Normandy, land of roots and memory, welcomes you for an immersion in the history of the New France

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Normandy tour

4 to 6 day tour

Normandy is the second most famous region in the world after California. A land of heritage, history and gastronomy, it is well worth a few days' stay!

Your genealogical quest will take you to the Perche or the Verneuil sur Avre region, the departure points of several pioneers. This tour offers you the opportunity to discover these territories, rich in built heritage and natural landscapes, but also to relive the times of the great departures to New France in the heart of the ports of Normandy.

Let us not forget that in the 16th century, shipowners from Dieppe, Rouen and Honfleur developed fishing off Newfoundland. Until 1663, the Norman ports still dominated trade with the Canadian colony and carried about a quarter of the emigrants to the St. Lawrence.

Your stay will also be an opportunity to visit the D-Day beaches, which witnessed the sacrifice of many men who came to defend freedom.

01.

Rouen

(½ day to 1 day)

Rouen is one of the cities that contributed a lot to the emigration to New France, it is the city of Louis Cavelier de la Salle, founder of the city of Lachine and explorer of the Mississippi and Louisiana. It is also a trading port with New France. You will discover a historic, medieval centre with half-timbered houses in the rue du Gros Horloge.

02.

Dieppe

(½ day)

The port of Dieppe will remind you of the times of the great departures for New France, Samuel de Champlain left here in 1609 and many other candidates. Several centuries later, many Canadians would lose their lives on the Dieppe beaches during the landing on 19th August 1942. The Memorial of 19th August 1942 is dedicated to the memory of these soldiers.

03.

Honfleur

(½ day to 1 day)

Honfleur, a charming port city located in the Seine estuary, is marked by the figure of Samuel de Champlain. He explored Acadia from 1603 to 1607 with ships and crews from Honfleur and left from the port of Honfleur to found Quebec in 1608. From the beginning of the 16th century, Honfleur was also a very important port for cod fishing on the banks of Newfoundland.

04.

Sud Eure

in the footsteps of Monseigneur Laval

(1 to 2 days)

In the 17th century, 4,894 French people emigrated to Canada. Among them, 958 came from Normandy, including a certain Paul Bertrand dit St-Arnault, born in Verneuil-sur-Avre in 1661, whose family has over 25,000 descendants in North America. His destiny is intimately linked to the ancient medieval city, located at the gates of Normandy, founded in 1120 by Henry Ist Beauclerc, son of William the Conqueror.

Let yourself be carried along the river Avre to discover the village of Montigny-sur-Avre, where François Laval Montmorency, 1st Bishop of Quebec, was born.

Not far from there, in Tillières-sur-Avre, stroll through the streets of this delightful medieval fortress, stronghold of Jean le Veneur who helped finance Jacques Cartier's expedition that led to the take over of Canada.

05.

Perche in Normandy

(1 to 2 days)

Discover the history of the Percherons who left for New France, starting with the Tourouvre Museales and its Museum of French Emigration to Canada. Why did they leave France, where did they settle, under what conditions? 326 emigrants left from the area around Tourouvre and the Perche, follow these families and the places they frequented before leaving for New France in the 17th century. Many of them have settled in Canada and are among the most numerous descendants today (Tremblay, Gagnon, Guyon, Fortin, Boucher...)

The Perche is a network of walking, horse riding and cycling routes, starting from the Étoile du Perche. It is the perfect opportunity to explore the forest massifs and to meet the manor houses, typical of the Perche.

06.

D-Day Beaches

(1 to 2 days)

Explore the links with Canada and France through the D-Day landing beaches, including Juno Beach. and its interpretation centre, Bény-sur-Mer Cemetery, a few kilometres from Courseulles-sur-Mer. Bény-sur-Mer Cemetery is the final resting place of many canadian soldiers who lost their lives during the war. In addition, there are graves for the British Commonwealth soldiers who served with the Canadians on Juno Beach on D-Day, 6 June 1944.

True places of remembrance, all the D-Day beaches express the violence of the Second World War and the desire for peace, which was emphasized after the war. Canada and France share a special bond in the commemoration of the Second World War. These battlefields are not only places of death and carnage, but also places of hope that tell of the alliance of many nations in the fight against horror.