Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Garde

All building materials for the original 1856 chapel were carried up the steep 200-step cliff entirely by hand on the backs of local fishermen and sailors. This remarkable community effort took several years to complete, as each stone and beam had to be hauled up the treacherous path as an offering to the Virgin Mary for protection at sea.

This clifftop marks the last confirmed sighting of French aviators Charles Nungesser and François Coli, who disappeared on May 8, 1927, while attempting the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York. Their plane 'L'Oiseau Blanc' (The White Bird) vanished over the Atlantic just two weeks before Charles Lindbergh successfully completed the reverse crossing.

The chapel's interior was deliberately designed to resemble an upturned boat hull, with the nave mimicking a ship's keel as a tribute to the maritime community that built it. The exterior features unique gargoyles shaped like fish heads rather than the traditional Gothic grotesques, continuing the seafaring theme throughout the architecture.

The rebuilt 1950 chapel was blessed by the Archbishop of Rouen in the presence of René Coty, who would later become President of France (1954-1959). Coty was a native of the nearby Le Havre region and maintained a personal connection to this coastal heritage site throughout his life.