Le Havre-Paris France

712 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

AmaWaterways (172 Cruises)

Cruise AMA AmaWaterways AmaDante Exterior Europe

AmaDante

144 Passengers
2850 tons
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Cruise Ama AmaWaterways AmaLyra ship

AmaLyra

144 Passengers
2850 tons
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Costa Cruises (34 Cruises)

Cruise COS Costa Cruises Favolosa ship

Costa Favolosa

4066 Passengers
114500 tons
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Cunard (33 Cruises)

MSC Cruises (208 Cruises)

MSC Preziosa.

MSC Preziosa

4345 Passengers
139072 tons
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Norwegian Cruise Line (31 Cruises)

Cruise NCL Norwegian Star Ship

Norwegian Star

2348 Passengers
91740 tons
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Oceania Cruises (45 Cruises)

Oceania Vista.

Oceania Vista

1200 Passengers
68000 tons
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Princess Cruises (58 Cruises)

Cruise PCL Princess Majestic ship

Majestic Princess

3560 Passengers
143700 tons
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Regent Seven Seas Cruises (32 Cruises)

Tauck Cruises (45 Cruises)

MS Reverie

MS Reverie

124 Passengers
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ms serene.

MS Serene

124 Passengers
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Le Havre, France | Escale UNESCO en Normandie

It takes a few minutes to warm up to Le Havre. Then the geometry settles in, the light of the English Channel glides over the pale concrete, and you understand why UNESCO inscribed this Norman city on the World Heritage List in 2005. Destroyed by bombing during the Second World War and rebuilt from 1945 to 1964 to plans by Auguste Perret, it is an open-air manifesto of modern architecture, unique in Europe. The port call surprises, then wins you over.

Getting to the Centre

The terminal is just over two kilometres from the heart of the city. Walking along the docks is possible but of little interest; it's better to take the shuttle provided on port call days, valid all day, or a taxi. Once there, everything is done on foot: the rebuilt grid is flat and airy, crossed by wide vistas that lead the eye all the way to the sea.

Perret, the Poet of Concrete

Start with St. Joseph's Church, a memorial to the victims of the bombing. Its octagonal lantern tower rises 107 metres and, inside, thousands of pieces of coloured glass turn the nave into a kaleidoscope depending on the time of day. You stand for a long time with your head tilted back, captivated by this shaft of light. Continue along Avenue Foch and Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, where the buildings reveal the refinement of Perret's work: regular grids, fluted columns, mineral tones that change with the sky. The show apartment, furnished as in the 1950s, can be visited and tells of the daily life of families rehoused in these then-revolutionary homes, bright and heated through the floor. Nearby, the curving white silhouette of the Volcan, the cultural centre designed by Oscar Niemeyer, adds a Brazilian touch to the ensemble.

The MuMa and the Seafront

Facing the sea, the André Malraux Museum of Modern Art, the MuMa, holds France's second-largest Impressionist collection after Paris. Boudin, Monet and their successors converse with the natural light that floods the glass building, a twenty-minute walk from the ship along Quai de Southampton. Coming out, the seafront promenade leads to the pebble beach, its beach huts and its colourful shipping containers stacked into an arch, a contemporary artwork that has become a local emblem. For a taste of everyday life, the Halles Centrales overflow with Norman cheeses, cider and seafood, perfect for a picnic facing the Channel.

Étretat, Honfleur or Paris

Le Havre also serves as a gateway to very popular excursions. About an hour's drive away, the cliffs of Étretat unfold their white chalk arches above a pebble beach; the clifftop trails offer spectacular panoramas over the needles and the sea. Across the estuary, after crossing the Pont de Normandie, Honfleur charms with its Vieux Bassin lined with tall, narrow houses and its half-timbered lanes. The most ambitious head to Paris, a little over two hours away by road: a packed day, but doable on long port calls.

DestinationAccess from the ship
Rebuilt centre and St. Joseph's ChurchAbout 2 km, shuttle or taxi
MuMa20-minute walk along Quai de Southampton
ÉtretatAbout 1 hour by road
HonfleurVia the Pont de Normandie

Many passengers come ashore here thinking of Paris or the cliffs. Those who devote at least half a day to the city itself go back on board with something else: the memory of a place that turned its war wound into a work of art, and of a light between concrete and sea that no other port call can reproduce. Perret wanted to rebuild hope; you leave convinced he succeeded.

Frequently Asked Questions

The terminal is a little over two kilometres from the city centre. Walking along the docks is possible but dull: take the shuttle laid on for call days, valid all day, or a taxi.
For its rebuilt centre. Destroyed by bombing in the Second World War, the city was rebuilt from 1945 to 1964 to Auguste Perret's plans, and UNESCO listed it in 2005 as an open-air manifesto of modern architecture.
Saint-Joseph church. Its octagonal lantern tower rises 107 metres and inside, thousands of coloured glass panes turn the nave into a kaleidoscope depending on the hour. It is also the memorial to the victims of the bombing.
Yes, once you are in the centre. The rebuilt grid is flat, open and cut through by long vistas that carry the eye out to sea. It takes a few minutes to warm to the pale concrete, then the geometry takes hold.
It is a Perret apartment furnished as it was in the 1950s, open to visitors. It tells the daily life of families rehoused in these then-revolutionary flats, bright and heated through the floor.
It holds the second-largest Impressionist collection in France after Paris. Boudin, Monet and their heirs hang in the natural light flooding the glass building, twenty minutes on foot from the ship along Quai de Southampton.
Yes, these are the two most popular excursions. Étretat and its chalk cliffs are about an hour away by road; Honfleur and its Vieux Bassin lie across the estuary, beyond the Normandy bridge.
It is possible on longer calls, but it makes for a heavy day: allow a little over two hours each way by road. Many passengers would do better giving at least half a day to Le Havre itself.
Yes, a pebble beach at the end of the seafront promenade, with its bathing huts. Nearby stand the stacked coloured shipping containers, a contemporary artwork that has become a local emblem.
At the Halles Centrales, full of Normandy cheeses, cider and seafood. It is the ideal start to a picnic facing the Channel.