Chapelle des Marins (Cap Hornu)

Saint-Valery-sur-Somme

A lookout chapel in chequered flint, turned towards the estuary and the sailors it long watched over.

Built on the heights of Cap Hornu, the Chapelle des Marins (Sailors' Chapel) is said to mark the site of the tomb of Saint Valery, a monk who came from the Auvergne to evangelise the Vimeu in the early 7th century and died around 622. According to tradition, a first oratory was raised here as early as 628 by his disciple Saint Blimont. The present neo-Gothic building, with its walls chequered in flint and white stone, dates from 1878 and replaces a chapel of 1675; it was entirely restored in 2013. Its interior preserves many sailors' ex-votos and a carved wooden tympanum.

Getting there : Reached by a footpath from Saint-Valery-sur-Somme, on the heights of Cap Hornu; open to visitors.

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound