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Popular Cruise Port Le Havre is in the Département Seine Maritime part of the Normandy region, situated on the north coast of France. Cruise Ships dock within walking distance of Le Havre town centre which is probably the ‘marmite’ of cruise destinations - with as many people loving it as hating it! It is in Normandy - a region famous for its food, in particular apples. sea-food and dairy products. One of Frances most important deep water ports, Le Havre is situated at the mouth of the Seine river which links Paris to the sea. The reconstruction of the town by August Perret after the catastrophic damage of WW2 is now viewed by many as an outstanding example of urban planning - leading to its position as a UNESCO Heritage Site.
Popular Cruise Port Le Havre is in the Département Seine Maritime part of the Normandy region, situated on the north coast of France. Cruise Ships dock within walking distance of Le Havre town centre which is probably the ‘marmite’ of cruise destinations - with as many people loving it as hating it! It is in Normandy - a region famous for its food, in particular apples. sea-food and dairy products. One of Frances most important deep water ports, Le Havre is situated at the mouth of the Seine river which links Paris to the sea. The reconstruction of the town by August Perret after the catastrophic damage of WW2 is now viewed by many as an outstanding example of urban planning - leading to its position as a UNESCO Heritage Site.
Arriving early on a clear, crisp, sunny November morning, we decided to take the chance to visit Lycabettus Hill - the tallest of the seven hills in Athens - standing about 300 metres above sea level - somewhere we had seen (you can’t really miss it from almost anywhere in Athens) but had never actually visited.
The iconic image of Nice is the Promenade des Anglais - the wide sweeping bay, backed by palm trees and imposing hotels, but cruise ships actually dock away to the east of the town. The smallest ships (under 190 metres) may dock in the old port Lympia where there is a tiny cruise terminal, within walking distance of the old town and seafront. However most ships anchor in the next bay, Villefranche-sur-Mer, where passengers come ashore by tender at Porte de la Sante. Most cruise excursions from here will see you onto a bus and out of town to Monaco, Cannes, or Grasse but, because there are so many things to see and do in the immediate area, I think that Nice is a perfect port for an independently planned day ashore. The largest ships expected in 2020 were ‘Anthem of the Seas’ and ‘Celebrity Apex’, so although there are never more than two ships in port it can get quite busy and it is worth doing a bit of planning before you arrive to get ahead of the crowd.
Although we had a plan for each port, it wasn’t as detailed as we would normally expect to have! So on this particular morning our plan was simple… leave ship, get taxi to the fictional Honoré, in reality a pretty village called Deshaies on the north coast of Basse-Terre, a forty kilometre, one hour drive to the north coast of the island. Sorted!
