Normanville brings together a garden designed to engage the senses, a circular route through the village and a layered history. You can choose from several highlights when planning your visit: an arboretum with 150 selected trees, a 6.6-kilometre route and historical themes ranging from the feudal motte to Gallo-Roman lore. The Jardin d’Art et d’Essais is open to visitors free of charge year-round; guided tours are available on request. You can plan your visit around the garden, the route or the village’s stories.
Garden, trees and waterways
The Jardin d’Art et d’Essais covers 2.5 hectares in a former 17th-century priory, transformed into a garden designed to engage the senses. The garden includes an arboretum with 150 selected trees. An arboretum is a collection of trees; here, the selection gives the garden a botanical focus alongside its distinctive design. A visit therefore takes in both the tree collection and the garden’s emphasis on sensory experience.
A karst swallow hole collects rainwater and feeds it into the coastal river Valmont through the underground karst network. The garden’s description thus encompasses not only its trees but also a watercourse running beneath the surface, from rainfall to river. Those interested in the landscape will find here a tangible connection between the garden grounds and the River Valmont.
The Le Beau Chêne circuit
Circuit No. 28 – Le Beau Chêne starts at the church in Normanville. The circular route is 6.6 kilometres long, 0.5 kilometres of which are on paths. It passes through Normanville and its hamlets, along quiet lanes and past typical houses. The description therefore gives a clear route length alongside glimpses of the village and its hamlets.
The difference between the circuit and the garden is useful when planning your visit: the circuit has a stated route length, while the Jardin d’Art et d’Essais covers 2.5 hectares and has an arboretum with 150 selected trees. These are different measures for different kinds of visit. If you would like to include a route with a specified distance in your stay, the circuit offers a definite length; the garden focuses instead on landscaped grounds, trees and its connection to water.
Chapels, the motte and the history of the château
A feudal motte has been preserved near a former Gallo-Roman road. Local lore also places a destroyed Gallo-Roman town in Normanville, in fields where bricks, pottery and Roman coins have been found. The lore and the surviving motte represent distinct historical points of reference for the village.
The history of the chapels also spans several periods. Before the French Revolution, Normanville had three chapels. Saint-Eloi, also known as Saint-Gilles, served a former hospital that was already mentioned at the end of the 15th century. Saint-Nicolas and Sainte-Marguerite did not appear until the 17th century; the dedications of these chapels were later transferred to the château chapel, built in 1741.
The history of the château also includes the transfer of the estate to Jean Fiquet: the Pestel family sold it to him in 1735, and he built the château in 1737. The sale of the estate, construction of the château and later building of the château chapel can therefore be distinguished chronologically in the village’s history.
Discover more destinations: Mentheville, Etretat, Tourville-Sur-Arques, Rieux, Cany-Barville, Bois-Guillaume, Le Mesnil-Sous-Jumièges, Petit-Couronne.
For the regional travel overview: Seine-Maritime.
