3 Best Sights in Normandy, France

A fascinating relic of post–World War II Le Havre, the Auguste Perret Model Apartment is a testament to the city's postwar destruction—and to the determination of architects and city planners to create new homes for displaced residents. Sign up for a guided tour at the city's well-appointed Maison du Patrimoine; while the tour is in French, even nonspeakers will find plenty to admire in the collection of mid-century furniture and utility-minded ceramics and artwork. The apartment makes an interesting counterpoint to Perret's nearby masterpiece, the Église St-Joseph.

Perhaps the most impressive Modernist church in France, the Église St-Joseph was designed by Auguste Perret in the 1950s. The 350-foot tower powers into the sky like a fat rocket, and the interior is just as thrilling. No frills here: the 270-foot octagonal lantern soars above the crossing, filled almost to the top with abstract stained glass that hurls colored light over the bare concrete walls.

Occupying an innovative 1960s glass-and-metal building, the city's art museum has soaring plate-glass windows that bathe the interior in the famous sea light that drew scores of artists to Le Havre. Two local painters who gorgeously immortalized the Normandy coast are showcased here—Raoul Dufy (1877–1953), through a remarkable collection of his brightly colored oils, watercolors, and sketches; and Eugène Boudin (1824–98), a forerunner of Impressionism, whose compelling beach scenes and landscapes tellingly evoke the Normandy sea and skyline.