Tourist information on Dieppe, France

Dieppe is a lively seaside resort and harbour town in northern France that makes a pleasant holiday retreat any time of the year. It belongs to the department of Seine-Maritime in the region of Upper Normandy. The town's substantial pebbled beaches, gently lapped by the English channel, have long been popular with both French and English holidaymakers, but Dieppe also has thriving fishing and freight ports, a reminder that this was once one of France's most important seaports. Dieppe is of course most famous for its scallops (known as coquilles Saint-Jacques in France), a regional delicacy that can be sampled at the town's many seafront restaurants.

Previously a small fishing settlement, Dieppe was developed by the Normans after 1066. Along with the rest of Normandy, the town became part of the French kingdom in 1204. Dieppe featured prominently in the 100 Years War and was fiercely fought over by the French and the English. The English took the town in 1420 but was later recaptured by the French in 1435. In the 16th century, Dieppe was a major maritime power and a leading player in maritime exploration. Its famous Parmentier brothers travelled as far a field as Indonesia and Sumatra, whilst other Dieppois navigators undertook expeditions to the uncharted territories of Africa and North America. The town was almost totally destroyed by an Anglo-Dutch naval bombardment in 1694. Subsequently, it was rebuilt, in an aggressively formal style, by Monsieur de Ventabren, architect to Louis XIV. Towards the end of the 19th century, Dieppe attracted both French and English artists (including Renoir, Monet and Pissarro) and was developed into a popular seaside resort, the most popular in France, when bathing became fashionable. During the Second World War, Dieppe was the location of the disastrous Operation Jubilee, an Allied offensive to test the German defences on the Normandy coastline. This took place on 19th August 1942 and cost the lives of over a thousand Canadian troops, without any military gain. The Square du Canada, near the castle, was so named in honour of those who died and is occupied by a monument to Dieppe's relationship with Canada, topped by the Canadian and French national flags flying side-by-side.

The best-known of Dieppe's landmarks is its well-preserved fortified castle, the Château de Dieppe, which dates back to the 15th century and offers some stunning views over the town. Today, the castle houses the Château-Musée de Dieppe, a museum which displays several paintings by well-known artists and a remarkable collection of ivory sculptures (a reminder of the importance of the ivory trade to the Dieppe economy in the 17th century). Other important historical buildings are the churches of Saint-Rémi and Saint-Jacques. The Église Saint-Rémi, constructed in the 16th and 17th century, is considered one of the most beautiful churches in the region. The Église Saint-Jacques, dates back further (to the 12th century) and displays an interesting mix of Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance styles. Its interior is decorated by an incongruous frieze titled Les Sauvages which depicts the various nations discovered by Dieppe's navigators, including scenes of tribal life in the Amazon.

L'Estran Cité de la mer is both a science centre and a museum devoted to the history of Dieppe and its maritime associations. It is both educational and entertaining, for children and adults alike. Its exhibits have both a historical and scientific angle, for example showing how ships have changed over the years and how the local cliffs were formed by geological processes. There is also a respectable aquarium that introduces us to the marine life of the English Channel. Another of Dieppe's key attractions is its Saturday morning market, which is one of the most popular of its kind in Normandy.

A regular ferry service operates between Dieppe's ferry port, Gare Maritime, and Newhaven on the south-coast of England. The train station connects Dieppe to Paris and several other towns in northern France, including Rouen.