Le Havre: Phoenix from the Ashes

Le Havre presents a different narrative of the northern coast. Founded in 1517 by François I as "Le Havre de Grâce" (Harbor of Grace), it grew to become France's second-largest port. The city paid a terrible price for this importance: Allied bombing in 1944 destroyed 80% of the urban area, killing 5,000 civilians and leaving 80,000 homeless.

From this destruction arose one of the 20th century's most remarkable urban experiments. Auguste Perret, the "poet of concrete," redesigned the city center as a modernist masterpiece. His vision—of wide boulevards, uniform building heights, and reinforced concrete construction—created a city unlike any other in France. Initially dismissed as cold and monotonous, Perret's Le Havre has aged into appreciation, earning UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005 as "an exceptional example of architecture and town planning of the post-war era."

The port of Le Havre handles 40% of France's foreign trade, its container terminals stretching for kilometers along the Seine estuary. Yet the city hasn't forgotten its relationship with the sea. The beach, right in the city center, bustles with swimmers and sailors. The fishing port, though dwarfed by its commercial neighbor, still lands fresh fish daily. And MuMa, the Malraux Museum, houses one of France's finest collections of Impressionist paintings, many depicting the interplay of light and water that makes this coast so captivating.