The Bay of Somme in 3 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.
The plan, day by day
Day 1
- Morning
Saint-Valery-sur-Sommefree · 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.
- Late afternoon
Bay of Somme Steam Railway2 to 3 hA line from 1887 saved by volunteers, with steam engines pulling wooden carriages between Le Crotoy, Noyelles, Saint-Valery and Cayeux.
Day 2
- Morning
Crossing the bay on foot2 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 Crotoyfree · 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.
- Late afternoon
Seals at the Pointe du Hourdelfree · 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.
Day 3
- Morning
Cayeux-sur-Mer and its boardwalkfree · 2 to 3 hA shingle resort with nearly 2 kilometres of boardwalk lined by some 400 brightly painted beach huts facing the Channel.
- Afternoon
Marquenterre Bird Park2 to 3 hTwo hundred hectares of dunes and marsh on a major European migration route, with 2 to 6-kilometre trails between bird hides.
- Late afternoon
Saint-Riquier Abbeyabout 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 in the Bay of Somme
- Camping Le Walric · €35 a night
- Aux Trois Jean · €105 a night
- Hôtel Le Cise · €110 a night
- Hôtel Picardia · €120 a night
- Hôtel Les Tourelles · €130 a night
- Le Relais Guillaume de Normandy · €110 a night
- Hôtel Le Cap Hornu · €170 a night
- Les Pilotes · €180 a night
- Château de Noyelles · 180-€280 a night
Plan this trip
Hotel prices per room per night, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.