Le Havre



Le Havre is a city in France, at the mouth of the Seine River. It is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department and the Upper-Normandy region.

There are 183,900 inhabitants in Le Havre, named the Havrais and Havraise (s) and 258,514 inhabitants in its agglomeration.

See all localisations of this wiki article on Google Maps

Page disponible en français

History of Le Havre
More informations about the History of Le Havre on the Le Havre !

To get to le Havre
Train

The train costs 28€ for one way from Paris (Saint-Lazare Station) if you have no reductions. You can save money if you take a return and spend the night of Saturday before returning (around 36-42 € with the return).

The station is close to the town center.

SNCF website

All trains go by Rouen, so you can make a stop at that beautiful city.

If you are in Lower-Normandy, it's very difficult to go by train because you must go to Rouen or Paris before arriving to Le Havre. Prefer the coach (see down)

Boat

Ferries from Portsmouth (25€ - one way) and Newhaven (25€ - one way)

Shuttle to the station

LD Lines website

Plane

Le Havre-Octeveille Airport (Airport website)

Flights from Lyon, Toulouse and Brighton

Bus to the town center

Car

- From Paris : motorways A13 then A131 (via the Bridge of Tancarville - 2 hours)

- From Western France : motorways A84 then A13 and A131 (via the Bridge of Normandy - 1 hour from Caen / 2 hours from Mont Saint Michel)

- From Nothern and Eastern France : motorway A29

Hitchhiking

Good spots to leave Le Havre :

- traffic lights near the station (Quai Colbert / Cours de la République)

- gas stations (Esso - BP) on Boulevard Winston Churchill

- toll booths of Bridge of Normandy (to Western France, you must go by bus #20 and #50) or Bridge of Tancarville (to Rouen and Paris. But there are no bus !)

Coach

From Caen, Lisieux and the Lower-Normandy : Bus Verts (14€ - one way)

Bus Verts web site

The bus station is near the station.

How to circulate in the City ?
Bus

- In Le Havre and its agglomeration (website of the agglomeration), Bus Océane is in charge of the bus. But it's very difficult to have a bus after 10:00 PM !

Prefer the "1-week ticket" (a day to the Sunday of the same week - 11,50€) or the "1-day ticket" (3,30€) : if you buy your ticket on the bus, it costs 1,50€ for 1 hour.

Bus Océane website

- It's possible to go to cities like Fécamp or Étretat with CNA or Autocars Gris (ACG)

CNA Website

No website for Autocars Gris (?)

Train

There is an urbain train called LER. It's between Le Havre Station and Harfleur, Montivilliers and Rolleville. Bus Océane is in charge of this train too. So it's the same prices.

Bicycle

You can rent a bicycle or a twin with Vélocéane

Bicycle : 2€ for 2 hours, 3€ for half a day, 5€ for a day

Twin : 3€ for 2 hours, 4€ for half a day, 7€ for a day

Vélocéane website

'''Informations about segregated cycle facilities in Le Havre

Foot

The best for seeing the city ! Only one car-free zone (arround rue Victor Hugo) but large sidewalks and walk on the seefront.

In Le Havre
- The city center that was rebuilt between 1945 and 1964 by Auguste Perret after being destroyed at the end of World War II. Since 2005, it is registered on the list of world inheritance of humanity by UNESCO.

- Town Hall, designed by Auguste Perret - 20th century

- Cultural Centre (Le Volcan), designed by Oscar Niemeyer - 20th century

- St Joseph's Church, designed by Auguste Perret - 20th century

- Notre Dame Cathedral, 15th century

- Priory of Graville, 13th century

- Pasino - Casino, old "Palais de la Bourse", designed by Otello Zavaroni - 20th century

- Villa Maritime, old house of the French dramaturge Armand Salacrou - 19th century

- Château des Gadelles, also named "Porte de Burgos", désigned by Pierre-Édouard Dumont, Henri Toutain and Gustave Eiffel - 19th century

- University Library, designed by René and Phine Weeke Dottelonde - 21th century

- Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Le Havre, designed by René and Phine Weeke Dottelonde - 21th century - Novotel, designed by Jean-Paul Viguier - 21th century

- Japanese Garden, created thanks to the link between the harbours of Le Havre and Osaka

- Les Jardins Suspendus, gardens in an old fort, from where you have a nice point of view on the city

- Go to the beach : between April and October, bars and restaurants are open on the sea front, very pleasant to see the sunset !

- Walk to the "End of the World" from the beach to the cliffs

Museums
- Musée Malraux : large Impressionist painting collection (5€ - free the first Saturday of the month - website)

- Museum d'Histoire Naturelle : natural history museum and its large collection of French naturalist Charles Alexandre Lesueur's pictures (free - website)

- Appartement témoin (showflat) shows how was an apartment in the 50's (reservation at the Tourism Office)

- Maison de l'Armateur 18th century house shows haw was life in Le Havre at this century (3€ - free the first Saturday of the month - website)

- Prieuré de Graville : Christian art collection (2€ - free the first Saturday of the month - website)

Near Le Havre
- Sainte-Adresse Belgian capital during WWI (Nice Havrais - 20th century) : close to Le Havre by car - you can go by bus #1 and #9

- Montivilliers and its abbey (13th century) : close to Le Havre by car - you can go by bus #1 and #9 and the LER

- Harfleur and its medieval streets : close to Le Havre by car - you can go by bus #9 and the LER

- Étretat and its famous cliffs : 20 min from Le Havre by car - you can go by bus #24

- Pont de Normandie - Bridge of Normandy, famous cable-stayed road bridge : 20 min by car or by bus #20 and #50

- Honfleur and its medieval village and old harbour : 30 min by car or by bus #20 and #50 (Wikivoyage)

- Marais Vernier, this old meander of the Seine River is a very beautiful place to walk and see animals (birds...) : 30 min by car or by bus #20

- Deauville and its famous casino and American Film Festival : 40 min by car or by bus #20

More informations about the places to visit in Le Havre on the Le Havre !

2010-2009-2008 Events
2010

Eté : spectacles les Zestivales

27 juillet : départ de la course du Figaro en solitaire à la voile

1er-30 octobre : Biennale d'art contemporain

2009

- May 8-10 : "week end de la glisse", au Skate Park (competition de skate, bike, roller, wakeboard,freestyle..)

- May 16th : La Nuit des Musées, - free museums

- May 20 - Septembre 30 : exhibition at the beach "visitors at le Havre" about personalities that came here : Salvador Dali, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bourvil, David Niven, Alfred Hitchock, Jane Fonda, André Malraux..

- May 23-24 : fêtes bretonne, at St François (http://www.saintyves-gouelerwan.com/?q=node/211)

- May 29-31 : Dixie Days, jazz festival

- June 14-16 : Festival Polar à la Plage (www.lesancresnoires.com), about detective novels

- June 20-21 : National Music Day- music free in different places

- June 27 --> August 9 : les Z'estivales - music, theatre..at the beach every saturdays and sundays

- August 16 : Corso fleuri , procession of tanks flowered in the streets of the centre town of Le Havre

2008

- March 8th - May 18th : Double Jeu, Hervé Robbe exhibition in Musée Malraux

- March 15th - August 31th : '''Tableaux Kuna. Les molas, un art d’Amérique''', Panamanian Indian art exhibition in Prieuré de Graville

- March 15th - August 31th : L’art des Amériques à la Maison de l’Armateur, Pre-Columbian art exhibition in Maison de l'Armateur

- March 21th - June 15th : The Other: Natives through the eyes of the Western civilization (1800-1804), exhibition in Museum d'Histoire Naturelle

- April 25th - April 27th : Festival du Livre Jeunesse, children's book festival (website)

- May 8th - May 11th : Ouest Park Festival, music festival in Harfleur. Groups coming : Loic Lantoine - BB Brunes - Hush Puppies - Hightone - Fancy - Les Fils de Teuhpu - Beat Assailant... (MySpace page)

- May 12th - May 27th : Météores, danse festival (website)

- May 30th - June 1st : Dixies Days, jazz music festival in Sainte-Adresse (website)

- June 3th - June 30th : Arts Le Havre, contemporaneous art biennal (website)

- June 12th - June 15th : Les Ancres Noires, detective's book festival (website)

- June 21 - June 22th : Festival Couleurs d’Ailleurs, quebecian traditions festival in Montivilliers

- June 28th - August 10th : Z'Estivales, street theatre festival

- August : Corso Fleuri, flower machine's parade

- September : Mer en Fête, sea's and fisherman's tradition festival

- Autumn : Automne en Normandie, classical music festival (website)

- December 17th: Saint Nicholas Parade

Meetings
First Le Havre Meeting : April 23th meeting link

Le Havre CS Group link

Meeting Organisers
Julien : often in Lyon till June but ready to organise something !

In Case of Emergency



 * Police Station:17
 * Health Urgency:112
 * Hospital:
 * Fireman Station:18
 * Emergency Doctor:

Links
Website of the city

Touristic informations (in French, English, German, Italian, Spannish, Deutch, Chinese and Japanese)

Wikivoyage Le Havre

The site of a photographer from Le Havre : 1 new picture everyday