Undiscovered Normandy

Really? undiscovered Normandy... is there such a place? Yes and No may have to be the answer but the fact that most visitors to Normandy, British visitors especially, drive through some stunning areas and beautiul corners of France at 80 mph must mean that the areas they are driving through and not staying and discovering more about are in some respects 'undiscovered'.

There is so much to see and do in the Picardy region for example, even Upper Normandy is driven through without stopping as everyone heads towards the Lower Normandy towns of Vire, Sourdeval, Domfront and Flers etc.

Similarly it has always confused me why people seem to land in Cherbourg and head towards the area around Saint Lo as fast as possible as if there is something odd about the delightful Cotentin Pennisula region there are driving through?

There is of course nothing wrong with Lower Normandy, we sell most of our houses in the North-west of France in the departments of Orne and Calvados but I do think people are missing out on the delights of such towns as Bricquebec, Brix, Barneville-Cateret, La Haye du Puit and Sainte Mere-Eglise to name but a few AND being on a Pennisula you are never too far away from the coast!

So lets take a look at these regions and you can see our properties for sale in Cotentin Penninsula, Upper Normandy and Picardy are actually very nice indeed.

Picardy

Picardy or Picardie consists of just three departments, the Aisne (02) capital Laon, the Oise (60), capital Beauvais and the Somme (60), capital Amiens and this is also the regional capital. The southern part of this modern region, virtually all of the Oise department, was not part of the original Province of Picardy, it was added when the region was created in the 20th century.

The triangle between Paris, Amsterdam and London is of course the historic centre of warfare action in western Europe, Picardy is an area with a very interesting history indeed.

Upper Normandy

Seine-Maritime and Eure departments.

With its proximity and excellent transport links with the U.K, Upper Normandy is the ideal choice for those looking for property for sale in France either for a holiday home or permanent residence.

Stretching south 100km from Dieppe to Étretat is the Côte d'Albâtre, where pebble beaches are backed by impressive tall, white cliffs. Along this coast there are small villages and few resorts. Inland Upper Normandy is a land of meadows and orchards, as well as many rivers and brooks. Its half-timbered colombage houses are much in demand. The majority have been modernised and are second homes for both Parisians and the British.

Cotentin Pennisula in Lower Normandy

Hard against the frontier with Brittany, and cut off from the rest of Normandy by difficult marshy terrain, the Cotentin Peninsula has traditionally been seen as something of a backwater, far removed from the French mainstream. By sea, on the other hand, it’s very easily accessible. Beyond the peninsula’s major port, Cherbourg, little ports such as Barfleur and St-Vaast on the indented northern headland presage the rocky Breton coast, while La Hague to the west offers a handsome array of heather-clad cliffs and stone-wall-divided patchwork fields.

For many visitors the Cotentin’s long western flank, with its flat beaches, serves primarily as a prelude to Mont St-Michel, with hill towns such as Coutances and Avranches cherishing architectural and historical relics associated with the abbey. Halfway down, however, the walled port of Granville, a popular destination with French holiday-makers, is a sort of small-scale mirror-image of Brittany’s St-Malo.

Cle France are French Estate agents with agents across France in most regions and with over 8000 houses for sale in all price brackets and in all styles to suit everyone. This bi-lingual service will help you find the right property for you with the minimum of fuss.

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