The old seafaring town of Honfleur (pop. 8,178), on the Seine estuary opposite Le Havre (to which it is to be connected by a bridge in 1994), is one of the most charming little towns in Normandy, with its picturesque Vieux Bassin (Old Harbor) and its many old houses. This was the home port of the seamen who made their celebrated voyages to
Canada in the 16th C., making that country almost a Norman colony. On the north side of the harbor is the Lieutenance (16th C.), the old governor's house, built on the remains of the town walls, now housing the port office.