Normandy, France, is divided into two regions: Haute-Normandie and Basse-Normandie. Its main towns are Alencon, Bayeux, Caen, Cherbourg, Dieppe, Deauville, Fecamp, Lisieux, Le Havre, Evreux, and Rouen.
Bayeux is home to the famous Bayeux tapestry, depicting William the Conqueror's invasion of England in 1066 in intricate detail.
Monet's gardens and home in Giverny are spectacular - you feel as if you are walking around in one of his pictures, many of which were painted here.
Mont St Michel is an islet off the coast joined to the mainland by a causeway, and it houses a Benedictine monastery, founded in 708.
Maupassant's birthplace is also in the region, as is the house of Victor Hugo, author of The Three Musketeers, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Les Miserables, among others.
Rouen was where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake, and boasts a fine Cathedral and Horloge (clock tower).
The town of Yvetot is twinned with Lanark in Scotland and Hemmingen near Hanover in Germany. The natives are friendly, and trains run to Rouen, Le Havre, and Paris.
Other picturesque places worth a visit include Etretat with its amazing white cliffs, and Honfleur. Caudebec-en-Caux is a small town on the banks of the Seine, and the Pont de Normandie is a dramatic, brightly-painted suspension bridge over the river.
The Normandy beaches were also the site of the D-Day landings on 6 June, 1944, and many reminders of those times can be seen here, from Mulberry harbours, gun emplacements and Sherman tanks to graveyards to the fallen.
All in all, Normandy has much to offer the visitor
- Allez-y!