Painting by the sea

Painting by the sea Normandy’s Alabaster Coast had a big impact on the Impressionist painters. Gillian Thornton took a scenic coastal drive to find out why. For a very small place, Veules-les-Roses packs a pretty picturesque punch with its period cottages and ancient watermills, seaside villas and sandy beach. And there are more clues in the name. Nestled in the wooded valley of the Veules, France’s shortest river, the narrow streets are splashed with the colour of roses during the summer months. Victor Hugo was a big fan of the village, coming here regularly in the late 19th century. One hundred and fifty years later, Veules-les-Roses is still popular, a gem of the Alabaster Coast and the only community in the Seine-Maritime department of Normandy that is classified amongst the Plus Beaux Villages de France. Stretching from Le Tréport in the north to Le Havre in the south, the dramatic coastline of Seine-Maritime earns its name – the Côte d’Albâtre – from the towering white chalk cliffs that dominate the undulating shoreline. The Impressionists loved a chalk cliff so as a big fan of their work, I’ve come to see for myself the landscapes they loved. Heading down by car from Calais, I cross from the Hauts-de-France region into Normandy at Le Tréport on the Bresle estuary. Walk the bustling quayside, relax on the beach, and take the funicular up the chalk cliffs to enjoy sweeping views over coast and countryside. I’m no painter but already I can understand why artists are captivated by the big skies and ever-changing light here. Don’t leave Le Tréport without taking a minidetour to Eu, a small inland town of just 7,000 residents. Eu’s chateau was a favourite home of France’s last king, Louis Philippe, and it’s here that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert stayed in 1843 for the signing of the first Entente Cordiale, a diplomatic agreement between France and Great Britain. Louis- Philippe lived his final years in exile in England after being forced to abdicate in 1848, but his beautifully restored Norman mansion still 20 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 21