Jul 31 2008
Places to Visit: Le Palais Bénédictine, Fécamp
I’m going to be writing posts about places to visit based on my own experiences, and thought I’d start off with the Palais Bénédictine (Bénédictine Distillery) in Fécamp, Normandy.
It’s actually a few years since I visited the distillery but the visit has always stuck in my mind, as we really enjoyed the tour and our stay in Fécamp. The distillery is in a beautiful building in the town centre. The museum itself is really interesting with displays of copper vats, all the herbs used in the liqueur and history of it. There’s actually quite a lot to see there, not only about the liqueur and how it’s distilled, but also other artefacts including sculpture, 15th & 16th century works of art, plus more contemporary art exhibitions & old Bénédictine posters / advertising.
The finale of the tour was the best bit though as the ticket included a Bénédictine cocktail, which of course went down very well, and another followed after that!
You can read more about Bénédictine on Wikipedia and that the world’s single biggest consumer of the liqueur is the Burnley Miners Club in Burnley, Lancashire!
Fécamp itself is on the Normandy coast between Dieppe and Le Havre. It’s a very pretty coastline with high cliffs and beautiful views of the sea, Etretat having some of the most dramatic scenery and famous for its paintings by Monet. There are also many very pretty villages perched close to the cliff tops. The area is well worth a visit, not only for the distillery at Fécamp, but Dieppe has a fantastic street market, plus you have the beautiful scenery. Avoid Le Havre though, a bit of a concrete jungle, but don’t miss the views if you cross the Pont de Normandie.
You can find out more about Fécamp on the tourist office website and the Bénédictine Distillery also has its own website.
