Étretat is a pebble beach with a view that has been painted, photographed and written about for nearly two centuries. On either side of the town, white chalk cliffs rise out of the Channel, and the sea has carved them into arches and a free-standing needle. The Falaise d'Aval, to the south, ends in a natural arch like an elephant's trunk dipping into the water, and the Aiguille stands off the shore as a spike of chalk, nearly a hundred metres tall. Monet painted these cliffs again and again, trying to catch the way the light changed the colour of the stone, and Courbet and Boudin did the same.
The place also belongs to fiction. The French writer Maurice Leblanc set an adventure of his gentleman thief Arsène Lupin in the hollow needle, and a small museum in the town plays with the legend. On the cliff top above the beach stands a memorial to the aviators Nungesser and Coli, who took off in 1927 in a plane called L'Oiseau Blanc to cross the Atlantic and were never seen again. It is a quiet, odd monument, and the view from it is worth the climb.
Riding here is mostly about the approach across the Pays de Caux, a high, flat plateau of wheat, flax and sugar beet, with farms hidden behind rows of beech trees and hamlets of brick and flint. The roads are straight in places and then dip suddenly toward the sea in short valleys. The surface is generally good, but the plateau is exposed, and wind can be strong, so crosswinds deserve respect. In summer, the town is crowded and parking is tight, so arrive early or late, and leave the bike where signs allow.
Fuel is not in the town itself in any quantity, and Fécamp, about thirteen kilometres to the north, is the nearest bigger town with stations, shops and a harbour. Fécamp is also known for its liqueur, Bénédictine, produced in a flamboyant palace, and for its history in cod fishing. Back in Étretat, cafés and crêperies line the streets near the beach, and fresh seafood is easy to find, though prices reflect the view.
Walk up the cliff path on the south side for the best look. The wind is strong, the gulls hang almost still in the air, and the sea is a pale green far below.