Honfleur sidecar tour: Côte Fleurie coast with cider tasting
Shipbuilders built Honfleur's wooden church using the same techniques they used to build boats.
A sidecar tour through Honfleur and the Côte Fleurie with a local pilot who drives while you ride in the basket or behind the seat, stopping at cider and calvados estates, historic sites and coastal viewpoints. You choose between a 1.5-hour loop around Honfleur, a 2.5-hour run that adds the Villerville film location and orchards of Manoir d'Apreval, or a 3.5-hour route extending to Deauville's racecourse, grand hotels and Villa Strassburger. Helmets, goggles, rain gear and gloves are provided; groups run up to six people, twelve on request.
1h 30m–3h 30m
Step-by-step itinerary
Honfleur and Normandy coast tour
- Pilot picks you up in Honfleur
- Visit Vieux Bassin harbor
- Explore Church of Sainte-Catherine
- Visit Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
- Enjoy panoramic port and bridge views
- Tour Manoir d'Apreval cider estate
- See Villerville film locations
- Visit Deauville-La Touques Racecourse
- View Hotel Barrière Le Normandy
- Explore historic Deauville town
- Visit Villa Strassburger
- Stop at Normandy bridge viewpoint
- Return to hotel or tourist office
The Experience
What makes a sidecar different from a car is that you're exposed to the route—the salt air off the harbor, the turn of the road, the pace of the Norman coast itself. Your pilot picks you up at your hotel, the cruise terminal or Honfleur's tourist office and takes you first through the Vieux Bassin, the medieval harbor ringed with half-timbered houses and fishing boats that inspired Courbet and Boudin. From there the route climbs to a panorama overlooking the port basins and the Normandy Bridge's two pylons connecting Honfleur to Le Havre, best on a clear day when you can see down into the old town's narrow streets.
The orchards come next. At Manoir d'Apreval, a family estate between Deauville and Honfleur, you meet the producers and taste their organic cider, pommeau and calvados—five generations of apples and pears turned into the drinks Normandy is known for. You also stop at Sainte-Catherine Church, built in the late 15th century entirely of wood by shipbuilders who shaped the nave like an overturned hull and set the bell tower apart like a ship's lighthouse. The 2.5-hour option adds Villerville, where "A Monkey in Winter" was filmed in 1961 with Jean Gabin and Belmondo, and a local association has kept the memory alive with photos at the main street entrance. The 3.5-hour route extends to Deauville's racecourse (opened 1863), the grand Hotel Barrière Le Normandy, and Villa Strassburger, a neo-Norman mansion built between 1907 and 1912 for Henri de Rothschild on the site of a Gustave Flaubert farm.
You ride two to a sidecar—one person in the basket, one behind the pilot—and the tour includes vintage goggles, helmets, gloves and rain gear. Your pilot narrates in English or French, weaving in stories about the Vikings, the rise of Impressionism and William the Conqueror as you move through the landscape. The minimum age is four; the tour suits all fitness levels. Groups stay under six, though you can request up to twelve.
What’s included
- Pickup at your hotel, cruise terminal or Honfleur tourist office.
- vintage goggles, helmets, gloves and rain gear.
- cider, pommeau and calvados tasting at Manoir d'Apreval.
- anecdotes and stories from your pilot in English or French.
- stops at the Vieux Bassin, Sainte-Catherine Church, and a coastal panorama (all three tour lengths).
- the Villerville film location and orchards on the 2.5 and 3.5-hour options.
- Deauville's racecourse, Hotel Barrière Le Normandy, Villa Strassburger and Normandy Bridge views on the 3.5-hour option.
Operated by RETRO TOUR NORMANDY
Is this one for you?Pick the 1.5-hour loop if you want the harbor and the church without leaving Honfleur itself. The 2.5-hour option adds the orchards and a taste of cider country. Go 3.5 hours if you're spending the day on the coast and want to see both Honfleur and Deauville's grand architecture in one ride.
Traveler reviews
Top questions
What exactly is the Vieux Bassin and why does it matter to Honfleur?
The Vieux Bassin is the medieval harbor at the heart of Honfleur, dug in the Middle Ages and ringed with colorful half-timbered houses, seafood restaurants and art galleries. It served as the home port for merchant ships and fishing boats that built the town's commercial wealth, and it inspired painters like Courbet and Boudin. Today it remains the postcard-perfect center of the town, lined with fishing boats and sailboats.
Do I get to taste the cider and calvados, or just see where they're made?
You taste them. At Manoir d'Apreval, the family estate between Deauville and Honfleur, you meet the producers and sample their organic cider, pommeau and calvados—all made from apples and pears grown in the Pays d'Auge orchards.
What's the difference between the three tour lengths?
The 1.5-hour option circles Honfleur itself, covering the Vieux Bassin, Sainte-Catherine Church and the coastal panorama. The 2.5-hour tour adds Manoir d'Apreval and Villerville, the village where the 1961 film "A Monkey in Winter" was shot. The 3.5-hour route extends into Deauville, including the racecourse, Hotel Barrière Le Normandy, Villa Strassburger and the Normandy Bridge.
How many people ride in one sidecar?
Two people per sidecar—one in the basket beside the pilot and one behind the pilot's seat. Groups can be up to six people (three sidecars), or up to twelve on request.
What do I wear, and will I stay dry if it rains?
The tour provides helmets, vintage goggles, gloves and rain gear. You're exposed to the elements in a sidecar, so the rain gear is essential if weather turns; on a clear day you'll feel the coast air directly.
Can children ride, and is there a minimum age?
Yes. The minimum age is four years old. The tour suits all fitness levels, though it's not recommended for pregnant travelers.
Honfleur sidecar tour: Côte Fleurie coast with cider tasting
1h 30m–3h 30m · EN · FR · at your hotel
from € 125 per person
★★★★★★★★★★4.95192 reviewsVerified traveler reviews via our booking provider
