab driver for the whole trip...Just make sure you leave lots of time....there are great shops, but they are mostly closed from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The village is charming, and most of the restaurants along the canal had fun looking menus....cute streets, a lovely merry go round, and lovely churches...we could have spent twice as long....Have fun.

 

 

Andrew

Are the shops open on Sunday? Our ship docks in Le Havre on a Sunday. We'd like to visit Honfleur, but that might not be as interesting if everything is closed.

[amanda blake]

shops closed from 1 to 4? wow...well just have to get the shopping out of the way first...then lunch and then some walking around the town to take in the view...

 

thank you for all the advice...this sure helps...yes we will try and get a group together to minimize on the cost of the van...and will negotiate....

[amanda blake]

give me an idea of what some of you paid for a taxi to honfleur..

 

thanks to all...

[Blazerboy]

Not sure about the shops on Sunday...I would imagine that some of the touristy ones would be, but it was the little gourmet food shops and antique stores that really tempted us...and i would imagine they'd be less likely.

 

Cab fare? I want to say it was about $140. with tip, but remember, that's versus $10. plus tip each way in a cab to/from the bus station, plus $22 or so per person for the bus. While we may not have saved a lot, we went on our schedule, not the bus line's. In doing it again, I'd probably investigate renting a car myself- heck, if I can navigate a right hand drive stickshift in England....:) On the other hand, not having to worry about directions, parking etc., made the cab a nice alternative.

 

If anyone does rent a car, consider going further on to Trouville and Deauville, too, other lovely seaside towns....I haven't been in years, but Mom was just there, as said the same great things that we were saying about Honfluer.

 

Andrew

[janrj7]

(Hi Andrew!)

 

Re: Honfleur, on our Connie T/A, my husband and I took the cruise line's bus to downtown Le Havre, walked down the boulevard about a mile back to the bus station (we passed it on the way in, but it's not where the Celebrity bus stops) and got round trip tickets on the next bus to Honfleur. The bus line's ticket clerk was so very helpful and kind, too, graciously putting up with my halting high school French and answering in flawless English.

 

The bus stop in Honfleur is right in the historic old district. We shopped a bit, took tons of pics of their fairy-tale perfect harbor, and had a lovely relaxed lunch at a sidewalk cafe with a great view of the town.

 

We caught the return bus (there's a shady kiosk there where you can wait for the bus) and then shared a taxi back to the ship with some new friends we'd met on the bus.

 

You'll love Honfleur! Have a great trip.

 

Regards,

Jan

[amanda blake]

andrew will the taxi take 6?...then of course that it the better deal...

 

thank you for all your wonderful advice...

 

jan what time did you make your way back to the bus?

[amanda blake]

and is that dollars ? or euros? thanks again...

[ECCruise]

We were in Honfleur last week. Although we did it in combination with Etretat and Fecamp, I seem to remember the stand alone fare to Honfleur was 130 Euros for about 3 hours time. The taxi drivers all have pre-printed cards with the prices displayed.

[sweetair]

hiya amanda!!!!

long time no see...hope everything is great with you and david!

have a fantastic cruise! i want to see a review please! since i cant get away to do a longer sailing...i will live through you and the hubby(say hi for me:D)

 

things are quiet here...i was on the crown princess inaugural and the freedom of the seas inaugural. Going back on crown in december 2006 but i so miss celebrity.i am hoping to do the connie(yaaaaaay) or millenium in march 2007.

hugs,

*sweet*

[amanda blake]

oh so nice to see you sweet...

 

yes we are connie addicts...will be on in sept, in dec and in aug of 07....

 

great itinerary in dec...maybe you will be tempted...it is 10 days though and I know it is hard for you to get that many days...but sure would be great to cruise together again..david says hi...

 

take care....

[janrj7]

jan what time did you make your way back to the bus?

 

I believe we took a mid-afternoon bus back, around 3 pm or so. We had about 4 hours in Honfleur, and spent a little time in Le Havre too.

[Blazerboy]

(Hi, Jan! We were in Le Havre again on the Connie this year, going East instead of West! When we cruised with you, we did the ship's tour to Etretat and Fecamp, which was fun, too.)

 

Amanda, I quoted dollars, which is fairly close to what ECCruise posted- we did haggle a bit- maybe that helped. Also helped that we weren't the first off the ship, but some of the last...around 10:30...I think most taxi drivers had given up hope for a good fare.

 

Yes, he had a minivan that seated seven.

 

Also, I did some research on Frnech websites, and, while my French is far from good, it looks like some of the store closures may be from only 12:30 to 2:30 or 3:00....

 

Andrew