Vieux Bassin – Quai Sainte Catherine (night view)

A night view of the north-west side of the old harbour (vieux bassin) of Honfleur – the Quai Sainte Catherine. Honfleur lies in the Normandie on the south side of the Seine estuary opposite Le Havre. It has been an important french harbour for centuries and gave start to the Samuel de Champlain expedition that led to the foundation of Québec in Canada. The vieux bassin was remodelled by Abraham Duquesne in 1681. Along the Quai Sainte Catherine a row of high and narrow wooden houses were built over time. Today the port of Honfleur as well as the old city is a tourist magnet. Most of the buildings on the harbour house galleries and restaurants, most of them serving moules, today. On the back of these houses there is the Rue du Dauphin which takes a slope and gives nice views of the harbour through the gallery windows there. On the right you see the old Lieutenance the former home of the Governor of Honfleur. In the back you also see the Église Sainte-Catherine, the biggest wooden church of france.