Take advantage of your camping holiday in the Baie de Somme to visit Le Crotoy. It's an opportunity to add a historical and cultural dimension to your stay in one of the most beautiful bays in the world. With its peninsula feel, its fishing and yachting harbour, its south-facing beach and its Belle Epoque villas, Le Crotoy offers a thousand and one ways to enjoy your holiday in the Baie de Somme. Follow the guide!
A day in Le Crotoy, discovering a rich and surprising heritage
Just 16 kilometres from our Baie de Somme campsite in Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, discover the town of Le Crotoy. Take a stroll through the town's streets and walls to admire the port town's rich architectural heritage. Among Crotell's treasures, the house known as ‘Le Souvenir' (now known as Les Tourelles) is the seaside resort's most emblematic monument. Built in pinkwashed brick for Gustave Lecocq-Ranson in the late 19th century, this former manor house can be seen in rue Pierre Guerlain.
Further on, you can admire the villa ‘La Solitude', where Jules Verne stayed to write ‘Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea', the park and the manor house of the poet Charles-Hubert Millevoye, built on the site of the former fortified castle, or the Villa Marguerite, a fine example of Crotello residential architecture borrowing from the Flemish style. Heading towards the fishing port, you'll come across the House of Florentin Lefils, the famous local historian. This large bourgeois residence has now been converted into a guest house.
Don't hesitate to stroll along the Promenade Jules Noiret to discover more of Le Crotoy's hidden treasures. And if you're a French history buff, you'll want to check out the remains of the Château du Crotoy, the 12th-century ramparts and the tower where Joan of Arc was imprisoned in 1430. If I had to list all the places of interest in Le Crotoy, the list would be too long. We recommend that you spend a whole day there to enjoy them all.
History: Le Crotoy and its celebrities
A flourishing trading port in the Middle Ages and the stronghold where Joan of Arc was imprisoned before her trial in Rouen, Le Crotoy became a popular holiday destination for wealthy Parisian families in the early 19th century. The first bathing establishments appeared and by the 1880s, Le Crotoy was recognised as one of the most beautiful beaches in the Channel. In the wake of such famous figures as Victor Hugo, Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Verne, Colette, the Caudron brothers and Pierre Guerlain, Le Crotoy became a haven for the Parisian intelligentsia. Beautiful villas and chalets of Swiss and Norman inspiration were built here.
Things to do in Le Crotoy: the campsite's favourites
- Relax on Le Crotoy's fine sandy beach, one of the only south-facing beaches in Picardy!
- Stroll along the Jules-Noiret promenade, which stretches for 2 km along the beach.
- Take in the views from the Butte du Moulin, the highest point in Le Crotoy, with its unique view over the Bay of the Somme, St Valery and Le Hourdel.
- Cross the Baie de Somme with an experienced nature guide and see the seals basking on the sandbanks at low tide.
- Linger around the lookout point at Le Crotoy, with its orientation table offering a magnificent view of the Baie de Somme.
- Take a steam train ride on the Chemin de Fer touristique de la Baie de Somme linking Le Crotoy and Cayeux-sur-Mer.
- Take a boat trip on the Commandant Charcot IV to discover the Pointe du Hourdel and the seals of the Baie de Somme.
