Honfleur

Honfleur needs 2 days: the Vieux Bassin, an old harbor lined with tall, narrow slate-fronted houses reflected in the water, on one day, and Sainte-Catherine's Church, the largest wooden church in France, built by 15th-century shipwrights, on the other. April-September is best. It's mid-to-high priced by French standards. It was the departure port for Samuel de Champlain on his voyages to what is now Canada, and its particular light over the Seine estuary inspired Eugène Boudin, considered a direct precursor of Impressionism and a mentor to a young Claude Monet.