The Alabaster Coast owes its name to the whiteness of the sea and the chalk cliffs, underlined by the contrasting play of light. This magnificent natural setting has served as a source of inspiration for the greatest impressionist painters, but also for writers such as Guy de Maupassant or Maurice Leblanc, the father of the adventures of Arsène Lupin. At the back of the Alabaster Coast, the country plateaus of the Pays de Caux open up, featuring fields of blue linen. Thatched cottages and manor houses add picturesque charm to this authentic escapade.
Linked to England
The first landmark of the Alabaster Coast coastline is Dieppe, which stretches around the port, the Gothic church of Saint-Jacques and a powerful castle, built of sandstone and flint. The beautiful houses with their elaborate facades recall the vogue for sea bathing from the beginning of the 19th century. After watching the spectacle of the great ferries linking England, enter the ivory museum, which tells the story of the planetary destiny of the local sailors.
The Alabaster Coast is regularly indented with typical valleys, patiently carved out by the coastal rivers. It is here that the traditional fishing ports and seaside resorts, such as Saint-Valery-en-Caux or Veules-les-Roses, classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France, are nestled.
Fécamp facing the sea
It is from the top of Cap Fagnet that you can measure the importance of the port of Fécamp. It developed around herring and cod fishing on the remote banks of Newfoundland. A fascinating saga evoked in the great fisheries museum. A palace and some very beautiful residences also bear witness to the commercial influence of Benedictine liqueur, which is exported just about everywhere. The Abbey of the Trinity, the church of Saint-Etienne and the remains of the ducal fiefdom complete this rich heritage.
Each of the seaside resorts along the Côte d'Albâtre has its own charm and identity. As in Yport, where you will enjoy sea bathing as much as the imaginative architecture of the villas.
From the cliffs of Etretat to the Sainte-Adresse lookout point
The unmissable site of Étretat, with its three arches and limestone needle, is to be discovered from the pebble beach, or even more striking, from the top of the cliffs. One does not remain indifferent in front of this superb spectacle shaped by the elements. After the Cap d'Antifer, the Albâtre Coast ends in beauty at the Cap de la Hève lighthouse, which gives you a superb panorama of the beautiful residences of Sainte-Adresse and the town of Le Havre and its harbour basins stretching as far as the eye can see.
Campsites on the Alabaster Coast
There are about thirty campsites on the Alabaster Coast.
Le Rompval*** is a flowery campsite. Choose one of its 170 pitches or rentals for your next camping holiday!
Open all year round, the municipal camping of Étretat ** has almost 75 pitches at 1 km from the sea.
In Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, the Etennemare *** campsite offers you more than 160 accommodations, almost half of which are rented, around its aquatic complex.
The Maupassant de Vittefleur campsite **** offers nearly 90 pitches and rentals with heated swimming pool, 4 km from the lake of Caniel and 5 km from the sea.
A few minutes east of Fécamp, with a more intimate atmosphere, the Les Caletes de Colleville campsite offers, all year round, around twenty different types of accommodation, nestling on the banks of the Valmont ponds, 5 km from the sea.