Houlgate - Holiday Jewel

Wednesday – Another visit to a pretty seaside town, the town of Houlgate. This town reflects the very typical architecture of the area – “Neo Normande”. It’s very attractive and has a homely old feel about it. Once again, our visit was cut short, and we had to rush to find take-away food for lunch and get home because a repair man was coming to fix the kitchen range hood. During the afternoon we visited two very large local shopping complexes looking for laser cut wood Christmas decorations for next year. During the evening Sylvie and I prepared our bulging suitcases for tomorrows departure to the Caen hotel. We thought that giving away the presents we had brought from Australia would leave more space, but this was not so, in return we received more gifts.

Houlgate is a popular seaside town on the Normandy coast (here referred to as the Cote Fleurie) to the west of Deauville and across the Dives estuary from nearby Dives-sur-Mer. Originally a quiet agricultural village, the 19th century brought great change to Beuzeval, as it was then known, first with the construction of the Grand Hotel and many other luxury villas and hotels, then later with the arrival of a direct train line from Paris. By the start of the 20th century Houlgate had become one of the most popular resorts along this part of the English channel. It was around 1870-1900 that the many fine villas in Houlgate were built (300 of them), and it is these that give the resort it's charm and character. The styles ranges from gothic to new-norman and the variety is wonderful. There are also some older medieval buildings such as the Maison des Pecheurs and the lovely Moulin Landry. These two buildings are down a quiet lane behind the railway line and a little apart from the rest of town.Read more