Tourist information:
Only 2 hours from Paris, discover Le Havre, a dynamic and modern city, fully facing the sea ... The center, fully renovated in the twentieth century, has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage. The Porte Oceane is the birthplace of Impressionism. It also hides many treasures, its docks, its hanging gardens, the Church of St. Joseph or the Notre-Dame cathedral...
François 1er who wanted a port for both his commercial ambitions and his desires of discovery, had Le Havre built. The city with its port became a Royal city in the sixteenth century. The city was then so thriving that, in the eighteenth century,
Louis XVI decided to build a new town, north of Le Havre.
Then
Napoleon III decided to enlarge the city, which was overcrowded, in 1852. He destroyed the surrounding walls and annexed the municipalities around the city. Le Havre became a big city.
Unfortunately the city was hit hard by the two World Wars. It was partially destroyed in 1944. After this difficult period, the reconstruction of the city center was decided. The chosen architect was
Auguste Perret . He decided to combine the principles of structural classicism : reinforced concrete with classical vocabulary.
Modern and ancient heritage mix in the city of Le Havre. Several monuments deserve to be visited : Graville Abbey, the Museum of Natural History, the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Saint-François district for the ancient period; the impressive St. Joseph Church, the Malraux Museum which is the second largest collection of Impressionist paintings in France, and the cultural space of the Volcan, for the modern side of the town.
The sea also takes an important place in Le Havre. Its equipped beaches are very pleasant. A walk on the south waterfront enable to discover a group of buildings made according to Auguste Perret's plans.
