Time for a break from Paris? Try Dieppe! This city of 32,000 people is on the Normandy coast just north of Etretat and has similar white chalk cliffs, pebble beaches and emerald waters. The name Dieppe means deep valley referring to the break in the cliffs carved by the Arques river as it flows into the sea. There is lots of history in Dieppe. It was the site of an experimental landing to test German defenses that preceded D-Day. Unfortunately many Canadians were killed in the failed Operation Jubilee and the Allies learned that they were not going to be able to re-take an active port, thus they developed plans for the Herculean artificial ports of Arromanches-les-Bains in Normandy (another very interesting weekend trip).
The city of Dieppe is still closely linked with Canada today. In 2010 a ton of galets from the Dieppe beach were taken to Windsor, Ontario as part of a monument in memory of the soldiers of the Essex Scottish Regiment who took part in the August 1942 Raid. You can see many monuments to the Canadian soldiers in Dieppe.
Dieppe has happier history too. Amongst her great navigators were the Verrazano brothers who returned to Dieppe in 1524 after discovering the Bay of New York and the coast of Canada which they baptized Nouvelle France.
Dieppe is also known as the birthplace of seaside bathing in France in the 19th century. As soon as the railroad link from Paris was in place in 1848 Dieppe was the place to be seen and the impressionist painters quickly followed the bathers to capture the seaside and cliff landscapes. Some of the famous visitors were Caroline de Bourbon, duchesse de Berry, King Léopold II de Belgique, the duke of Westminster, Camille Saint-Saëns, Claude Debussy, Claude Monet, Madeleine Lemaire, Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissaro, la comtesse de Greffulhe, Robert de Montesquiou, Jacques-Émile Blanche, Walter Sickert, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde. Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie had their honeymoon in Dieppe.
There are plenty of outdoor activities to do around Dieppe as well. In particular there is a cycling route that links Paris to London which passes through Dieppe (then takes the ferry across the Channel to Newhaven) as well as many additional cycling route and paths throughout the Seine-Maritime department. By car or train the trip Paris-Dieppe takes just two hours. On a bike it would be several days, but think of the lovely Normandy countryside you can pass through on the way. There are hikes on the chalk cliffs or on the beach. A kite festival is held every second year.
Once in Dieppe don’t miss the four different ports (ferry, pleasure, fishing and commercial) and the lovely local museum in the 14th century castle. The Château Musée up on the cliff shows an eclectic assortment of items from impressionist paintings, ocean cartography, historical navigational instruments and works by George Braque who is buried right nearby in Varengeville-sur-Mer. The most unusual collection however is hundreds of carved ivory items. Ivory was brought back to Dieppe from Africa by the sailors, then transformed by local artisans into practical items like combs and fans, jewelry and decoration in the 16th to 19th centuries. There are also ship models made entirely of ivory – including the ropes! Very delicate work that is worth the visit. For children Dieppe has the Estran-Cité de la Mer, with an aquarium and exhibits explaining how tides work, pebbles are formed and fishing has developed.
Fish and shellfish dishes abound on the menus of Normandy restaurants, and especially on those of coastal towns such as Dieppe. The local fishes are flat fish such as turbot and sole. Fresh local scallops are a delicacy from October to mid-May as Dieppe is the number one scallop port in France. The Restaurant du Port run by Madame Mouny and her family is right on quai of the pleasure port (99, quai Henri IV), but remains authentic and familial. Madame Mouny is an energetic grandmother who welcomes diners as if they were part of the family. She loves what she does and it shows. The fish is fresh from the day’s catch. The veranda façade opens to the port in the warm weather and is nicely heated in the chilly season. Try the scallops with endives and apples in cream or the marmite dieppoise a creamy shellfish bouillabaisse!
Fish names are one of the hardest parts of French to master, partly because fish is local to specific places and you are likely not to know the English either! There are different species of fish in the Mediterranean than there are off the Normandy coast in the Channel or Atlantic. Saumonette is not a little salmon. Un bouquet is not flowers. And un maquereau is a fish, but also a pimp! Here’s a list of fish names translated.
Amandes Dog cockles
Anchois Anchovy
Anguille Eel
Araignée de mer Spider crab
Bar Sea Bass
Barbue Brill
Baudroie Monkfish
Bigorneaux Winkles
Brème Bream
Bouquet Prawn
Bulots Whelks
Cabillaud Cod
Calamar Squid
Carrelet Plaice
Colin Hake
Congre Conger eel
Coques Cockles
Coquille St Jacques Scallops
Crabe Crab
Crevettes grises Shrimps
Crevettes roses Prawns
Daurade Sea-bream
Ecrevisse Freshwater crayfish
Eglefin Haddock
Flétan Halibut
Gambas King prawns
Grondin Gurnet
Haddock Smoked Haddock
Hareng Herring
Homard Lobster
Huîtres Oysters
Julienne Ling
Langoustes Crayfish
Langoustines Norway lobsters
Lieu jaune Pollock
Lieu noir Coalfish
Limande Lemon sole
Lingue Ling
Lompe Lumpfish
Lotte de mer Monkfish
Loup de mer Sea bass
Maquereau Mackerel
Merlan Whiting
Morue Cod
Moules Mussels
Oursin Sea urchin
Palourdes Clams
Praires Small clams
Raie Skate
Rouget Red mullet
Roussette Huss, rock salmon
Saint Pierre John Dory
Sandre Pikeperch
Saumon Salmon
Saumonette Huss, rock salmon
Sole Sole
Turbot Turbot
Vignots Winkles