Right at the heart of Normandy, the Pays d'Auge is a very hilly area to be found between Caen and Rouen. It is famous for its stud farms, cheeses and apple trees. With its green countryside and its authentic villages, it's a lovely region to visit.

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The tourist route called "La Route du Cidre" (The Cider Route) explores the part of the area most suitable for making cider and calvados: the best terroir for apple trees is in fact the first slopes of the Pays d'Auge, between the Caen plain with its marshes to the West, and the high hills to the East. At mid height, the combination of the temperate climate and the soil types is perfect.

If the tops of the hills remain covered with beech and oak trees, the valley bottoms are carpeted with green fields that are perfect for cattle raising and apple orchards. The orchards are surrounded by living hedges which play their part in making this countryside beautiful.

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"La Route du Cidre" (The Cider Route) is a marked circular route about 40 km (25 miles) long which takes you past many Pays d'Auge cider producers. The route goes through Beuvron-en-Auge, Victot-Pontfol, Cambremer, Saint-Ouen-le-Pin, Bonnebosq and Beaufour-Druval. All along these winding roads, you will see fields and orchards, chateaux, half-timbered farmhouses, manor houses... All the charm of the Pays d'Auge.

And the sea is very close. The "Cote Fleurie" (litterally: flowery coast) is only 15km (9 miles) away with towns such as Cabourg, Deauville, Honfleur... 

To find out more:
>> The Cider Route on the Calvados Tourist Committee's website >> The Cider Route on the association of producers website

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Note: The map of the Cider Route is reproduced with the kind permission of the Calvados Department Tourist Committee.
"Comité Départemental du Tourisme du Calvados" (www.calvados-tourisme.com).