Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Dovecotes
Until the French Revolution,
only wealthy landowners had the
right to keep pigeons, and the
size of the dovecote (
colombier
)
was a mark of prosperity. Look
out for Normandy's many fine
examples, mellow with age:
circular, square or polygonal,
tiled and half-timbered, or
patterned in brick and flint.
Wooden toys, Ateliers Jorelle
Arts and Crafts Outlets
Each July, there is an
excellent arts and crafts fair,
Le Festival de Métiers d'Art de
Reviers, in Reviers (Calvados). In
the Forêt de Brotonne (Eure),
visit the Maison des Métiers at
Bourneville, and the linen and
clog-makers' workshops at
Routot. Also keep an eye out for
workshops in towns and villages,
and arts and crafts on sale at
markets and antiques fairs. The
fair in Les Andelys in early
September, for example, dates
back to the Middle Ages.
traditional wooden toys since
1864. Visit the workshop, or
look out for their products in
local toy and craft shops,
including spinning tops and an
obstacle game called
jouet de la
grenouille
(literally, “frog game”)
played in Normandy since the
Middle Ages.
Glassware
The glassworks in the Bresle
Valley are renowned, accounting
for 80 per cent of luxury perfume
bottles. The Musée des Traditions
Verrières in Eu displays examples
of astonishing beauty, while
at the 16th-century Manoir
de Fontaine in Blangy-sur-
Bresle, you can watch
weekend glass-blowing
demonstrations and buy
examples of the art.
Copper
A warm, burnished
glow emanates from shop
windows crammed with
copper pots and pans in
picturesque Villedieu-les-
Poêles. Copper has been its
business since the 12th
century, reaching a peak in
the mid-18th, when there
were nearly 150 workshops
in town. Today, there is no
better place to buy copper
utensils (
poêles
means pots)
or to see the craftsmen at
work
(see p99)
.
Copper pans, Villedieu-les-Pôeles
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