
JackyM59, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Saint-Valery-sur-Somme
Perched on the heights overlooking the mouth of the Somme, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme offers one of the finest views over the bay, with its vast stretches of sand and mudflats uncovered at low tide. The upper town, ringed by medieval ramparts, keeps the Porte de Nevers and the church of Saint-Martin, from where William the Conqueror is said to have set sail for England in 1066. Below, the fishermen's quarter, with its houses of pebbles and coloured brick, lines a still-active harbour served by the little Bay of the Somme tourist train. Listed among the Most Beautiful Villages of France, Saint-Valery also attracts walkers who come to watch the harbour seals lazing on the sandbanks of the estuary at low tide.





