Eure holiday house: Le Bec Hellouin

This home is just a lovely as it appears to be in the photos. We visited with our 6 week old baby and found the owners welcoming and the facilities perfect. The village itself is quite quiet (although you can find croissants and ice creams at the local shop). The only downside was the village restaurants were a bit pricey and not of the usual high standard you might expect in France. There are however lots of nice eating spots within a 30 minute drive and a lovely little farm shop about 2 minutes down the road.

We would recommend arriving at the property with enough provisions to cover Saturday and Sunday, although the village shop stocks basic necessities. We tried one of the local restaurants on the Sunday, which we thought provided us with a functional, no frills meal, although a little pricey.
The village itself is absolutely beautiful, resplendant in colour from all the hanging baskets, window boxes and perfectly manicured flower beds. The charming abbey and church provide a background of bells ringing throughout the day.
Our expectations of the Blue House were far exceeded by it's wealth of beauty and character. The owners have carefully renovated and decorated the property with a style which creates a home from home atmosphere.
We visited and would recommend Harcourt Castle, perfect for pic nics and strolls through the grounds. Hornfleur (about an hour's drive away) reminded us of a mixture between Dartmouth and Weymouth, with great restaurants and quaint cobbled streets. There is free parking to the north of the town centre. Monet's house and gardens at Giverney are about 1.5 hours away, and thoroghly recommended (entry fee of about 5Euros!).
The Blue House is ideally suited for bike rides, runs and walks with a cycle path close by. Bicycles can be rented from a nearby village.
We would thoroughly recommend this property and look forward to returning again in the near future. It was hard to leave it!

For the last week of July 2008 we passed a wonderful vacation at this beautiful place. The house is one of the best gites we ahve ever vistied. It was clean and well maintained. The village has a small supermarket with local provisions and all you would expect. It is also the post office and you can have breakfast. Even if you are not religious go to the sung mass at 10.30am on Sunday at the Monastery. It is amazing. Chateau Harcourt is worth a visit but the other local chateau was too expensive for our tastes. Rouen and Honfleur are also worth seeing especially the latter. Drive straight to the centres as parking is easy. Disappointed with Deauville. Nice beach. Try to avoid the motorway as it seems to go out of its way to make the journey longer by miles. Good local facilities in the nearby town of Brionne. Seemed to be a market on Sunday but was the supermarket open on Sunday? Suggest you arrive with provisions and drinks to cover Sat and Sun. Restuarants in Le Bec close early. Local supermarket closed monday in le Bec.
But if you want a house with high standards and be the centre of a tourist attraction. We were well photographed during the week, but it was not intrusive. People actually asked if it was ok. The house and garden is quite lovely and the garden is in sun until about 7.30 pm in the evening. Get the bbq going early. Younger children will love it especially as they have their own modern shower. Teenagers may find it a little remote but there is plenty to do and see in the nearby countryside, Beaches are not too far. If you are an observer of the second world war you must go to Pegasus Bridge near Rainville. Go to cafe Gondres on the bridge. If a very smart and refined lady serves you in perfect English ask her if she knows about the family who were there when the DD landings took place. She was a little girls of 4 years and her mum and dad are considered heroes by the British Airborne 1st? Division. She insisted we have photos taken with her. It was the first action of the Second World War and she was there. Dont miss paying your respects at the nearby cemetry. It would bring tears to the eyes of the toughest of people.

Le Bec Hellouin was one of the most tranquil and tastefully furnished holiday homes, full of character and ambience, I have stayed in. It was more beautiful than the photos, immaculately clean and the owner helpful and friendly. It overlooks the abbey and has a small private garden in the back. It is walking distance to a small grocers and three restaurants, two of which we tried. The restaurants Auberge de l'Abbaye and Le Canterbury were both very overpriced for very uninspiring food. Much better value and food can be found outside the village.