Newsletter from Normandy

En mai, fais ce qu'il te plaît, qu'ils disaient !*

Good afternoon,

We hope that you are well.

First and foremost, we would like to take advantage of our monthly newsletter to reiterate and send you our thoughts and our full support in those difficult times.

Our "What's on in Normandy?" newsletter keeps an unusual format as Normandy as well as the Channel Islands are still living through lockdown... 11 May should be an important date in France as lighter restrictions come into place.

However it will still not be possible for us to go back to Normandy yet but maybe Normandy can come to us at least digitally. The touristic teams of La Manche and Normandy are working every day to give you content that will help you escape, dream and make you smile.

Have a look at the Official Normandy Tourist Board website

(Re)discover La Manche by visiting La Manche Tourism website

Most of the touristic information centers are also working online and offering you content that will brighten your days. Find the ones from your favorite Norman towns, follow them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or subscribe to their newsletters. You will be surprised to see how many things can be enjoyed remotely!

Here is the list of Tourist Offices in Normandy

Trouville-sur-Mer (Calvados) newsletter for example is giving us a lot of ideas to stay entertained such as this local photographer initiative to have us recreate his pictures in puzzles!

Click on the picture or here to access the puzzle.

Deauville-sur-Mer, its neighbor, has created a list of cultural initiatives to discover online. Click here to access the list.

You can also follow your favorite events online, most of them are adapting to the situation and staying active from afar.

Jazz sous les Pommiers, the great Jazz Festival that has been taking over the city of Coutances (Manche) for the past 39 years just announced that two of its partners: France Musique and Culture Box will be sharing music and videos from the past editions on the initial dates of the festival, from 15 to 23 May. Stay connected to find out more.

As spring blooms, we would have loved to take a walk in the wonderful gardens of Claude Monet in Giverny. The Monet foundation is giving us this opportunity virtually for the pleasure of our eyes before we can enjoy it again through all of our senses.

Start the visit here.

Normandie Impressionniste was supposed to have started in April with many exhibitions and events throughout Normandy which have been postponed. On their Facebook page, they are giving us a taste of what's to come, with a new post every day.

In our last newsletter, we asked for your contributions for the only French newspaper in the Channel Islands. Thank you to all of you who replied and sent us articles, testimonials, games...

You can see the result of this unique lockdown edition of Le Rocher here.

Stay Informed

To find out everything about the advice and measures taken by the French government, you can visit: https://www.gouvernement.fr/info-coronavirus

If you would like further details on how the situation is evolving in Normandy, you can refer to the following websites:

• The Regional Prefecture's website: http://www.prefectures-regions.gouv.fr/normandie

• The Regional Health Agency's website: https://www.normandie.ars.sante.fr

Maison de la Normandie et de la Manche's office in St Helier is temporarily closed due to lockdown in Jersey, until 11 May. However, our team is still working remotely, therefore do not hesitate to call us or to send us an email!

We are looking forward to seeing you in the near future but in the meantime, stay safe and take care of yourselves and your loved ones.

Maison de la Normandie et de la Manche's team

*In May, do as you wish, they used to say! - French saying that usually refers to the weather and how people can wear what they wish as May is finally sunny and warm. "They used to say" is our personal touch that seemed to be an appropriate addition for May 2020!