Things to do

St Denis is 20 kms east of Rouen, the capital of Normandy, 60 kms from Dieppe on the coast and approximately 100kms from Paris. It is therefore ideally situated as a base for exploring this part of France.
In the immediate vicinity (within 10 miles) there are the following houses and sites worth visiting :
· Martainville, chateau www.chateaux-france.com/martainville
· Vascoeuil, chateau www.chateaux-france.com/vascoeuil
· Lyons la Forêt, pretty village and a reasonably priced restaurant
· Abbaye de Mortemer www.chateaux-france.com/mortemer
· St Saens, pretty village and 18 hole golf course
· Auzouville sur Ry , « Jardin Plume » a lovely garden www.lejardinplume.com
· Ry, the village upon which Flaubert based Yonneville in his novel « Madame Bovary » (there are two reasonably priced restaurants)
· Bois Guilbert, Horse riding stables www.normandie-guide.com/poneyboisguilbert
· Vandrimare, château and garden www.parcs-et-jardins-hn.com
· As well as « Jardin Plume », the following gardens are all close by : Agapanthe · Valerian · Parc et jardin du Château de Bosmelet · Jardin d’Angélique · Jardin de Bellevue · Parc et jardin du château de Miromesnil · Clos du Coudray.

A little further away but still within 20 miles
· Rouen, many good restaurants, « le Musée des Beaux Arts » with its collection of impressionists’ paintings, many other museums, the town itself with its market squares and old cobbled streets lined with half timbered houses, swimming pool, ice skating ring, cinemas and theatre. A fast rail link to Paris. www.mairie-rouen.fr
· Poses, a leisure/sports centre created recently by transforming disused gravel quarries into lakes for all types of water sports
· Pont St Pierre, two good restaurants in this pretty country town
· Les Andelys, small town with a fine ruined medieval castle www.ville-andelys.fr

Within an hours drive
· Dieppe, A fishing port and cross channel ferry terminal. Now the ferry terminal has been moved from the centre of town and the old terminal converted into a pleasure boat marina all the old buildings round the port have been restored and Dieppe has become an interesting place to visit to see its architecture www.mairie-dieppe.fr/
· Varengeville, not far from Dieppe « le parc des bois du moutiers » is a fine garden and the house, designed by Lutyens, is well worth seeing though one cannot go inside the house
· Giverny, a small village close to Vernon, where the house and « jardins de Claude Monet » and the American museum are worth a visit
· Veules les Roses a very pretty sea side town which boasts the smallest river in France, about 1 km long
· Fécamp, the town famous for the Benedictine liqueur ; you can visit the abbey where it is made.

Beyond an hours drive but still easily accessible under two hours
· Paris
· Versailles
· Chantilly
· Caen
· Bayeux
· Deauville
· Honfleur
· The Normandy Landing Beaches