Le Havre has a long standing tradition with luxury cruise liners : the first links between Le Havre and North America were forged over a century ago when European emigrants were leaving from Le Havre to the United States. Later, the largest and most famous floating palaces all departed from Le Havre bound to New- York. Le Havre has been welcoming guests and ships for 2 centuries. Nowadays the port of Le Havre can accommodate any type of cruise ships. Located only 200km motorway drive from the French capital, Le Havre asserts itself as The Gateway to Paris.
In 2010, 68 ocean cruise ships are expected in Le Havre. Over 120,000 passengers will visit Le Havre, the Normandy area and Paris. AIDAblu, Celebrity
Eclipse, Costa Deliziosa, and not less than 21 calls from Aida Cruises, 12
calls from Princess Cruises and 4 calls from Cunard Line. The season is
widening, starting as soon as February and ending in December.
Le Havre combines the development of transit calls and turnaround operations. The cruise terminal offers numerous services (tourist information, internet, car and bicycle rental, shopping, coffee shop). New facilities now allow to handel turnaround operations up to 500 passengers.
Le Havre, World Heritage Le Havre town centre, which was rebuilt by Auguste Perret, is the first mid 20th century urban settlement in Europe to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. This classification has shed a new light on the city.
Le Havre, birthplace of Impressionist Painting, holds in its fine art museum André Malraux, the most important collection of impressionist masterpieces in France after the Orsay Museum in Paris.
Le Havre is a dynamic tourist destination with the recent opening of major attractions and others due to open soon:
The restored Vauban Docks harbour site, between the port and the city, will become a huge complex with recreational facilities turned towards the environment. Les Bains des Docks, an aquatic & balneotherapy complex designed by famous French architect Jean Nouvel is part of this waterfront development project. In the same area, les Docks Vauban is a brand new roofed shopping avenue in theheart of Le Havre's newborn district.
The Hanging Gardens overlooking Le Havre and the Baie de Seine provide an amazing panorama : an invitation to go on a journey on the 5 continents thanks to all the plants and flowers displayed.
Shore Excursions in Normany and Paris These are some out of many aspects for choosing Le Havre as a port of call, besides well known attractions and shore excursions that Normandy has to offer : Etretat, Fécamp, Rouen, Giverny, Honfleur, Deauville, the landing beaches. Paris, the capital city of France is the most popular day-excursion departing from Le Havre. The Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, Le Louvres with the famous Mona Lisa Portrait… World famous sites and museums await you there in a day trip. A call in Le Havre is a must on the North Atlantic-itinerary.
