Every year, the beautiful port of Honfleur honours its maritime tradition with the Fête des Marins (Sailors' Festival), one of the prettiest sights to be seen in northern France.
On Whitsun weekend, known as la Pentecôte in French, all the local fishing boats, decorated with flowers and ribbons, congregate in the Vieux Bassin and sail out of the old port in procession to the estuary of the Seine, where they are blessed by a priest.
On the following day, the sailors climb up to the Chapelle Notre Dame de Grâce in a picturesque and traditional cortège, with Honfleur's children carrying models of the decorated ships on their shoulders. A mass is celebrated to protect the fishermen from the ravages of the sea.
Throughout the two-day celebration, food stalls, performances and exhibitions are set up all over the town and the festivites continue well into the night.
On the following day, the sailors climb up to the Chapelle Notre Dame de Grâce in a picturesque and traditional cortège, with Honfleur's children carrying models of the decorated ships on their shoulders. A mass is celebrated to protect the fishermen from the ravages of the sea.
Throughout the two-day celebration, food stalls, performances and exhibitions are set up all over the town and the festivites continue well into the night.
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