Étretat
France
White chalk cliffs cut into arches and a needle, above a pebble beach in a village of twelve hundred people
Photo by Ilnur Kalimullin on Unsplash
Photos by Daniela Holzer, Austin Loveing, Fabrizio Coco and Luc Vlekken on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of France
May to June, and September (on weekdays; summer weekends fill the car parks by mid-morning)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 90mm in Nov
Where it is
49.71°N, 0.20°E Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Walk up the Falaise d’Amont first, for the view of the arch and the needle together
- Then cross the beach, climb the Falaise d’Aval and walk on past the Aiguille to the Manneporte
- Come on a weekday, or before ten at a weekend
- Stay into the evening, when the coaches have gone and the light is on the chalk
- Walk the coast path to Yport rather than driving
Étretat travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget France
Mid-rangeEuros, and cards in the restaurants, shops and car parks. Nothing here needs cash you would have to change for.
ATMs & cards
A couple of bank machines in the village. Fécamp and Le Havre have plenty. Refuse any offer to convert into your own currency.
Avoid these
- independent machines that offer to charge you in your own currency
Use these instead
- Crédit Agricole
- La Banque Postale
- Société Générale
- BNP Paribas
There are only a couple of machines in the village and cards are taken almost everywhere.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of France
SafeThe village is safe; the cliffs are not forgiving. The chalk is crumbling and unfenced along most of the top, and every so often somebody standing near the edge for a photograph goes over it. At the foot, rockfalls happen without warning, and the beaches beyond the arches are cut off by the rising tide — people walking round to the Manneporte at low tide get trapped. Check the tide time before going along the beach, and keep a body’s length back from the edge above.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
Worth more attention
- the cliff edges — crumbling chalk, mostly unfenced; people die going over taking photographs
- the beaches beyond the arches — the rising tide cuts them off, and rocks fall from the cliff face
- Summer weekend parking, when the village fills by mid-morning and the queue to get in starts on the main road
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa France visa rules
No visa needed
Freedom of movement — no time limit, and no visa. Bring a passport or national ID card.
Other passports
No visa neededup to 90 days
90 days within any 180-day period, counted across the whole Schengen area, not per country. ETIAS, a paid online authorisation, is being introduced for these passports — check the official link for whether it applies to your travel dates.
Visa required in advance€90 (Schengen short-stay visa)
A Schengen short-stay visa is applied for before travel, at the consulate of your main destination.
How to get it: Apply at the consulate or visa centre of the country you will spend most time in, typically 15 working days ahead and no more than six months before travel.
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of France
Excellent and cheapRequired to enter
No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Routine vaccinations up to date
Getting treated
EU/EEA and Swiss visitors are treated on the same terms as residents with an EHIC or GHIC card; UK visitors use a GHIC. Everyone else pays, and travel insurance is worth having for the repatriation cover rather than the treatment.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodFish and shellfish off the boats — Fécamp is twenty minutes along the coast — and moules-frites on the front. The restaurants facing the beach charge for the view; one street back is cheaper and no worse. Cider and Neufchâtel cheese are from inland Normandy, an hour away.
Travel tipsGetting around
Car needed- UberWorks here
- BoltWorks here
- G7Works here
- FREE NOWWorks here
G7 the taxi fleet, by app
- Against a taxi
- Much the same. The flat airport rate is a taxi rule and the apps price against it.
Time zone and your working day
Europe/Paris — 6 hours ahead of you
2 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–11:00 your time, 15:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 03:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 03:00–11:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Works hereRevolutIn the app
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
French
- HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
- PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
- Thank youMercimer-SEE
- Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non
4 more phrases
- Excuse meExcusez-moiex-koo-zay MWA
- How much is it?C'est combien ?say com-BYEN
- The bill, pleaseL'addition, s'il vous plaîtla-dee-SYON
- Cheers!Santé !son-TAY
Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.
Travel tipsReligion
Catholic, and strictly secular
Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
- Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
- Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
- Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated
Don't
- Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
- Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
- Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
- Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised
Where to stay in Étretat
No Holistay rentals in Étretat yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Étretat on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle CDG
2h 40mfrom the airport· 187 km as the crow flies
About 2h40 by hire car; by train through Paris and Le Havre and the bus on, closer to four hours.
Also worth pricing: Paris-Beauvais BVA — ryanair and Wizz Air; about two hours by hire car.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
