This Gothic priory is the oldest surviving structure in Le Havre, its stones dating from a time when normans maintained close relations with England. The church's nave and transept date from the Romanesque period. Aside from its columns on which Vice and Virtue have been fighting for centuries, the edifice is an ode to the memory of Saint Honorina, a young martyr whose remains were saved from a watery demise by early Christians and boatmen.
May the history and legend of this saint incite you to push open the door to the conventual rooms, which have been converted into a museum.
After this, you can enter the gardens and navigate through the greenery on the cliffs above the Channel. Sheltered from the Channel breezes, the flowery scents of hawthorn and jasmine mix with the majestic aromas of cedar and yews under the protection of Notre-Dame de Grâce, a metal-coloured Black Virgin whose imposing stature is a reminder of how the enemy retreated one day in 1870.