Photographers in Étretat

Étretat is two cliffs and the pebble beach between them, and both ends earn their walk. The Falaise d'Aval, with its arch and the 70-metre Aiguille behind it, is the signature frame: shoot it from the beach, then climb the staircase path to the clifftop for the reverse view down the coast toward the Manneporte, the larger arch most visitors never reach. The Falaise d'Amont on the other side carries the little chapel of Notre-Dame de la Garde and looks back at the whole scene. Timing is everything here: low tide opens the foot of the Aval cliff and the rock shelf below the arch — check the tables, the sea comes back without negotiating — and in summer the sun sets into the water almost in line with the arch. Wind is constant, so plan hair and dresses accordingly. Proposals: clifftop above the Aval at golden hour, crowds thin fifty metres past the viewpoint.