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Travel guide
The Bay of Somme
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: April to June, and September to October
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Welcome
The Bay of Somme, in a few days
Two hours from Paris, the Somme opens into a 7,000-hectare estuary where the sea pulls back for kilometres twice a day. Walk barefoot across the channels at low tide, watch France's largest seal colony at Le Hourdel and ride a steam train on a line opened in 1887.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Saint-Valery-sur-Somme free · half a dayFishermen's houses along the quay below, and above, the walled medieval town from which William the Conqueror sailed for England in 1066.
- Afternoon · Bay of Somme Steam Railway · 2 to 3 hA line from 1887 saved by volunteers, with steam engines pulling wooden carriages between Le Crotoy, Noyelles, Saint-Valery and Cayeux.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Picardia€120 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Crossing the bay on foot · 2 to 3 hAbout 6 kilometres of sand, mud and channels from Le Crotoy to Saint-Valery, barefoot or in boots, always with a guide.
- Afternoon · Le Crotoy free · 2 to 3 hA seaside town with a south-facing beach, brick villas and beach huts, where Jules Verne wrote part of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Les Tourelles€130 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Seals at the Pointe du Hourdel free · 2 to 3 hAt low tide, harbour and grey seals haul out on the sandbanks off this old fishing port, sometimes within 200 metres of the sea wall.
- Afternoon · Cayeux-sur-Mer and its boardwalk free · 2 to 3 hA shingle resort with nearly 2 kilometres of boardwalk lined by some 400 brightly painted beach huts facing the Channel.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Relais Guillaume de Normandy€110 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Marquenterre Bird Park · 2 to 3 hTwo hundred hectares of dunes and marsh on a major European migration route, with 2 to 6-kilometre trails between bird hides.
- Afternoon · Saint-Riquier Abbey · about 2 hA seventh-century Benedictine abbey near Abbeville, with a Flamboyant Gothic church whose 50-metre carved tower-façade dominates the village.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel du Port et des Bains€115 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €95 a day, mid-range
Best seasonApril to June, and September to October
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/bay-of-somme
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.