The Château (Castle) and Musée de Dieppe (Museum)

Dieppe’s mediaeval castle stands on a cliff on the west side of town and provides excellent views across the coast. Built as a defence against the English, the oldest part of the building, the round tower, dates back to the 14th century. Housed within the Castle is the Musée de Dieppe, which includes a variety of permanent and temporary exhibitions, including a valuable collection of ivory carvings, and others relating the history of Dieppe and its maritime heritage. Another permanent exhibition includes over 100 prints by Georges Braque, the co-originator of cubism, as well as works by other famous painters such as Pissarro, Renoir, Dufy, Sickert and Boudin.

Square du Canada

Standing in the centre of the Square du Canada is the Dieppe-Canada Monument, in recognition of the sailors who sailed from Dieppe to colonise Canada. The names of people and events, which have linked Canada and Normandy over the centuries have been recorded on the monument. Also mounted on the wall behind is a plaque that commemorates the Dieppe Raid (also known as Operation Jubilee), a disastrous raid that took place on 19th August 1942 by a force of Canadian and Scottish troops, which claimed over 3000 casualties.

Place du Puits Salé & Café des Tribunaux

This pretty little square, set around a fountain, is in the centre of town and is dominated by Dieppe’s oldest gabled house, the Café des Tribunaux, built in the 17th century and a favourite haunt of Oscar Wilde and his friends during his time here in the summer of 1897, as well as other writers and painters such as Renoir, Monet, Sickert, Whistler and Pissarro. Nowadays, it is still a popular place to have a drink.

Quartier de Pollet

The old fishing quarter of Dieppe is a lovely place to walk with its winding lanes, narrow flights of steps and brick and flint fishermen’s cottages. It’s also where the painter Walter Sickert lived and worked.