Grandcamp-Maisy Scallop Festival
This small village of Grandcamp-Maisy (14 Calvados, Normandie) is transformed into a hub of scallop tastings, demonstrations, market stalls, and entertainment for the Scallop Festival 30 November – 1 December 2024.
Grandcamp-Maisy is on the coast west of Bayeux.
Courseulles-sur-Mer
On Normandy’s Côte de Nacre (Mother of Pearl Coast) close to the Normandy landing beaches.Courseulles-sur-Mer holds its Scallop Festival 23 – 24 November 2024 see more info.
Buy and try local Scallops, oysters and other shellfish, cookery demonstrations, photographic exhibition, music etc
Dieppe
An annual Herring and Scallop Festival Foire aux Harengs et à la Coquille Saint-Jacques is held the third weekend in November when Dieppe celebrates its age-old ties to the ocean and the fishing industry 16 – 17 November 2024
Marinated, grilled or fresh, the herring that swim south to the coast on the Channel can easily be enjoyed in an unpretentious style but also with eager delight. The ultimate way to savour them though is right off the grill, accompanied by potatoes baked on the embers and then scooped out and served with a pat of melting salted butter. That is, unless you’re more tempted by a skewer of scallops, which would pair perfectly with a glass of white wine.
Beginning Saturday morning, all the town’s restaurants, brasseries and bars start preparing for the event’s kick-off at noon, because there is no escaping the tradition of setting up smoking grills in front of their businesses. See more
Fécamp
The Saint Pierre des Marins Festival takes place on the first weekend of February 3- 5 February 2024 in Fécamp and features a street parade and boat blessing! – see www.ville-fecamp.fr
Dieppe (76, Seine Maritime, Normandy) is a pleasant and less-crowded destination than Calais and provides a useful start point for western France – or for exploring Picardie and the Seine Valley. You can get a ferry to Dieppe from Newhaven on DFDS Ferries – the crossing takes about 4 hours, but Newhaven is not so well connected to the motorway network. There are now 2 crossings each way daily.
Dieppe is centred around its port which is approached through a cliff-lined inlet from the English Channel. There is a marina around which there are cafes and restaurants and the main shopping area and promenade. Just outside the centre is a long beach.
There is a daily fish market where freshly caught fish can be purchased – especially scallops ( a local specialty) and crabs – on Quai Trudaine.
Boat trips are on offer along the Alabaster Coast Côte d’Alabâtre (also the name of one of the crosss-Channel ferries), a cliff edged coast which stretches 130km and includes Le Tréport, Étretat and Fécamp, with some spectacular views.
The largest herring festival takes place in Dieppe in November. Today more than ever, people travel from all over France and even from surrounding countries to attend the event, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year! If the weather is good, over 100,000 visitors will flock to the Quai Henry IV and the picturesque streets of the Bout du Quai to tuck into delicious fresh fish, often served with a baked potato and a glass of white wine, make the most of the numerous outdoor activities (flea market, funfair, concerts…) and to savour the strong, seductive smells. While the herring is of course king of the festivities, scallops are also on the menu, reminding visitors that Dieppe remains the French capital of the Coquille Saint-Jacques. – see normandyfoodie.wordpress.com
B&B, self-catering apartments and Hotels in Dieppe including the B&B Villa les Mouettes, just outside the town with unrestricted sea views and direct access to the coast.
DFDS Ferry Newhaven – Dieppe
Fécamp (76, Seine Maritime, Normandy) lies on the Channel coast between Dieppe and Le Havre.
1 – 5 July 2020 Maritime Festival (La Grande Éscale) at Fécamp :
This is an international festival with hunderds of boats, large and small, traidtional and classic from all over northern Europe – a great spectacle for all the family to enjoy! see https://www.fecampgrandescale.com/
Stay at the seafront 2** Hotel de la Plage in Fécamp
There is a webcam overlooking Dieppe harbour and a motorhome parking area at www.dieppe.fr/webcams
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