Cyril Plate art Oscar

Cyril Plate art Oscar Niemeyer’s Volcanoes make you stop in surprise. The locals call the big volcano, a theatre, the yoghurt pot. You can see why with it’s pure white, sloping sides and flat top. The recently renovated small volcano is now the public library and it’s just as extraordinary inside as it is outside. Anyone can go in – and should, to experience the remarkable interior design, concrete of course in keeping with Le Havre’s architectural theme. It’s like being in a spaceship with viewing windows carved into the thick walls, space age seats in bright colours, and a sweeping staircase. There are regular exhibitions and a cool coffee shop. This has to be one of the most remarkable libraries in the world. www.lehavre.fr/annuaire/bibliothequeosacar-niemeyer Port of Le Havre Having spent his childhood in Le Havre, the artist Claude Monet was so moved by it that he painted his most famous work, a view of the port of Le Havre. Named Impression, Rising Sun, it gave the Impressionist movement its name. The port today is the processing point for more shipping containers than any other in France. The city uses them in building – they make funky students flats. And in art where containers have been transformed into an elegant, curvy sculpture by Vincent Ganivet, at Southampton Wharf You can take a port tour which is fascinating navigation-normande.fr Beach Life The pebble beach in Le Havre is long and extends round to Saint Adresse which has a sandy beach. Here you’ll find the “Hanging Gardens” overlooking the Bay of the Seine and the Chapel of Notre Dame des Flots,

uilt in 1859. Recently restored, it was originally built for the fishermen to go and pray for a safe voyage. Now full of memorial plates, model ships and paintings and still in use, its open through the week and the views from its gardens are lovely. Culture of Le Havre There are several museums in the city and culture vultures will find plenty to please including: MUMA: The Museum of Modern Art was the first purpose built museum in France and it’s impressionist collection is second only to the Musée d’Orsay. Monet, Renoir, Boudin and Pissaro are all featured. Don’t miss the café overlooking the harbour for a break - and the views. Auguste Perret’s show flat, furnished with 1950s flat-pack space-saving items is genuinely surprising. It wouldn’t look out of place in a chic New York loft! He created a show flat in 1949 to allow local people to see what he was proposing with the rebuilding of Le Havre – not all of them were impressed by his modern rebuilding of their city. This show flat homage, re-created in 2005, reveals just how visionary he was. The space, 99m₂ exactly (as all the flats are) is beautifully laid out. One heater in each block provided enough hot air to heat all the flats in the block through a duct system. Folding and double doors meant the apartment was bathed in the special light of Le Havre throughout the day but could create privacy. Bathrooms were in each apartment at a time when many homes still had outdoor loos and tin baths hanging on a wall (even for decades after). Perret’s vision has had worldwide influence and you can see it clearly in this wonderful museum flat. (Details: www.lehavretourisme. com)