A visit of Honfleur is not only an occasion to discover old monuments, like the Lieutenance, churches St Leonard and Ste Catherine. There is something special in the air, in the sunlight, filtered by Normandy clouds, which is difficult to explain...
It has attracted a lot of artists such as painters, Landscapers, Realists, Impressionnists. The most famous of them are Eugene Boudin, and Johann Barthold Jongkind, and their even more famous student : Claude Monet.
HONFLEUR
It's difficult to know exactly when Honfleur was founded, but it is mentioned in a document in 1027.
Already an important harbour in the middle of the 12th century, well sheltered on the southern of Seine river's mouth side, the site was fortified during the Hundred Years War.
As the rest of Normandy, it was often captured, often destroyed, often liberated, and often rebuilt, but luckily it was spared in Second World War ! Honfleur was one of 3 cities more than 5000 inhabitants, to suffer no destructions in Normandy.
It has kept a lot of half-timbered houses, most of them from the 18th century, but some are dating back to Renaissance, or the end of medieval times.