Étretat is a small resort on the Alabaster Coast, the line of chalk cliffs north of Le Havre, set in a gap between two headlands. To the west the Falaise d'Aval ends in an arch, the Porte d'Aval, with a needle of rock, the Aiguille, standing beside it; to the east the Falaise d'Amont carries a sailors' chapel. Monet, Courbet and Maupassant made the place famous, Maurice Leblanc hid Arsène Lupin's treasure in the Aiguille, and a village of about 1,300 people now receives between one and two million visitors a year.
Plan around two things. The cliffs are eroding, and since 2025 a municipal order bans walking beneath them, using the tunnels through the points and going within 5 metres of the edge on top: see them from the paths, the promenade or a kayak. And come early or late, because in summer and on weekends the car parks fill by late morning.
Walk the Falaise d'Aval to the Manneporte viewpoint
Falaise d'Aval, Étretat
1.5 to 2 hours there and backFree
Climb the western cliff to look down on the Aiguille, then walk on to the Manneporte, the arch Monet painted several times.
What it is
The Falaise d'Aval is the classic Étretat walk. From the top you look down on the Porte d'Aval arch and the Aiguille, the chalk needle of some 50 metres where Maurice Leblanc hid Arsène Lupin's treasure, and about 500 metres on stands the Manneporte, the widest of the three arches: Maupassant wrote that a ship could pass through it under full sail, and Monet painted it several times in the 1880s.
How to do it
Start at the western end of the Perrey, the promenade, where a stairway of about 180 steps climbs the cliff. A well-made path then rises beside the golf course, and within minutes you reach the view; carry on to the Manneporte. The Pointe de la Courtine gives the side view.
Good to know
A municipal order bans going within 5 metres of the edge, parts are fenced, and the chalk turns slippery after rain. Go early or late, when the light is low and the path quieter.
Climb the Falaise d'Amont to the chapel and the aviators' memorial
Falaise d'Amont, Étretat
1 hourFree
The eastern cliff faces the Aiguille head-on, beside a sailors' chapel and a memorial to Nungesser and Coli's L'Oiseau Blanc.
What it is
The eastern cliff is where you see the Porte d'Aval and the Aiguille head-on across the bay. On top stands Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde, the sailors' chapel: the first one, its stone carried up by local seamen, was blessed in 1856, destroyed by the German occupiers in 1942 and rebuilt in 1950. Beside it, a 24-metre concrete arrow of 1963 marks the spot where Nungesser and Coli's biplane, L'Oiseau Blanc, was last seen in France on 8 May 1927, heading for New York.
How to do it
Climb the stairway of 263 steps from the eastern end of the beach, or drive up.
Good to know
The chapel is often shut, so come for the view.
Time needed
1 hour
Best time
Late afternoon, with the sun on the Falaise d'Aval
Walk the Perrey and the pebble beach that Monet painted
The Perrey and Étretat beach
About 1 hourFree
Monet painted the fishing boats and cliffs along this pebble beach, where old capstans still stand on the promenade.
What it is
The Perrey, the promenade on top of the sea wall, runs the length of the beach between the two cliffs, and it is where Étretat's fishing past shows. Boats were hauled up the shingle with capstans, some of which still stand along it, and towards the Porte d'Aval old boats roofed with thatch, the caloges, served as sheds. Monet painted those boats and the cliffs in 1883 and again in autumn 1885, when he began some 50 canvases here, staying part of the time at the beachfront Hôtel Blanquet.
How to do it
At low tide the beach widens, but you may only use the stretch in front of the promenade: walking under the cliffs or through the tunnels is banned, because rising tides kept trapping people.
Good to know
The pebbles are the town's sea defence, so taking any earns a fine. After dark the cliffs are floodlit.
From the water the arches finally show their scale: paddle under the cliff to the Manneporte with a qualified instructor.
What it is
Voiles et Galets, the sailing club on Étretat beach, runs guided kayak outings with a qualified instructor: from the bay you paddle to the Falaise d'Aval and the Aiguille, then along the foot of the cliff to the Manneporte, where a small beach can only be reached from the sea at high tide.
How to do it
They run on Saturdays from 17:30 to 19:30 in April, May, June and September and on Tuesdays from 18:00 to 20:00 in July and August, with other times on request, from €30 in 2026. The club also hires kayaks and paddleboards from Easter to November, open daily from 10:00 to 18:00 in July and August and at weekends in May, June and September.
Good to know
Book ahead, and keep a spare evening in case wind or swell cancels.
See the Aiguille framed by topiary at the Jardins d'Étretat
Falaise d'Amont, Étretat
About 1 hourBook ahead
Clipped topiary, waves of hedges and contemporary sculpture frame open views of the sea and the Aiguille below the cliff-top chapel.
What it is
Just below the chapel on the Falaise d'Amont, the Jardins d'Étretat fill the grounds of the Villa Roxelane, home of the Belle Époque actress Madame Thébault, a friend of Monet, who planted the first tree on the bare cliff top in 1905. From 2016 the landscape architect Alexandre Grivko turned it into a sequence of clipped topiary, waves of hedges and contemporary sculpture, with open views over the sea and the Aiguille. It won a European Garden Award in 2019 and holds the Jardin remarquable label.
How to do it
Adults paid €11 to €12.90 in 2026 depending on the month, teenagers €10 and children from 8 to 14 pay €8; under-8s go free. Allow an hour on short, steep paths.
Good to know
In 2026 it opened 10:00 to 18:00, until 19:00 from mid-July to late August, through 1 November; no later dates were published, so check before going.
Follow Arsène Lupin through Maurice Leblanc's house
Le Clos Lupin, rue Guy-de-Maupassant, Étretat
No booking needed
Maurice Leblanc, creator of Arsène Lupin, wrote 19 novels in this half-timbered house, now a playful museum of eight staged rooms.
What it is
Maurice Leblanc, creator of the gentleman burglar Arsène Lupin, bought this half-timbered house on the rue Guy-de-Maupassant in 1919, and wrote 19 novels and 39 short stories in it. Lupin's 1909 adventure L'Aiguille creuse had already put the treasure of the kings of France inside the Aiguille, which is why readers still search the rock for a door. The Clos Lupin is a playful museum rather than a period house: you collect a device at the desk and follow Lupin through eight staged rooms in turn-of-the-century decor.
How to do it
Adults pay €8.50 and children €6. It is a few minutes' walk from the beach, near La Guillette, the villa Maupassant had built.
Good to know
From April to September it opens Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 18:00, with fewer days in winter, so check before you go.
Roll a rail bike gently downhill through a green valley on the old line to Étretat, and a small train brings you back.
What it is
The branch line that brought Parisians to Étretat from 1895 no longer carries regular trains, and over 5 km of it, through a green valley, now carries rail bikes.
How to do it
The vélo-rail starts at the old station of Les Loges, just inland on the road to Fécamp, and runs gently downhill towards Étretat; a small tourist train brings you back up. In the 2026 listing a rail bike plus the train cost €30 for two people, €40 for three, €45 for four and €50 for five, and the train alone €10 return for an adult. Booking is required.
Good to know
It runs daily from 10:00 to 18:00 in July and August, and on Wednesdays and weekends from 10:00 to 16:30 from April to June and in September and October. It suits children and a grey day, and the station has a bar and a picnic area.
Best time
Daily in July and August; Wednesdays and weekends in spring and autumn
From Yport, whose beach Renoir painted, the GR21 drops through a wooded cleft of villas and follows the cliff tops to Étretat.
What it is
The GR21 long-distance path follows the Alabaster Coast for about 190 km between Le Havre and Le Tréport, and its best-known day is the stage from Fécamp to Étretat, about 18 km with some 360 metres of climbing.
How to do it
To shorten it, start at Yport, a fishing village until its last boats were laid up in the 1960s, whose beach Renoir painted in 1883; freshwater springs, the Fontaines d'Yport, show on the shore at low tide. West of the village the path drops into the Valleuse de Vaucottes, a wooded cleft lined with villas where Maurice Leblanc stayed at the Villa Marie-Louise, then follows the cliff tops to the Falaise d'Amont. Nomad bus 509 links Fécamp, Yport and Étretat along the coast, so walk one way and ride back.
Good to know
Keep well back from the edge, and skip it after rain, when the path turns slippery.
A Gothic and Renaissance-style palace is still the only place Bénédictine liqueur is made, with most visits ending in a tasting.
What it is
Fécamp, the port east along the coast, makes the best half day away from the cliffs, and its landmark is the Palais Bénédictine, a Gothic and Renaissance-style palace built as distillery, museum and showroom in one. Alexandre Le Grand, a merchant and collector of religious art, said he had found in 1863 the recipe of an elixir that the monks of Fécamp's abbey made from plants and spices, and launched Bénédictine in 1864. His palace, designed by Camille Albert, opened in 1888, burned in 1892 and was rebuilt, and it is still the only place the liqueur is made.
How to do it
Visits run from 45 minutes to two and a half hours through the museum rooms, the distillery and the cellars, most ending in a tasting. Tickets started at €19 for adults in 2026. Nomad bus 509 comes from Étretat.
Perret's concrete centre, listed by UNESCO, leads to a lantern tower of coloured glass and France's second largest Impressionist collection.
What it is
Le Havre was flattened in September 1944, and Auguste Perret's team rebuilt its centre in concrete on a 6.24-metre grid; UNESCO listed it in 2005.
How to do it
Start at the Maison du Patrimoine, 181 rue de Paris, where guided visits show a furnished 1950s Perret show flat, then walk past the town hall and Avenue Foch to Saint-Joseph's church, whose 107-metre lantern tower glows with 12,768 pieces of coloured glass by Marguerite Huré. End on the seafront at the MuMa, opened by André Malraux in 1961, whose Impressionist collection, built on Boudin's studio and the Senn donations, is the second largest in France after the Musée d'Orsay. LiA bus 21 runs from Étretat to the station.
Good to know
The MuMa closes on Mondays; entry was €5 until 27 November 2026 and €10 from 28 November, with an exhibition on Malraux and modern art.
Étretat has no station. From Paris Saint-Lazare, take a train on the Le Havre line to Bréauté-Beuzeville and the Nomad 504 coach, which ends in Étretat; from April to early November SNCF sells a combined train and coach ticket for the trip, about three hours in all. Otherwise take the train to Le Havre, about two hours, then LiA bus 21 from the station or LiA 13 from Grand Hameau, at the end of tram line A. By car, use the paying car parks on the edge of town: in 2025 a full day cost €15.
Getting around
Both cliff paths start from the ends of the promenade, so the town and its cliffs are all on foot. Along the coast, Nomad bus 509 links Le Havre, Étretat, Yport and Fécamp, with a faster Rapid'Bus 509 in summer, and LiA 13 and 21 run to Le Havre. Bikes can be hired in Étretat, Les Loges and Fécamp for the Vélomaritime route. The Pass Tourisme Le Havre Étretat, €28 for 24 hours in 2026, covers LiA buses plus the gardens, the Clos Lupin and the MuMa.
How many days
In must30's view, one full day and a night. Walk the Falaise d'Aval in the early morning, the Falaise d'Amont and the gardens in the afternoon, and stay for the evening light on the Porte d'Aval. A second day covers Fécamp and the Palais Bénédictine or the cliff path to Yport, and a third Le Havre, by bus.
When to go
May, June and September bring long light without the August crush. In July and August and on spring weekends, arrive before 10:00 or after 17:00. Read the tide table before you go down to the beach: rising tides used to trap walkers below the cliffs every year, which is why the 2025 order exists. Winter is quiet and many places run short hours: the Jardins d'Étretat close after 1 November until late winter, and the kayak club works from Easter to November.
Where to base yourself
Sleep in Étretat itself to have the cliffs at dawn and dusk; it has about 14 hotels plus guesthouses, and summer weekends book up early. Le Havre, with the station, more rooms and lower prices, works as a base for Étretat by bus and for the rest of the coast. Fécamp, with its own station, is the alternative to the east.
Questions travellers ask
How do I get to Étretat from Paris without a car?
Take a train from Paris Saint-Lazare to Bréauté-Beuzeville and the Nomad 504 coach to Étretat; from April to early November SNCF sells it as one ticket, about three hours. Out of season, take the train to Le Havre and LiA bus 21 or 13, or to Fécamp and Nomad bus 509.
Can you walk through the Trou à l'Homme tunnel at low tide?
No. A municipal order bans the Trou à l'Homme, the Chambre des Demoiselles, the Descente au Chaudron and every tunnel through the cliff points, as well as walking at the foot of the cliffs and on the beaches beyond the stretch in front of the promenade. Offenders are fined and can be billed for the rescue.
Where is the best view of the Aiguille of Étretat?
From the Falaise d'Amont, beside the Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde chapel, you see the Porte d'Aval and the Aiguille head-on across the bay. From the Falaise d'Aval path you look down on them, and further on, near the Manneporte, you see the needle side-on.
Where can I park in Étretat?
Parking is paid all year from 09:00 to 19:00. The outer car parks, such as Grand Val and Fréfossé, cost €7.50 for five hours or €15 for the day in 2025, while the town-centre squares cost €3 an hour. In summer they fill by late morning, so arrive early or come by bus.
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