A sip of Calvados (Calvados (Normandy))

Member Name: duncantorr

Product:	Calvados (Normandy)
Date:	22/02/07 (954 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Green and pleasant, historically interesting, accessible

Disadvantages: Overdeveloped coast, unexceptional scenery

In 1793 the revolutionary government, in a typical excess of zeal, abolished the ancient provinces of France. This was done both because they represented the heritage of feudalism, and because they were too varied in size for the uniform, “rational” administration for which the revolutionaries craved. Old local loyalties were to be swept away and replaced by the modernising nationalism of the new republic.

The départements that took the place of the provinces were mostly named after impersonal geographic features: rivers and mountain ranges. Only in a few cases were traditional names allowed to prevail.

Among these few, I have always had a particularly soft spot for the département of Calvados in Normandy, believing it to be named after the local apple-based liquor. Alas, research into its provenance proves this to be untrue. Locality and liquor alike owe their names to a corruption of the word Salvador, after a Spanish galleon of that name that was wrecked on the coast complete with its cargo of spirits in 1588, in a sort of Armada-era precursor to Whisky Galore. But that need not detract from the visitor’s enjoyment either of the place or of the liquor.

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As a tourist destination for Britons seeking either a short break or a main holiday, Calvados offers many advantages: -

1. A long and varied coastline, with numerous beaches and resorts.

2. Historic interest, dating from the time of the Norman Conquest to our returning of the favour in 1944.

3. Some green and pleasant, if mostly unspectacular, countryside.

4. Numerous places to stay, of all standards and costs, together with the customary French benefit of excellent cuisine.

5. Easy accessibility, especially by car but also by rail or air if preferred.

Let’s take each of these in turn.

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The Calvados Coast falls into two main stretches, divided by the mouth of the river Orne (see map above). Physically they are similar, with long beaches broken up by occasional cliffs; the difference lies in the human habitation.

East of the Orne, La Côte Fleurie has long been holiday country, with Deauville at its centre, both geographically and culturally. Easily accessible from the capital, Deauville was for many years ‘the’ chic retreat where fashionable Parisians would wile away the summer months promenading, bathing, yachting, partying and gambling at the casino and on the racetrack. Deauville still boasts many smart hotels, but like many such places in these days of easy international travel it now exudes a faded air. One senses that its ideal clientele now bestow their favours elsewhere, leaving Deauville a passé shadow of its former self, but perhaps it has gained character from their desertion.

Across the river Touques from Deauville but without its beach or its pretensions is Trouville, as much a fishing village as a resort and all the better for it, in my opinion. East from Trouville the shore offers little of character until one reaches Honfleur, also originally a fishing harbour as well as a strongpoint guarding the Seine estuary, now an arty tourist trap, a sort of cross between Rye and St Ives. The old Harbour – the Vieux Bassin – is certainly charming with its tall frontage of ancient Norman buildings, as are the narrow streets behind. But there is little on offer other than pricey cafés, restaurants, art, antique and souvenir shops. Honfleur is a place to spend an hour or two walking about and soaking up the atmosphere, but not to stay.

West of Deauville, the Côte Fleurie is mostly beaches backed by ribbon resort development, reaching as far as Cabourg, a sort of would-be Deauville on a lesser scale. My favourite town on this stretch of coast is Villers-sur-Mer, which has an older centre set back from the beach, with some tasty restaurants and a lively market every Friday.

Once west of the Orne, the character of the coastal towns changes. Although the ribbon resort development continues for ten miles or so to Corseulles, it is of a more recent vintage and shows little trace of faded elegance, or indeed elegance of any kind. The further west one goes beyond Corseulles, the less built-up the coastline becomes, giving way to more open beach, interspersed with cliffy sections. If you want to sea-bathe, this seems to me the best place to do it, but the focus of local – or, at least, of tourist - interest is increasingly the D-Day landings. Anyone who has seen The Longest Day or Saving Private Ryan will have some idea what this coastline looks like.

Four of the five D-Day landing beaches are found along this length of Calvados coast, together with various museums, war cemeteries and other relics of the conflict. The most impressive of these are the unornamented remains, for example the wave-washed concrete hulks of the artificial “Mulberry” harbour at Arromanches, and the battered gun emplacements on the cliff-top at Longues-sur-Mer. The American War Cemetery behind Omaha beach has some of the haunting poignancy of all such places, though it is slightly soiled in my view by the triumphalism of the main monument.

I have mixed feelings about the Calvados coast. No one staying there will be short of things to see and do, whatever the weather, but it is very built-up and, for sun-lovers, a north-facing Channel coast is probably not ideal. And even if they have lost some of their snob-value, places like Deauville are still expensive compared with less self-satisfied resorts elsewhere.

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The word Normandie derives from the same root as the English Norseman, for the duchy of Normandy was originally carved out from France by Viking marauders in the 9th and 10th centuries. Early Dukes with such blood-curdling names as Rolf the Ganger, Richard the Fearless and Robert the Devil were at daggers drawn with their French neighbours for generations before William the Bastard became William the Conqueror as he staged his coup and added England to his domains.

Regrettably, some of the traces of the region’s origins have been erased by more recent events. Caen, the city chosen by William to be his duchy’s capital, suffered from heavy bombardment in WW2, and has been rather soullessly rebuilt, as well as extended. All the same, there are sites worth a visit in the centre, including: the Chateau or Ducal Palace, the ramparts of which provide a panorama across the city and beyond; a fine Romanesque church (St Stephen’s) which is part of one of the two mediaeval abbeys; and the Jardin des Plantes for an amble or a picnic.

A much better preserved historic town is Bayeux and, yes, the famous tapestry is on display there. However, I shall not attempt to describe it, having never quite recovered from trying, many years ago, to explain to my younger son why it was interesting only to receive the retort “I’m bored of interesting things”. Also worth a visit for those who are not bored of interesting things are the magnificent cathedral, and the many ancient buildings to be found among its warren of narrow streets.

Another splendid cathedral is to be found in the town of Lisieux, in the Touques valley at the opposite end of the département, and even small villages often have fine churches in the Norman Gothic style.

Curiously, given its turbulent history, Normandy is less well supplied with castles. Apart from the Chateau at Caen, which was much reduced in WW2, only the fortress that towers above the town of Falaise in the south of the département stands out in the memory.

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Falaise is also a good centre from which to explore the most scenic part of the area, the so-called Suisse Normande that surrounds the upper Orne Valley and extends into the neighbouring département of Orne. The “Swissness” of this area can certainly be exaggerated and is, simply in its name. Expect no Alps, or anything remotely like them. But it is hilly, with some craggy gorges and picturesque valleys, dotted with pretty villages and farmhouses in the characteristic half-timbered Norman style. This is an excellent area for walking, riding or cycling, offering varied and attractive scenery but not too arduous terrain. The upper Orne is also, according to my canoeing map of France, readily canoeable and I would guess very pleasant for that purpose, but for reasons that escape me I have never done so.

Also good for walking or cycling is the Bocage – literally, “hedgerow” – country, to the west of the Suisse Normande around the town of Vire. Here are found gentler hills broken up into small meadows and woods. To the east around Lisieux and the Touques valley is the Pays d’Auge, a pleasant orchard and dairy farming area, but unspectacular.

It is an unfortunate aspect of Calvados that the nearer the coast one approaches, the more populous and less scenic the countryside becomes. Unless you want to do a lot of driving to bridge the gap, you have to make a choice, between a seaside holiday on the coast, or rural relaxation in the south of the département.

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Having said that, I find that it is advice I have never taken. On every occasion I have been to Calvados I have tried to stay within striking distance of the coast without being on it, an uneasy compromise.

However, I don’t regret the times I have stayed at the Brevedent campsite at Blangy, one of my favourites in the whole of France. Relaxing beside its lake and looking across to the wooded hillside opposite, one hardly cares that there are only one or two worthwhile walks in the locality or that it is over half-an-hour’s drive to the coast.

Nearer to the D-Day beaches I have stayed at the Chateau Camping at Martragny (also elaborately equipped, but somewhat expensive and lacking the Brevedent’s charm) and the Trois Rivières site at nearby Creully (an unspoilt town and a decent site, though a relatively basic one).

Rather to my astonishment, I find I have never stayed in a hotel in Calvados, but, of course, this being France there are any number of hotels, and any number of hotel guides are available to give you details of them. If all else fails, you can obtain a list from Le Comité Départemental du Tourisme du Calvados (0033 231 27 90 30). Rather strangely, I haven’t been able to find an appropriate website for the whole department (www.calvados.fr gives only generalities), but if you go to http://www.tourisme.fr/carte/carte-departement-Cal vados.htm you will a list of local tourist office websites many of which list hotels, chambres d’hôtes (approx = B&B), campsites and apartments or gîtes for hire.

The Comité Départemental du Tourisme (or any town tourist office) will also provide you with a handy booklet entitled simply Loisirs (leisure activities), which comprehensively details museums, parks and gardens, amusements, sports facilities, festivals and much else beside.

On the subject of hospitality, revisiting Calvados after spending most of my recent French holidays further south, I must also mention that I did not find local restauranteurs, barman and shop staff very friendly or helpful, especially along the coast. Maybe they had had an overdose of D-Day anniversary visitors from Britain by the time I turned up shortly after the 60th anniversary, and were suffering from indigestion. But, having often championed the Gallic cause among other Britons who regard the French as unwelcoming, I found this a disappointment.

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Food is always a compelling reason to visit France, with local specialities adding variety to the reliable quality of French cuisine.

The specialities of Calvados are exactly what one would expect of a coastal area, agriculturally reliant on orchards and dairy produce. The seafood is mouth-watering, with freshly caught fish and irresistible plateaux des fruits de mer featured on many a waterfront menu.

For those who like tripe, Tripes à la mode de Caen is a classic treat. Personally, I abhor it.

Local cheeses are mostly made in the soft but pungent Camembert style, such as Livarot and Pont d'Evêque. Personally, I love them.

Cream is used copiously in Norman dishes, and cooked meats are often served in creamy sauces. The local tarte aux pommes also benefits from a dollop of cream, as does tarte tatin (an apple tart cooked upside down with the apple caramelised – this dish actually originates in central France though it is often served in Normandy).

Above all, apples are used in the local beverages. Whilst plenty of beer and wine is consumed in Normandy as elsewhere in France, it is quite common to see cider drunk both for everyday refreshment and with meals, particularly with seafood. The preferred style is Cidre Bouché, especially that from the Pays d’Auge, slightly cloudy and matured in champagne-style wire-corked bottles.

Distilled, this becomes Calvados, often swallowed from a little glass by locals between the courses of a lengthy meal (“le trou normand” – the Norman “hole”), or as a digestif afterwards. I have to say I have never taken to spirits drunk in this way; for me, a digestif should be sipped, and as a sipping liquor calvados is much less tasty than brandy.

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You may already have divined that, like its liquor, Calvados as a destination is not entirely to my taste. If I have failed to wax lyrical about the area, it is because it does not excite me as do some of the remoter, wilder parts of France. But those take longer to reach, and for a few days’ break hardly justify the journey.

Calvados has, in truth, many points in its favour, enumerated above, including plenty to do for families with children. It is also easily reached. P&O Ferries from Portsmouth go direct to Caen/Ouistreham, or you can sail by various routes to Dieppe, Le Havre or Cherbourg, all within an hour or so’s drive. From Calais, it is about three to four hours’ drive, depending on whereabouts in the département you are headed. Rail by Eurostar to Paris and SNCF thereafter takes about seven hours in total, Waterloo to Caen. If you want to fly, you also have to change, but Air France fly into Caen from most major airports elsewhere in France, so it is perfectly possible.

To my mind the ideal length of stay is three days to a week – many of the ferry companies offer five-day deals, which work out fine for the purpose. If you have longer to spend in France, drive further south for a warmer welcome and even better scenery. If you have only a day or two, read my forthcoming review of the Pas-de-Calais!

Five days or so spent in Calvados is unlikely to leave the British visitor with a sense of pioneering discovery or life-changing adventure. Indeed, one would urge a visitor in whom it inspired such feelings to travel further afield in search of the real thing. But it is likely to leave you with a sense of time well-spent, and memories of an interesting and enjoyable holiday.


© First published under the name torr on Ciao UK, September 4th 2004

Summary: An ideal part of France for a short break