The Côte d'Albâtre (; literally the ''

Alabaster Alabaster is a mineral and a soft Rock (geology), rock used for carvings and as a source of plaster powder. Archaeologists, geologists, and the stone industry have different definitions for the word ''alabaster''. In archaeology, the term ''alab ...

Coast'' in English) is part of the French coast of the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, corresponding to the coastline of

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French '' département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cl ...

and forming almost all of the coastline of

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...

. Since 2009 it has been classified as a

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...

site. It takes its name from the white hue of its high chalk cliffs, including those of

Étretat Étretat () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of Northwestern France. It is a Tourism, tourist and Agriculture, far ...

, which stretch for over 120 km, dominating most of the coastline. It is part of the same geological system as the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover are the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depo ...

on the far side of the English Channel. The Côte runs from the large container port of

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

to the small fishing village of Le Tréport, taking in the town of

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

, as well as

Fécamp Fécamp () is a commune in the northwestern French department of Seine-Maritime. Geography Fécamp is situated in the valley of the river Valmont, at the heart of the Pays de Caux, on the Alabaster Coast. It is around northeast of Le Havre, ...

(famous for its abbey) and

Saint-Valery-en-Caux Saint-Valery-en-Caux (, literally ''Saint-Valery in Pays de Caux, Caux'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. The ad ...

. Three river valleys punctuate the cliff face, making way for the harbours of Fécamp, sheltering on the Valmont river; Dieppe on the Arques, and Tréport on the

Bresle Bresle (; Picard: ''Brèle'') is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Bresle is situated on the D226 road, some northwest of Amiens. Population See also *Communes of the Somme department The ...

. Stage 6 of the

2015 Tour de France The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 4 July in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and concluding on 26 July with the Champs-Élysées sta ...

followed the Côte d'Albâtre for much of its length from

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

Artistic, musical and literary associations

The Côte d’Albâtre was a favourite subject of

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painters, including

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( ; ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but then in the Danish West Indies). ...

and

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

. It was frequented by composers associated with the sea, such as

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

and

Albert Roussel Albert Charles Paul Marie Roussel (; 5 April 1869 – 23 August 1937) was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period. His ...

. Other artists who painted the coastline include

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( ; ; ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and the ...

and

Eugène Boudin Eugène Louis Boudin (; 12 July 1824 – 8 August 1898) was one of the first French landscape painters to paint outdoors. Boudin was a marine painter, and expert in the rendering of all that goes upon the sea and along its shores. His pastels, ...

. Writer

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...

grew up on the Côte d'Albâtre at Étretat. His short story "The Englishman of Étretat" (''L'Anglais d'Étretat'') is based on encounters in 1868 with the English poet

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist and critic. He wrote many plays – all tragedies – and collections of poetry such as '' Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the Eleve ...

, whom he had helped save from drowning. The

Clos Lupin Clos may refer to: People * Clos (surname) Other uses * CLOS, Command line-of-sight, a method of guiding a missile to its intended target * Clos network, a kind of multistage switching network * Clos (vineyard), a walled vineyard; used in France, ...

Museum features chiefly the famous early 20th-century character

Arsène Lupin Arsène Lupin () is a fictional gentleman thief and master of disguise created in 1905 by French writer Maurice Leblanc. The character was first introduced in a series of short stories serialized in the magazine '' Je sais tout''. The first ...

, a gentleman thief created by writer Maurice Leblanc.

References

Geography of Normandy Landforms of Seine-Maritime Tourist attractions in Seine-Maritime Natura 2000 in France Albatre Landforms of Normandy {{SeineMaritime-geo-stub