The hook
White chalk cliffs on the Normandy coast that the sea has cut into natural arches and a lone needle of rock, the seascape Monet painted again and again.
01Why it's worth it
Étretat is a modest seaside town with an extraordinary coastline on either side: sheer white cliffs of chalk, weathered into two great arches and a freestanding pinnacle called the Aiguille. The Impressionists came for exactly this, and Monet worked the arches over and over in different light, so half the appeal is recognising the scene you have seen in paint. Walk up onto the clifftops and the shapes reveal themselves properly, with the Channel below and gulls working the face. Down on the pebble beach at low tide you can walk out under the nearer arch. It is a well-known day-trip and gets busy in summer, but it is compact and a short walk usually finds quiet. The green golf-course clifftop with the sailors' chapel is the classic vantage.
02How to experience it
Walk both headlands, not just the beach, because the arches only make sense from above. Check the tide so you can get out under the Porte d'Aval arch on the sand. Come on a weekday or off-season, and stay for the light softening on the chalk in the late afternoon.