Our 15 favorites in Calvados

This weekend, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024, the European Heritage Days are back. So, you can go and taste caramels, get high in lighthouses, meet the orange vests on the side of our roads or even get lost in the marshes of a small village called Deauville…

This is the opportunity in Calvados to visit monuments and sites that are closed most of the time… For the 41st edition, discovery proposals are structured around the themes of heritage linked to routes, networks and connections as well as Norman maritime heritage. These days offer the opportunity to visit monuments and sites, often exceptionally open and it even starts on Friday.

Norman heritage is of course castles, churches, remarkable residences and there is no shortage of offers in the department, but there are plenty of other riches to discover during this long weekend, often for free. And the taste buds are not left out…

Immerse yourself in the production workshops of Normandy PDO cheeses. Through a corridor of glass galleries, discover each stage of the production of Livarot and Pont-l’Évêque, from the arrival of the milk to the canning of the cheeses.

Friday 20, Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• An 18th century bread oven in Bréville-Les Monts

Who says cheese, says bread! So, come visit the bakehouse and the 18th century bread oven at the farm of Jean-François Godard. You will participate in the making of bread and tasting.

Saturday, September 21, 2024 from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• The making of caramels in Isigny-sur-Mer

The Isigny Sainte-Mère Cooperative and the Caramels d’Isigny have joined forces to offer you an immersion in a gourmet world. It was in the 1930s that caramel making first appeared in the region. You will be able to observe all the stages of caramel making: from the mixing of raw materials to the wrapped candy, and if you are good, taste caramels or ice creams!

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

To eat… you need plates and cutlery! Go behind the scenes and meet the artisans of the beautiful Maison Guy Degrenne. It is said that initially the stainless steel cutlery that made the company successful came from the metal of tanks destroyed during the Battle of Normandy.

Friday September 20, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Normandy’s heritage is of course the castles, churches, remarkable residences and there is no shortage of things to do in the department, but there are plenty of other treasures to discover during this long weekend.

• The road intervention and maintenance center in Bayeux

This is an opportunity to discover the work of the men who protect road users and manage the road network. With this visit, you will be able to discover the equipment and techniques used for intervention, signaling and road maintenance.

Friday September 20, 2024 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

• The SNCF maintenance center in Caen

For train lovers, come and discover the Lignes Normandes Technicentre in Caen. In this maintenance centre, usually inaccessible to the public, the Lignes Normandes trains are repaired, maintained and cleaned. A way to follow the perpetual evolution of the railway.

Saturday September 21, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (reservation required)

• An electrical visit with RTE in Ifs

Follow the path of the electricity fairy by discovering an electrical substation, the professions related to it, the machines on display, the prevention of electrical risks and a model of the electricity path.

Saturday September 21, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The maritime heritage of Calvados and the high tides announced are two good reasons to go for a stroll along the coast… Here are our good spots.

• Deauville, a small village in the middle of the marshes

An immersive virtual reality experience to discover the origins of Deauville and the evolution of its seafront between 1859 and 1924 at the Musée des Franciscaines. RGo back in time, equipped with a virtual reality headset and a joystick, stroll through the deserted marshes when Deauville was just a village, witness the construction of the first villas and then the grand palaces and observe in a fun way the evolution of seaside practices.

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024 from 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• The house of Jongkind, precursor of impressionism in Honfleur

Opened for the second time in its history, and located in the centre of Honfleur, the House of Johan Barthold Jongkind, precursor of Impressionism and master of Claude Monet, is typical of Honfleur. Full of charm, it is built around a boat mast. The house displays works by Jongkind as well as many objects from the past, making the place a veritable cabinet of curiosities.

Friday, September 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and Sunday, September 22, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Marcel Proust’s room at the Grand Hôtel de Cabourg

Go in search of lost time and discover the Marcel Proust room at the Grand Hôtel de Cabourg. This room is one of those that the writer occupied during his stays in Cabourg. And to complete the Proustian stroll, the Villa du Temps retrouvé opens its doors free of charge, the opportunity to discover the 2024 exhibitions: the “Belle Époque Trail”, an immersive exhibition plunging visitors into the art of living in 1900 and the world of Marcel Proust, and the temporary exhibition “Jules Verne, father of science fiction”.

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• Da Costa’s blue house in Dives-sur-Mer

An extraordinary garden, filled with small monuments covered with birds, snakes, deer and other mosaic motifs, chapels decorated with fragments of plates, a mausoleum in memory of Laika, the first dog launched into space. The dwelling house and the garden are the unique work of Euclides Da Costa Ferreira. The monuments are covered with pieces of recycled ceramic and glass. For lovers of raw art.

Sunday, September 22, 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The view is worth it, but you won’t be disappointed! 38 meters high, 171 spiral steps, an excellent promontory to observe the ballet of ferries.

Saturday, September 21, 2024 from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Spiritual Calvados

Another way to elevate yourself is to visit little-known places of worship in the area.

• The Lalique Chapel of Douvres-La-Délivrande

Come for a self-guided tour of the Lalique Chapel and its gardens. This chapel contains one of the first monumental expressions in glass slabs, an architectural technique pioneered by René Lalique. The translucent wonders to discover: a translucent Christ on the cross, three stained glass windows, an altarpiece, a tabernacle door, luminous columns and a sanctuary lamp.

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• Little Lourdes of Hérouville-Saint-Clair

In 1879, Mr. Dubosq, a wine merchant from Rouen, made a donation to the congregation of the brothers of Hérouville and expressed the wish to have a “Little Lourdes” built on the site, in recognition of the miraculous healing of his wife in Lourdes. The Petit Lourdes d’Hérouville-Saint-Clair is a faithful 2/3 reproduction of the sanctuary of the Marian city, including a chapel consecrated in 1882, as well as a grotto and its spring. The place today has the same appearance as it did in 1879 and allows visitors to travel back in time 140 years.

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024 from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• The Orthodox Church of Colombelles

The history of the Saint-Serge church is linked to that of the SMN (Société Métallurgique de Normandie) and its Russian workers. Completed in 1927, its plan copies the buildings of Saint Petersburg. It is the only Orthodox church in western France listed in the supplementary inventory of historical monuments.

Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 September 2024 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

• The Mosque of Hérouville-Saint-Clair

Finally, two last-minute suggestions: attend the races at the Caen racecourse and especially visit the stables or lose yourself in the three hectares of greenery of the Jardins du Pays d’Auge. Have a great weekend!