Lisieux, heart of Normandy.

Lisieux, capital of the Pays d'Auge, is one of the most charming places in Normandy, lying between Deauville - Trouville to the north and Vimoutiers and Orbec to the south.

Like other Norman cities, its birth goes back more than two thousand years. It has seen Roman occupation, the Germanic invasions and those of the Scandinavian pirates; it has suffered the Franco-English conflicts and, during the XVIth century, religious disputes. In the XIXth century, little by little, the town lost its importance - religious and then economic…until a miracle occurred, dramatically changing its peaceful existence.

It was at the dawn of the XXth century that France and then the whole world discovered the life and message of a young Norman Carmelite, Sister Thérèse of the Infant Jesus. The town where she lived became one of the most popular spiritual locations. It was the great basilica, built in honour of Saint Thérèse in the 1930s, which attracted the largest number of visitors. The Saint's tomb may be seen in the Carmelite chapel. The Gothic cathedral, a symbol of the prestigious past of the town, was her parish church and the pretty manor house, the Buissonnets, "the gentle nest of her childhood". A wax museum, the Diorama, retraces the major stages of her life.

Lisieux has also retained its timber-framed houses and numerous sites which are testament to a past steeped in history. Its geographical location is ideal for discovering the Norman region with its manor houses, its gastronomy and its famous apple trees.