Saint-Valery | lerelaisdes4saisons

The local Tourism Office is at your disposal to inform you and promote our beautiful region. Meet at Quai Lejoille, at the old Salt Warehouse.

03 22 60 93 50

tourisme-baiedesomme.fr

Both medieval, with its ramparts and cobbled streets, rich in its maritime past, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme will seduce you with its charm, its surrounding nature of course, its restaurants, its culture, its new activities. Located on a promontory, it naturally offers an amazing view of the Bay. You have to take a little height in the upper town to discover it...

Stroll along the quays and the shopping street of La Ferté, venture into the sailors' district called "Courtgain" with its houses embedded in the colors of boats, gain height in the abbey district, above all, contemplate the spectacle of the Baie de Somme, changing with the tides, the winds, the light.

Our 5 "Favorite" places to observe the comings and goings of the tide: the Calvary of the sailors, the area of Cap Hornu, the Chapel of Saint-Valery, the Lighthouse at the end of the dike, the "William" towers.

Here is a first selection of visits and activities in Saint-Valery. For even more information, visit the site Somme Bay Tourism. We can also advise you on ideas for hikes, bike rental, etc.

Map of Saint-Valery-sur-Somme

Where to see seals?

Option 1: Pointe du Hourdel, at low tide, bring binoculars or a telescope and consider arranging a meeting with a guide. Guides are usually available every day at low tide. You can also visit the north of Crotoy, starting from the La Maye beach parking lot.

Option 2: To see common seals and grey seals in the Bay of Authie, head to the end of Chemin aux Raisins in Berck-sur-Mer, facing the Sternes nautical base. This is where you can best observe the colony, which can reach over a hundred specimens at certain times of the year.

Option 3: With a bit of luck, you can spot seals in Saint-Valery along the channel.

A golden rule: keep a minimum distance of 300 meters!

Opt for guided tours in the bay to observe them up close and explore the entire bay.

Seals along our coast:

Hunted until 1972, seals had almost completely disappeared from our coasts in the English Channel and the North Sea, where they seem to have been present for thousands of years. The ban on hunting, abundant food sources, and the presence of several estuaries in Hauts de France where the species peacefully thrives have led to their gradual reappearance since the 1990s. They are now present along the entire coastline, although they are easier to observe in the three bays (Baie de Somme, Baie d'Authie, and Baie de Canche). Keen observers may have the chance to spot them anywhere along the seashore.

Competitors of fishermen,
Stars for tourists,

For a long time, seals were seen by coastal communities as formidable competitors to fishermen. During the German occupation, the priest of Audinghen (Cap Gris Nez) arranged for a colony of around fifty seals to be machine-gunned in order to ensure sufficient fish for the locals' sustenance. As gourmets, seals particularly enjoy flatfish such as sole, dab, and plaice. Their appetite, of course, varies according to their size, gender, and age, but they can easily consume between 2 and 6 kilograms of fish per day—animals that escape the fishermen's nets. In our seas, seals have no predators except humans. In the past, their meat was used as bait in crustacean traps.

Since their natural return to our shores, visitors have flocked to try and observe them, which has become a boon for tourism professionals, some of whom have even specialized in excursions to meet the seals. Nature guides take tourists to see and even listen to the seals, whose calls resemble the snoring of a human! It's an opportunity to raise public awareness about good practices to avoid alarming the mothers in particular, as they may flee into the water, abandoning their young.

Grey seals and common seals,

Two species coexist in our region: the grey seal, which prefers rocky coasts, and the common seal, which thrives in sandy estuaries. Grey seals live in harems controlled by dominant males. In the water, they can be recognized by their elongated heads and straight snouts, giving them the appearance of a rugby ball. Common seals have a rounder head and a small V-shaped indentation between their forehead and nostrils.

In general, both species remain in the water at high tide, dispersed as they hunt, explore, or "bottle" sleep in sheltered areas. At low tide, they gather on sandbanks (resting places) near a channel, allowing them to escape in case of danger. They stay there to soak up as much sun as possible until the rising tide forces them back into the sea. Seals have better hearing and vision underwater than in the air. They are nearsighted on land but have excellent vision when submerged. Their sense of smell is also highly developed, allowing them to find food or recognize their young.

On land, they give the impression of crawling awkwardly in small undulations, but once in the water, they are agile and remarkably fast swimmers who are not afraid of humans. Their curiosity leads them to approach objects to better identify them—boats, drifting objects, or even swimmers! While the latter case may scare some bathers, actual bites, although theoretically possible, are extremely rare, if not nonexistent.

It is common, however, to see an isolated individual traveling up a river for several tens of kilometers, without being lost or sick. Bones discovered at archaeological sites hundreds of kilometers inland provide evidence of this.

Antoine Louis, Certified Guide specializing in Hauts de France.