Dieppe by the seashore 2
Description
This walk through Dieppe includes a visit to the Pollet District, one of Dieppe’s most authentic areas, traditionally known as the “fishing district”.
The trail then continues along the cliff, following the coastal trail to the charming beach in Puys. This walking trail supplements the tour of Dieppe offered by Trail No. 1. The route is however is a little more difficult.
Technical informations
6.6 km
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max. 57 m
153 m
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Style : Discovery Public : Family Theme : Patrimony | ||||
Altimetric profile
Starting point
Steps
1
Start from the Tourist Office, cross the Pont Ango bridge and walk along Quai du Carénage to the Pont Colbert bridge (on the GR 21 national hiking trail). That swinging metal structure dates from the late 19th century. On the far side, you will find yourself in the Pollet District, the oldest part of town where Dieppe’s fishermen lived. Turn left onto Quai de la Marne. Continue on to Place du Petit Fort, then turn veer right onto Chemin de la Bastille. Climb the stairs to Rue Samuel de Champlain. Turn left on that street, then left again on Rue Nicolas Desliens, to Rue Balidar. Finally, turn left one last time on Rue Albert Calmette until you reach Notre-Dame de Bonsecours Chapel. The esplanade offers superb panoramic views of the port and the town in the foreground and the cliffs in the background.
2
Continue on Chemin de la Falaise and then, before it veers right, take the trail along the cliff’s edge. Follow that trail to Avenue des Canadiens. Take the bridge over Rocade des Graves de Mer and continue on Avenue Alexandre Dumas. Turn left on Chemin de la Mer. At the half-way point on that path, turn left to the Puys beach. It is one of the beaches that was the scene of the Anglo-Canadian raid of 19 August 1942.
3
Leave the GR 21 and follow Rue du Général Leclerc and then Rue Mathias Duval to the intersection. Take the Sente Beaudoin trail to the right. Follow the footpath to Avenue Alexandre Dumas.
4
Turn right on Avenue Alexandre Dumas towards Neuville. Continue on Avenue des Canadiens to the intersection with Rue de la Bastille. Next, turn right on Rue de la Bastille and then left on Rue du Dauphin Louis XI. Half-way down, take the small road down to your left, towards the Pollet District, via the Cour des Soeurs and then Rue Guerrier. Turn left towards Grande Rue du Pollet and then right to return to the Pont Colbert. Cross the Pont Colbert, walking along Quai du Carénage and go over the Pont Ango to the Tourist Office.
Points of interest
Notre-Dame de Bonsecours Chapel
Sitting atop the cliff to the east of town, Notre-Dame de Bonsecours Chapel was built in 1876. Initially a place of pilgrimage, it later became a place dedicated to the memory of sailors lost at sea. Made of brick, it includes a west-facing façade with a belfry framed by two turrets topped with little conical-roofed bell towers. This contrasts with the lighter aspect of the nave and apse bristling with pointy gables. Inside, the church is bedecked with stained glass windows, statues and numerous votive offerings and commemorative plaques from families who come to reflect in private prayer and lay flowers in memory of sailors lost at sea.
Pollet District
This area has been a fishing district since the Middle Ages. Spared by the fire that ravaged the town in 1694, the Pollet District is home to modest homes made of flint arranged along narrow, winding streets. The district has been deeply marked by the industrialization of the port and, beginning in 1880, by a man-made channel leading to the commercial docks and dividing the port in two. The Pollet is now the centre of a modernization programme encompassing the construction and renovation of port facilities.
Puys
Just to the east of Dieppe, you will find the lovely hamlet of Puys, with its look and feel of a small seaside town, that experienced its greatest moments back in the early days of sea bathing. Georges Sand and both Alexandre Dumas (father and son) stayed there for a time.
Data author
