Tourist trails

Fully signposted and easy to follow, accessible throughout the year, our tourist trails lead visitors through a beautiful and varied environment, revealing the lush richness of the Norman countryside with its picturesque villages.

Some tourist trails in Normandy

• The Tradition Trail (La Route des Traditions)
• The Ivory and Spice Trail (La Route de l’Ivoire et des Epices)
• The Camembert Trail (La Route du Camembert)
• The Cider Route (La Route du Cidre)
• The Mill Trail (La Route des Moulins)

The tradition trail

Situated close to Caen, this tourist circuit, which runs through the “Pré-Bocage” countryside with its typical small fields, via the little towns of Villers Bocage, Dampierre and Caumont l’Eventé, is the reflection of local traditions, to which local farmers and artisans are still firmly attached. Find out more (French).

The ivory and spice trail

Seen from the heights of the grandiose cliffs of the Pays de Caux, the breathtaking beauty of the sea is an invitation to try one’s luck beyond the horizon, and Norman sailors have ventured on every ocean since the end of the middle ages. Sailors from Dieppe reached the coasts of Africa to bring back ivory, those from Fécamp fished for precious cod off the coast of America, while king François 1st had the “Haven of Grace” (Le Havre) built to shelter the finest merchant fleet in his kingdom. Unknown fruits and precious wood, ivory and heady spices brought wealth to the trading posts set up by Jacques Cœur or Jehan Ango, while country houses and châteaux were built in the fertile countryside of the Pays de Caux. Find out more (French)

The Camembert trail

It was Marie Harel and her daughter, also called Marie, who made camembert widely known and set it on its way to becoming the “king of cheeses”. The purpose of the 35 mile trail, organised jointly by the Tourist Office and the Camembert Museum in Vimoutiers, is to introduce visitors to the “kingdom of milk” and promote the products of the Pays d’Auge. The Trail leads the visitor to Orbec, Canapville, Ticheville, Guerquesalles, Roiville where Marie Harel was born, Champosoult where her family tomb is to be seen, Les Champeaux, Crouttes and its Saint-Michel Priory, and Vimoutiers (with its statue of Marie Harel). Find out more.

The cider Route

To the east of Caen, the Cider Route is a signposted tourist circuit, winding through countryside which is typical of the Pays d’Auge, linking the villages of Beuvron en Auge (classified village), Bonnebosq, Beaufour and Druval via picturesque little roads in the district of Cambremer. Some twenty cider producers and distillers of ‘Cambremer Vintage’ Calvados open their cellars and pressing sheds to visitors and encourage them to taste their products along this circuit, which is one of the Tourist Circuits. Let yourself be guided along this initiatory circuit ! More information on the Cider Route here.

To quench your thirst for knowledge about cider products, you can also visit the IDAC website, the showcase of the cider and Calvados producers association.

The milL trail

North of Caen, the “Mill trail” runs between the valleys of the Seulles, Mue and Thue in the Creully district, between Caen and Courseulles sur Mer. This circuit is situated in the verdant Bessin countryside near to the D-Day beaches and the Mother-of-Pearl Coast. Find out more.

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