Jaap van 't Veen's photos

Beaumont-en-Auge is dating back to the foundation of a Benedictine priory in 1060, giving the village a regional stature. It has played an important role in French history, reaching its peak at the end of the 18th century. The village is located on a 90 meters high outcrop, offering vast panoramic views of the Touques valley. Before the Christian era, the Celts who populated Normandy must have occupied this easily defensible peak. Nowadays the village with around 500 inhabitants - is well-known for its colourful half-timbered houses. Beaumont-en-Auge is listed as one of the prettiest villages in France. To be honest, we were a little disappointed about Beaumont. The number of half-timbered houses was quite limited, while the large number of parked cars detracted from the atmosphere and charm of the village.

Sword Beach and Juno Beach are two of the five D-Day beaches where Allied troops landed in the early morning of 6 June 1944 during the invasion of Normandy. Sword Beach was the British-French beach, where the landing went smoothly. Juno Beach was the beach where Canadian soldiers landed and where the fighting was heavy. On 6 June, in the afternoon, Hitler gave the order to advance a large number of divisions towards Normandy. But it was already too late; the battle had been decided. By midnight, more than 150,000 Allied soldiers, 23,000 paratroopers and 20,000 vehicles were in Normandy. 12,000 men were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Main image: Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, monument to 48th Royal Marine Commando’s During our holiday in Normandy, a visit to the D-Day beaches was a must. From our accommodation in Ouistreham, we took a bike ride along the coast to Courseulles-sur-Mer (Centre Juno Beach), passing Sword Beach and Juno Beach. We were impressed by the large number of monuments, memorials and military vehicles along the road. We live in Apeldoorn (the Netherlands), a town that was liberated by Canadian soldiers. No wonder we were particularly interested in Juno Beach with the Canada House - the first house liberated by Canadian troops on 6 June 1944, during Operation Overlord - and Juno Beach Centre, a Canadian museum dedicated to the landing beaches.

Église Sainte Catherine (Sainte Catherine Church) is one of Honfleur's most important monuments. The church was built in the 15th century to replace a stone church that was destroyed by the English during the Hundred Years' War. The church was built by the town's inhabitants after the war. As few resources were available, carpenters and ship wrights used wood from a nearby forest and their knowledge of shipbuilding. The first nave, the oldest part of the building, dates from the second half of the 15th century. It is built on the model of a market hall with an impressive ceiling resembling the inverted hull of a ship. The Sainte Catherine Church is the largest wooden church in France. The bell tower was built separate from the nave, a choice made to reduce the risk of fire. It has a square frame on a stone base, is coated with shingles and topped by an octagonal pyramid. In 1718, 'crutches' were put in place to support the bell tower. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1870.

Église Saint-Léonard (Saint-Léonard Church), first mentioned in a document dating from 1186, was destroyed by the English during the Hundred Years' War in 1357. In 1419, the church was rebuilt and is still in use as a parish church. The Saint-Léonard Church was built in honour of Leonardo, a young nobleman from the royal court of Clovis. He is considered being the patron saint of prisoners. The façade, dating from the late 15th/early 16th century, is in the original Gothic architecture of that period, but the major part of the building was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries. The octagonal bell tower, dating from 1760, has a dome-like shape. The interior - a long nave with side aisles - is decorated with paintings on both the walls and the wooden vaulted ceiling. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1980.

The Vieux Bassin (Old Harbour) is a picturesque port in Honfleur and the main tourist attraction of the town. The harbour was remodeled in the year of 1681. It replaces the old beaching harbour which was much narrower. These expansion and deepening works required the destruction of the western part of the ramparts of the city. The work ended in 1684. Vieux Bassin has an area of about one hectare, with a length of 130 meters for a width of 70 meters on the south side and 85 meters on the north side. On one side - Quai Sainte-Catherine - the harbour is lined with narrow and tall wooden 17th and 18th centuries houses (up to seven floors) with slate covered wooden façades. The Lieutenance - a former citygate and the residence of the town’s royal governor - dominates the entrance of the old harbour (PiP3).

Honfleur has a rich history dating back to the 11th century. Its location close to the sea was strategic, and this is still reflect in its beautiful old buildings. Many restaurants are now located around the Vieux-Bassin (the old harbour) with its 17th and 18th-century buildingswith slate-covered frontages. The Lieutenance, a former city gate dating from the 14th century, is the oldest building in the city. The town has two striking churches. The Sainte-Catharine church, dating from the second half of the 15th century, is the largest wooden church in France, and the Saint-Léonard church, the first traces of which date back to the end of the 12th century. Next to this church are two 15th-century wash basins surrounded by flower beds. The Tripot garden is a green oasis in the middle of Honfleur's sea of houses. The Claire river runs right through the garden. The picturesque centre of Honfleur has narrow streets with beautiful old half-timbered houses and countless charming shops and, above all, many art galleries. Here you will also find the salt storage facilities that were used in the cod fishing industry.

de Conteville. The abbey was officially closed in 1757. The church buildings were demolished around 1766 and the rest of the abbey was destroyed in 1790. At the end of the 12th century, the abbey owned seven country houses, twelve churches, a priory, three estates and several parishes, which together formed a domain of 5,830 hectares. The abbey complex is located in a wooded park - surrounded by a boundary wall, parts of which date back to the Middle Ages - through which the Saint-Benoît spring with healing water flows. Today, only a few of the original buildings remain: a perfectly intact 12th-century vaulted refectory and a pillar from the abbey church with a commemorative plaque (added in 1928). From the 18th century the complex still has a beautiful stone barn, a little chapel and a manor. Since 1960, the current owners have been committed to restoring this place. Nowadays the abbey is open for visitors and is offering a rich cultural programme of guided tours, conferences, concerts, theatre and exhibitions.

The original building of the Église Saint-Hélier (St. Hélier Church) in Beuzeville dates back to the 12th century. The church has a nave with two aisles and a choir with side chapels. It was once surrounded by a cemetery. The church is dedicated to Saint Helier (a 6th-century monk from Belgium, who became a hermit in Jersey and gave his name to the island's main town). The building, which was modified in the 16th and 18th centuries, has elegant windows, balustrades and buttresses, as well as rare Norman-style half-timbering on the east side. The bell tower houses three bells, the oldest of which was consecrated in 1779. St. Hélier Church is well known for its nineteen colourful stained-glass windows, depicting saints. These windows were designed by François Décorchemont, a master glassblower from nearby Conches. The windows were made between 1960 and 1966.

Étretat is a village on the Alabaster Coast. Once a real fishing village, today Étretat relies mainly on tourism. The old centre has winding streets with pretty buildings and a few half-timbered houses. An old covered wooden market hall stands on the central square. Étretat is embedded between tall white chalk cliffs (with three natural arches). Until the 19th century, this place was difficult to access and remained untouched for a long time. The landscape was so special and authentic that many artists flocked to it.

Étretat's chalk cliffs were formed in the Cretaceous period, millions of years ago, when the region was covered by the sea. The cliffs consist of deposits of light-coloured calcareous marine organisms and skeletons of siliceous organisms. Subsequent movements of the Earth's crust pushed these deposits up and brought them to the surface. Erosion by sea, wind and frost formed the characteristic rock arches and needles in the sea. The cliffs around Étretat seem perennial, yet are fragile and constantly changing: wind, tides, infiltration of rainwater, freezing and then thawing weaken them. As a result, landslides occur regularly and the cliffs crumble. They have become the impressive rock formations that can be seen today, such as the Falaise d'Amont/Cliff of Amont (main image, PiP 1and 2), Falaise d'Aval/Cliff of Aval (PiP 3 and 4), Falaise la Manne Porte/Manne Porte Cliff (PiP 5) and the Aiguille Creuse/Hollow Needle (PiP 6 and 7).

At the beginning of the 20th century, French actress Madame Thebault had the villa ‘La Roxelane’ and its garden built on the cliff of Amont. The house and garden fell into disrepair over the years. In 2014, landscape architect Alexandre Grivko discovered the neglected complex. A year later, restoration began. It took Grivko 24 months to build hundreds of meters of walls, apply 1,000 tons of earth, build two kilometers of gravel paths and plant more than 30,000 conifers. In 2017, the renovated Jardins d’Étretat (Étretat Gardens) reopened to the public. The garden consists of a mix of English, French and Japanese architectural styles. In this green oasis, landscape, artfully pruned shrubs and trees and modern works of art come together in a unique way. A platform offers stunning views over Étretat and the cliffs.

Veules-les-Roses is a charming village - one of the oldest in the region n - along the Côte d’Albâtre. It is called one of the most beautiful villages of France. In 2017 it was even named the most beautiful village in France. It is believed that Veules-les-Roses already existed in the 4th century. The name Veules is probably derived from an old English word meaning “water spring”. In the Middle Ages, the village existed from fishing, which remained remained the main source of income till the 18th century. With the rise of spinning mills, the village became prosperous. In that days the streetscape of Veules-les-Roses was dominated by water mills, fishermen’s houses, farms and wash-houses at that time. Nowadays the main attraction of the village is the river “Veules”. With a length of 1.149 meters, it is the shortest river in France. The Veules rises on the edge of the village and then flows through the centre. Veules-les-Roses offers some half-timbered houses and stately villas.

The Jardin de l’Hôtel d'Emonville (Garden of the Hôtel d'Emonville) is an Anglo-Chinese garden suitable for walking and discovering the remarkable trees that have adorned the garden since the 19th century. The garden was created by an important Abbeville family. In 1859, Arthur Foucques d'Émonville inherited this property, which had already been extensively landscaped in the style of the period. He used the garden, measuring around 1.5 hectares, to indulge his passion for horticulture. In 1861, he had an imposing private mansion built in the heart of the plot. This Jardin de l’Hôtel d'Emonville , which was awarded the ‘Remarkable Garden’ label in 2013, features a diverse range of plants: conifers, broad-leaved trees, perennials and annuals. Among the many trees, some of which are over 150 years old, are a dozen rare species.

The city of Arras is well known for its two magnificent Flemish-baroque-style squares: Grand’Place and Place des Héros (also called La Petite Place) which show a monumental architectural complex, spread over 17.000 square meters. This Flemish architecture is not surprising, as the city was once part of the Netherlands, controlled by Spain from 1556 to 1714. Louis XIII reconquered Arras in 1640; the town officially became part of France in 1659. The two squares were initially built to host markets which reflected the prosperous trading economy of Arras. In the 17th century, the municipal magistrates decided to redesign the two squares (and the Rue de la Taillerie) by constructing more harmonious buildings around them. Nowadays the squares have 155 houses, built in the baroque style with typical Flemish gables individually decorated with garlands of flowers, ribbons or horns of plenty. The façades of the houses are made of brick. At street level, arcades are supported by 345 sandstone columns. During World War I the city (and squares) were almost entirely destroyed, but the houses were rebuilt, even if the wood was replaced by bricks and stones. The smallest square, Place des Héros (main image), is overlooked by the majestic Town Hall. This gothic structure is flanked by a 77 meters high belfry, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Notre-Dame Cathédral (Cathedral of Our Lady) in Tournai was mainly constructed in the 12th and 13th centuries. The cathedral was built in the Romanesque style, but it also has Gothic style elements. In the beginning of the 12th century, there was an exchange of influence between the architecture of the Ile-the-France, Rhineland and Normandy. The five towers at the intersection of the transept, central part of the cathedral, is characteristic of the considerable influence of the Tournai cathedral on cathedrals in northern France and the medieval churches in the Flemish part of Belgium. The proportions of the building are really impressive: length 134 meters, width 58 meters for the choir only. The transept exceeds 67 meters and the towers are 83 meters high. The Romanesque choir was replaced by a Gothic choir in the period 1243-1255 and was inspired by the choir of the cathedral in Amiens. The nave and transept houses the largest collection of sculptures and Romanesque wall paintings in Belgium. Notre-Dame Cathédral - landmark of Tournai - is a gem of medieval architecture, listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO since 2000.

At the end of the 19th century, the area between Tournai and Antoing was the world's leading producer of lime and cement. The St. André lime kilns near Cherq were built from 1840 and have served for a century to process local limestone at high temperature into lime and natural cement. Lime kilns were use to the year of 1945. The complex of the eight kilns of St. André - 100 meters long - is located along the banks of the river Scheldt.

The Pont des Trous (Bridge of Holes) in Tournai is one of the most remarkable vestiges of medieval military architecture in Belgium. The bridge was built in the late 13th century. It was part of the second surrounding wall of the city, which featured a total of 18 gates, and protected the course of the river Scheldt through the city. Huge portcullis could be lowered at any time. The name comes from the presence of a lock located nearby and was called Les Trous (Holes) by the inhabitants of Tournai Originally it was named Pont des Arcs . Its construction took almost fifty years: the tower on the left bank dates from 1281 and the tower of the right bank was completed in 1304. The construction of the arches took another 25 years. In 1948 the water gate was raised by 2.40 meters in order to facilitate the passage of boats on the river.

Kasteel Wissekerke (Wissekerke Castle) is situated in the village of Bazel. As early as the 10th century, a fortification stood on this spot to defend the area against Viking raids. In the 13th century, construction of Wissekerke Castle began. In the 16th century, the castle was rebuilt. After it was partially burnt down in 1583, it was rebuilt mainly for comfort and lost most of its defensible features. Throughout the 19th century, Kasteel Wissekerke was the seat of influential nobles. In the mid-20th century, they left the castle, after which it was bought by the municipality. Today, the catles serves as a museum.