We're in Varengeville sur Mer. This chic Normandy village sits high on a chalk pride and offers a splendid panorama, covering with one glance the entire Côté d'Albâtre from Saint-Valery-en-Caux to Le Tréport. A landchap full of impressions.
It is therefore not surprising that the Impressionists like Claude Monet were attracted to this magical place, with in their wake countless other artists such as Braque, Picasso, Miró and Cocteau. Braque was so fascinated by Varengeville that he even decided to live there half the year.

Bois des Moutiers

Here in Varengeville is also the park of Moutiers known by gardeners. It was created between 1900 and 1940.
The gardens were designed by the legendary Gertrude Jekyll. Together with architect Luytjens she designed the concept in which the gardens act as an extension of the house, surrounded by hedge walls and thus form garden rooms. Further on, the green flows into the 12 ha park, where you actually feel like just walking in nature.
The acidic soil, an exception in this part of Normandy, was perfect to bring special alien plants and trees. Rhododendrons from the Himalayas, azaleas from China, eucryphias from Chile and the impressive high maples from Japan are in remarkable contrast to local vegetation.

Church of #Varengeville

From the garden we continue to the church, strangely enough completely outside the village located on the edge of the chalk cliffs.
It looks like the church is in danger of falling into the sea. The church of St. Valery dates back to the thirteenth century. The cemetery is dominated by a sixteenth-century sandstone cross, there are also some famous French buried here. They lie here with a view of the sea: Porto-Riche, Albert Roussel, Georges Braque and Paul Nelson. The cubist artist, Braque, created a stained glass window for the church, depicting Jesse's tree.
We walk back towards village. Along the way we stop at 'L'Auberge du Relais', the restaurant of Varengeville, where we drink a little coffee and eat the well-known small but fine French mussels.

In the surrounding area

Nearby there is also the Vasterival park of Princess Sturdza and the Shamrock Gardens, the largest collection of hydrangeas in the world with more than 1000 varieties. The Manoir d'Ango is also worth a visit, the castle-house of Jehan Ango, a pirate and one of Dieppe's most historic and flamboyant figures. A little further away is the castle of Miromesnil where Guy de Maupassant spent his childhood. The coast is dotted with picturesque villages (Veules-les Roses, Saint-Valery-en-Caux, Etretat,...). We drive along the coast via Pourville-sur-Mer and Dieppe back to Flanders.

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