The north and east : the regions of Caux - Bray - The Vexin
North of the Seine wooded river valleys crossing the forests of Lyons and Eu give way to the Pays de Caux, a limestone plateau where old towns and villages such as Yvetot, Tôtes and St Saens stand out among the open fields with their typical farmhouses surrounded by high hedges. The Caux country is separated from Picardy by the undulating Bray district with its rich pastures and orchards. Closer to Paris, the lovely rolling countryside of the Vexin, with its still imposing Templar castle at Gisors, has been the most easterly limit of Norman lands since the Middle Ages.

 

The centre  : the Ouche and Perche regions
South of the Seine, a flatter landscape interspersed with woodlands leads to rich agricultural lands, where a close network of fast-running streams flowing down from the Perche country criss-crosses wooded plateaux dotted with orchards. The Touques, Charentonne and Iton rivers follow their valleys westwards. The pretty river Eure makes its quiet way down its picturesque valley past Ivry la Bataille and its XV century church, Cocherel, Acquigny and Louviers before joining the Seine at Martot.
To the south lie the quiet lanes, verdant hills and ancient forests of the Perche country, from where 300 families left to found Quebec three centuries ago. The timeless atmosphere of historic towns like Nogent le Rotrou is reflected in the many old fortified manors and country houses still to be seen here.

 

 

The Seine Valley
Sweeping in long bends under chalk cliffs, meandering across gravel plains, the Seine crosses Normandy majestically from east to west, as it slowly passes towns and villages and flows through forests and under bridges both ancient and modern, before it reaches the sea at Le Havre. As it does so, it reveals a cross-section of Normandy's history, culture, and geology. For centuries the Seine and its valley was the main, if not the only, communication route connecting the coast and the interior, and still today its waters carry great barges, ore-carriers, container vessels and pleasure boats between the ports of Paris, Rouen and Le Havre, while the main roads from Paris follow it westwards. Along its route, towns and monuments such as Vernon, Bonport Abbey, Château Gaillard and Rouen attest to its historic role as an economic, intellectual and religious artery, a means to riches, knowledge, and power. Beyond Rouen, the river crosses the Seine Valley Regional Park with its chalk escarpments and the beautiful wooded country of the Brotonne Forest. Its extensive estuary, overlooked by Le Havre and its great port, includes the Marais Vernier, a naturalist's paradise of rare forna and flora.

 

The heart of Normandy :  The Auge country and Argentan
Nature has shaped the landscapes of the Auge country into a mixture of plateaux with steep slopes called "picanes", valleys and dales. Its verdant fields, the beauty of its monuments, the half-timbered manor-houses with their pink tiles, and the mildness of the almost maritime climate make this region seem like a little piece of Paradise. Horse lovers will be drawn to the noble country a little further south, around Argentan, where fine châteaux abound, and paddocks and stud farms flourish in the rich fields, including the French National Stud, founded by Louis XIV.

 

 

 

The maritime west : the Cotentin peninsula
From the wild windswept scenery and dramatic cliffs around La Hague to the low-lying coast facing Mont Saint Michel; from the pretty Saire Valley and its lush slopes to the little town of Mortain, the Cotentin Peninsula offers visitors a wide variety of landscapes.
Never more than 30 miles from the sea, its climate is healthy and invigorating. Moors, wetlands, prairies and forests succeed each other, while the grasslands of Carentan, the escarpments of the Vire valley and the hills of Coutances complete a patchwork to delight artists and tourists alike.

 

The south-west  : the Vire country, "Norman Switzerland" & the Orne Forests
In the open countryside around Vire, Saint Sever and Aunay sur Odon, a succession of valleys, granite outcrops and wide panoramas create attract anglers, campers and hikers.  Vire, Flers and Falaise, birthplace of William the Conqueror form the boundary of a region whose steep-sided hills and rivers flowing between rocky cliffs are so unlike the rest of Normandy that it is known as "Norman Switzerland". Wilder than the rest of Normandy, it is best visited on foot, mountain bike or pony-back. Its white water, rock faces, cliffs and gorges attract climbers, canoists and anglers.  From Domfront to Alençon, 60 000 acres of woodland cover the last foothills of the Armorican massif, which reaches its peak of 1350 ft at  Ecouves, in the heart of a splendid forest. Beech, oak and Scots pine cover the granit and surround towns and villages with a verdant screen.