Le Havre, France - 18 Dec 2001 My photo album of Le Havre
	Le Havre at the mouth of the River Seine in Normandy is the biggest ocean port in France with extensive facilities for transatlantic and cross-channel shipping. It was developed into a port in 1517 by François I of France because of the silting of the Seine Estuary ports, Honfleur and Harfleur, and by the 17th century was home to the East India Company. 80% of the city was destroyed in WWII and it took nearly 20 years to rebuild, under the direction of architect Auguste Perret. Two main bridges, the Normandy and Transcarville now link Le Havre to the rest of France. Entering the Port of Le Havre Murky in the distance initially Another misty murky cold morning, which eventually turned into a warmish summy day. The pilot was dropped onto the stern of Black Prince by helicopter; unfortunately I wasn't on deck at the time. We berthed early at 10.30am, at the Quai Pierre Callet. At lot of activity shipping wise. We passed a number of vessels leaving, a number of inflatables speeding off down the river together which looked like the Coastguard? Top It's a good 20 minute walk from the quay to the town centre, but Fred. Olsen arranged 3 shuttle bus services operating between the ship and the city, the ship and LeClerc Hypermarket, and a connecting service between the city and Hypermaket, all of which ran every 30 minutes. £3 for as many trips as you required. The buses took a much longer way out of the port than if you were walking, and took one past the now rather rundown looking Compagnie Generale Transatlantique or "CGT" terminal buildings from where SS France [SS Norway] embarked on her shakedown cruise on January 18, 1962 to the Canary Islands, before commencing with her maiden crossing on February 3, 1962 to New York. Which of these buildiings was the actual terminal? [Photos rather poor as taken from the coach] We visited the Hypermarket which has a mall attached. The prices of food and drink really are so cheap compared to the UK, so we bought a couple of bottles of whiskey as Christmas presents and some cheeses. Went back to the ship for lunch and to offload the bottles, before then walking around the town centre. Top Avenue Foch The town centre consists mainly of 2 or 3 storey office buildings well spaced out and 5 or 6 storey concrete appartment blocks. Quite a bit of traffic around. I didn't find it particularly 'exciting'. There are plenty of museums, and some nice beaches nearby but we didn't have the time for the former and beaches are for the summer months. A funicular railway takes one up to a viewing point from where you can see the whole of the towm. The Saint-Joseph Church, the highest building in Le Havre (1 06m) and its tower give a special light effect due to its 13,000 pieces of coloured glass. There are a few ancient and modern monuments. One of the latter appears to be of a ship's funnel, looked rather strange, but as I only saw it from the coach I don't have any further details. Is there a concrete ship underneath?:) Top