CITY FOCUS ❘ LE HAVRE
“REMINDERS OF THE PRE-WAR YEARS ARE INTEGRATED INTO POST-WAR BUILDINGS BUILT WITH BRICKS AND SLATE ON A CONCRETE FRAMEWORK”
the town and the beach; Avenue Foch, Perret’s ‘Champs- Elysées’ between the Town Hall and the sea; and the botanical garden of Saint-Roch with its ponds and bandstand. Head south along Rue de Paris from the Perret Show Flat and you pass two remaining relics of the historic town, the cathedral and the Natural History Museum. Both restored by Perret, they are important symbols of survival against the odds. At the end of Rue de Paris stands one of my favourite buildings, the André Malraux Museum of Modern Art, or MuMa. Packed with works by all the leading Impressionist and Fauvist painters, the museum was inaugurated in 1961 and takes the form of a cube of glass facing the sea and fl ooded with natural light. I could stand for hours in front of the seascapes created by Honfl eur artist Eugène Boudin, an inspiration to the young Monet and the Impressionist painters who followed him.
OLD MEETS NEW
From MuMa, you can follow the promenade towards the marina and beach on the ocean side, or head the other way to historic Saint-François, one of Le Havre’s oldest districts. Here reminders of the pre-war years are integrated into post-war buildings built with bricks and slate on a concrete framework. Stop off to visit the fi sh market on Quai de l’Île and the Maison de l’Armateur, an 18th-century ship-owner’s mansion. Visit the area between November 1 and 5 this year and the waterfront will be buzzing with boats, as Le Havre celebrates the 30th anniversary of the Transat Jacques Vabre, a major international sailing event that was created in 1993 by the city of Le Havre and the Jacques Vabre coffee brand. Longest of all the double-handed transatlantic races, the
Clockwise from top: Oscar Niemeyer’s Le Volcan is striking both inside and out; the Hô tel Dubocage de Blé ville was built in the 16th century at the request of François I; the Bibliothè que Niemeyer is a library like no other; immerse yourself in art at MuMa; the impressive tower of St Joseph’s Church, designed in the 1950s by Auguste Perret
fl at top, Le Volcan. This concrete ‘volcano’, which was completed in 1982, is Le Havre’s cultural centre and was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, a follower of Le Corbusier. Finished in concrete and painted white, its free-fl owing curves are an arresting contrast to the straight lines around it. Step inside to experience the ramps and staircases that interact seamlessly with the open space.
Auguste Perret put as much thought into the interior of his buildings as the exterior. In 1947, he opened show fl ats so that local people who had lost their homes in the bombing could see their bright, new accommodation, full of space, calm and sunlight. And today L’Appartement Témoin Perret has been recreated within one of the fi rst blocks rebuilt in Le Havre, a fascinating immersion in social time travel. Walk around Le Havre and you’ll spot many eye-catching views: Porte Océane, a dramatic ‘city gate’ of buildings between
46 ❘ FRANCE TODAY Feb/Mar 2023
Transat takes place every other year, and for 2023, more than 60 sailing boats will retrace the historic coffee route between France’s fi rst coffee-trading port and the coffee plantations of Fort-de-France in Martinique. Monet, one suspects, would have loved it. FT
LE HAVRE ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE BY PLANE Fly to Le Havre-Octeville Airport (
www.lehavre.aeroport.fr).
BY TRAIN
Paris Saint-Lazare – Le Havre is 2hr 20 min (there are about 16 trains per day). Rouen – Le Havre is 45 min.
BY CAR Brittany Ferries operates from Portsmouth (
www.brittany-ferries.
co.uk). Drive from Normandy, Caen and Rouen via the A13 motorway; or from Brittany and Pays de la Loire via the A84 or A28 and then the A13; or from Paris and the Paris region via the A13 motorway.
USEFUL CONTACTS Tourist Offi ce
www.lehavre-etretat-tourisme.com
Le Havre
IMAGES © OTAH, LE HAVRE-ÉTRETAT TOURISME, ALEXANDRE RETY, LUDOVIC MAISANT
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148
