Le Havre, ville de béton

Le Havre is the largest city in Haute-Normandie (upper Normandy) and is a large port on the English Channel (La Manche for the French- nothing English about it). Le Havre was basically obliterated during WWII and had to be completely rebuilt. There remains very little that existed before the 1940s except some red brick houses and a small church.

During the reconstruction of Le Havre in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Auguste Perret came on the scene and gave Le Havre a look never before seen in France. Le Havre is basically a city made of concrete, and on the surface I must confess it's not the prettiest city. However, after learning about the reconstruction, how concrete was used in many different ways, I can start to see the beauty in it.

There's a cool museum in a real apartment building: the city has preserved one of the original flats with period furniture, linens, kitchen bric-a-brac, etc. and it's really a cool visit. Note the concrete pillar in the entry way.