I remember visiting Honfleur on a college trip. It’s not necessarily the best way to discover a place, trudging round with a hangover and trying to talk to the locals about the fishing economy. Thing is, even in my undergraduate stupor I recognised that it was a pretty place.

 

Turns out the locals call this quaint port “The Belle of Normandy” and it’s a brilliant base for a biking break – whether you sail into Ouistreham (Caen’s port) or to even-closer Le Havre, riding over the imposing Pont de Normandy. If you don’t like boats, you can take an early Tunnel and be in Honfleur by the end of a fairly full day’s ride.

 

Plenty of people heading to Normandy come to visit the D-Day beaches – which are easily reached from Honfleur. However there’s plenty more to see in a largely unspoilt landscape reminiscent of the South of England – only with fewer cars and potholes. No wonder William and his Norman pals felt so at home when they sailed the other way in 1066…

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This laid-back full-day ride heads south with no greater aim than enjoying the roads. There are couple of quaint towns and several sleepy villages along the way, as well as a mix of roads – one or two straight ones, plenty of twisty ones and even a hairpin or two to keep you on your toes. This is the Normandy that you miss if you're only interested in the D-Day sites, the real rural France – and it’s all the better for being less well-known.