La Lieutenance

La Lieutenance, this prestigious building which sits at the entrance to the Vieux Bassin de Honfleur, has just been completely restored and is now open to the public. It hosts a CIAP on the maritime history of Honfleur and an artists' residency.

The Lieutenancy is the true witness to the history of the Norman port, it has spanned the centuries and it is quite simply the oldest building in the city. It is also the last vestige of the old fortifications which surrounded the military city, it was then “La Porte de Caen” which controlled access to the central town of l'Enclos. At the end of the 17th century the rampart was destroyed, the building was redeveloped and became the accommodation of the King's Lieutenant, this is where it gets its current name.

What is a CIAP?
An Architecture and Heritage Interpretation Center.
It is therefore not a museum because it has no collection to present. It's a cultural place that highlights the maritime history of Honfleur through lots of different media: audios, videos, models, digital installations... and of course the majority of media is interactive, so it's super fun, the families will love this new site!

What can we discover there?
It offers a permanent exhibition in three rooms and the building's terraces.
The scenography of the exhibition spaces is designed to offer an immersive and active visit which is aimed at everyone, through: audio stories, virtual reconstructions, models, manipulation games, videos, etc.
The first room gives a historical approach to the city, its major stages from its origin to today, based on a projection on a model. The military period is developed there.
In the second room, the visitor discovers the different facets which have forged the maritime identity of the city: the great explorations, fishing, maritime trade, shipyards, industrialization of the port, inspiration and artistic production and the tourist turn of the city.
The third room highlights the built heritage: construction materials and techniques are explained and illustrated by examples from Honfleur.

The Wow moment!!
This is clearly our favorite moment of the visit, once we have visited the rooms the tour continues on the exterior terraces of the Lieutenancy. An incredible 360° view overlooking the Honfleur basins. This high spot allows us to read the landscape and observe the city, its town planning, its port developments using models and its changes over time thanks to virtual reconstructions offered by binoculars.

Closed May 1, July 14, November 1 and 11, December 25

But also…an artist residency
A creative center to promote contemporary art and its artists
The mission of the residency is to give artistic resonance to maritime heritage, promote artistic exchanges, raise awareness and encourage artistic practices.
Artists (visual artists, writers, photographers, musicians, etc.) will be welcomed for part of the year.
The objective is to organize artistic and cultural events by increasing the opportunities for communication and exchange between everyday life and the artistic.