Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Grâce

Mariners' chapel on the hill behind town, full of votive ship models

A small early-17th-century stone chapel on the Côte de Grâce, the wooded hill behind Honfleur, reached by a half-hour walk uphill from the harbour. The interior is hung with model ships and naval ex-votos left by sailors and their families over four centuries — a tradition that continues today, with new models still being added.

The terrace outside has a wide view over the Seine estuary, the Pont de Normandie, and the port of Le Havre across the water. A small café operates seasonally beside the chapel. The annual sailors' pilgrimage at Whitsun is the moment when the chapel comes most fully to life.

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Sailors leaving Honfleur for the Atlantic — including Champlain on his way to Quebec — would climb the hill to pray here, then hang model ships from the ceiling as thanks if they came back.

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