Étretat, white chalk arches over the English Channel.

What is there to see in Étretat?

Two white chalk cliffs on either side of a pebble beach. On the left, facing the sea, the falaise d'Aval, with the Porte d'Aval, an enormous arch carved by the waves, and next to it the Needle, a free-standing rock 51 m high rising from the water. Behind, at the end of Jambourg beach, is the Manneporte, even bigger; Maupassant wrote that a ship under full sail could pass through it. On the right, the falaise d'Amont, with its own arch and the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde on top.

The village began as a fishing port and in the 19th century became a resort for Parisians and the English, who filled it with villas. On the promenade you can still see the capstans for hauling up the boats and the caloges, old boats with thatched roofs that served as storehouses. It has pedestrian streets, a wooden covered market with souvenir shops and the church of Notre-Dame, from the 12th century. At the Clos Lupin, the house Maurice Leblanc bought in 1919, you can take a tour about Arsène Lupin, whose novel The Hollow Needle is set here.

How do you walk the cliffs?

Along the top, on foot, on the signposted paths. To the west, steps and a path climb to the falaise d’Aval from the end of the promenade: you pass the golf course, see the Needle and the Porte d'Aval from above and carry on until you look out over the Manneporte. To the east, the climb to the falaise d'Amont leads to the chapel and the Jardins d'Étretat, paid gardens with views over the village and the bay. Both climbs can be done in a morning.

To walk further, the GR 21 runs along the Alabaster Coast from Le Havre to Le Tréport along the clifftops and through the valleys that drop to the sea. From Étretat you can follow it west, towards Le Tilleul, or east, towards Yport and Fécamp.

Can you go down to the beach?

Yes, to the village beach, next to the promenade. What you cannot do is walk at the foot of the cliffs: a municipal bylaw forbids it because rockfalls are frequent. You also cannot enter the cave and tunnel of the Trou à l'Homme or walk the beaches from one side to the other at low tide, except the area next to the promenade. Up on the plateaux you must keep at least 5 m from the edge. Don't take pebbles from the beach: they protect the coast from storms and it is forbidden. If you want to see the arches from the water, the sailing club hires kayaks and paddleboards on the beach itself, from spring to autumn.

How do you get there and where do you park?

By car from Spain it is about 850 km from Irún, via Bordeaux, Tours and Rouen or Le Havre. Parking is the hard part: in the centre street parking is paid every day from 9:00 to 19:00, and in summer you need patience. There is free parking at the entrance to the village, on the road to Criquetot-l'Esneval, la Guezane, with a path on foot to the centre. Motorhomes have an area of about 30 spaces next to the municipal campsite.

Without a car, the simplest way is to fly to Paris and continue by train. From April to early November SNCF sells combined train and coach tickets to Étretat; the rest of the year you go by train to Le Havre or Fécamp and continue on the Nomad regional coach. Fécamp is about 17 km away and Honfleur, across the Pont de Normandie, less than an hour.

Where to eat and where to sleep?

For eating cheaply and with children, the Crêperie Lann Bihoué, on rue Notre-Dame, with galettes from €6.40 and cider from farms in the area, open every day. For dinner sharing plates, Le Bel Ami, a bistro with a wine bar on rue Alphonse-Karr that also opens daily. For a special meal, the gourmet restaurant at Le Donjon, with menus from €69 to €149.

To sleep, the Dormy House, a 61-room hotel in a park above the sea, from €110 a night without breakfast; Le Donjon – Domaine Saint Clair, a four-star with 25 rooms, a heated pool and a spa on the Saint-Clair hillside, and the municipal campsite, three-star, open from 15 March to 15 November. All three admit dogs.