LD Lines has launched a new daily summer link – running from 1 May to 30 September – connecting Newhaven and Le Havre.
LD Lines claims that Newhaven is the closest channel ferry port to London, which maybe technically true, but access is not as easy as Dover, and I suspect journey times are much the same.
Le Havre (76 Seine-Maritime, Normandy) is however well-situated for fast access to Paris, Rouen and Normandy - and with the extended autoroute network the Loire Valley is easily accessed by the new A28 down to Alencon and Le Mans and then on to Tours, Angers and the South West.
Autoroute access westwards is good with the extended A84 autoroute now running through to Rennes followed by the fast dual-carriageway N137 down to Nantes or the fast N12 through to Brest.
The crossing takes place on board an extremely quick and comfortable new ship – the Seven Sisters – chartered from our sister company Transmanche Ferries.
The crossing takes 5 hours (all local times):-
Daily from Newhaven at 12h30 arriving at 18h30 in Le Havre
Daily from Le Havre at 20h00 arriving at midnight in Newhaven
LD Lines also run a service from Portsmouth to Le Havre.
Le Havre is to my mind something of an eyesore - probably because I really do not like masses of concrete, which was all the vogue in the 1950s. Le Havre was devastated in the Second World War and was totally rebuilt by Auguste Perret, who was also responsible for another of my pet hates - the stark Tour Perret in Amiens, which to my view seriously detracts from a splendid Gothic Cathedral which should be the focal point of the skyline. But what do I know, as Perret's Le Havre is now designated as a Unesco World Heritage Site!!:-
The site forms the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of Le Havre. Amongst many reconstructed cities, Le Havre is exceptional for its unity and integrity. It combines a reflection of the earlier pattern of the town and its extant historic structures with the new ideas of town planning and construction technology. It is an outstanding post-war example of urban planning and architecture based on the unity of methodology and the use of prefabrication, the systematic utilization of a modular grid, and the innovative exploitation of the potential of concrete.
LINKS:-
LD Lines
Unesco World Heritage Site
Le Havre Tourism
RECOMMENDED READING:-
The French Cafe
Brittany Green Guide (Michelin Green Guides)
Normandy Green Guide (Michelin Green Guides)
