Falaises d Etretat
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Why go
- The beach in front of the view of Gros temps à Étretat, a painting partly made on the shore.
- The beach framed from a hotel window, as Monet painted it in his series of the coast.
Don't miss
- Porte d'AvalThe second natural arch on the shoreline.On the shoreline at Étretat, Normandy coast On the map
- The AiguilleA spire rising more than seventy metres from the water beside the chalk cliffs.Beside the cliffs at Étretat On the map
- The cliff about 2 km west of ÉtretatMonet worked on this cliff for the farther views of the coast.About 2 km west of the town of Étretat On the map
Shorts
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🌊 Découverte des falaises d'ÉtretatMinis Merveilles
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Découverte des falaises d'Etretat, côté falaises d'AvalSanâa GUAIR
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Les falaises d'ÉtretatInès Létrillard
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les magnifiques falaises d'EtretatLotfi travels
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Falaises D'étretatUntamed Horizons🌎
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Souvenir d'une balade sur les falaises d'Étretatlauzad
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Randonnée aux falaises d Etretatmes aventures en france
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Les Falaises d'Étretat : Le Joyau Naturel de la Normandie Géo Secrètes
Interesting facts2
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Erosion has carved the chalk cliffs into natural rocks and arches.
Cliffs at Étretat (Massachusetts) - Wikipedia -
The traditional sailing boats shown in the paintings trace their build back to the Vikings.
Les Falaises à Étretat - Wikipedia
History
By the mid-nineteenth century Étretat drew tourists, writers and artists. Delacroix and Courbet had painted its cliffs before Monet did. Monet came back to the coast again and again, making a series of about fifty oil paintings of the cliffs.
- 1864Monet stays on the coast.
- 1868–1869Monet paints Stormy Sea at Étretat during a stay in the town.
- 1882Monet studies Courbet's eleven canvases of the cliffs at a Paris retrospective.
- 1883Monet returns to the coast, his third visit. The series often frames the beach from a hotel window.
- 1883–1886Monet works on the cliffs for long stretches; once a huge wave throws the painter against the cliff.
Show all
- 1884A painting is made from mid-height on the cliff, looking west.
- 1885Nearly fifty paintings of this coast are made in late 1885.
- 1886Guy de Maupassant publishes an eyewitness account of Monet painting at Étretat.
Know before you go
- Some viewpoints above Porte d'Amont were reachable only at low tide or by climbing.
Sources: Cliffs at Étretat (Massachusetts) - Wikipedia · Les Falaises à Étretat - Wikipedia · checked 19 Oct 2026
Plan from here: Evening walk →
Questions and answers
Where are the Falaises d'Étretat?
They lie on the Normandy coast of northern France, near the fishing village of Étretat, between Le Havre and Dieppe.
What can you see at the Falaises d'Étretat?
Two natural arches, Porte d'Amont and Porte d'Aval, stand on the shoreline. The Aiguille, a spire beside the chalk cliffs, rises more than seventy metres from the water.
Who painted the Falaises d'Étretat?
Claude Monet made about fifty oil paintings of the cliffs. He worked there for long stretches between 1883 and 1886.
Can you reach the viewpoints above Porte d'Amont?
Some of them were reachable only at low tide or by climbing, so access there is not step-free.
Was any painting of the Étretat cliffs made on the beach?
Yes. Monet's Gros temps à Étretat was partly painted on the beach, right in front of the view.
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