Thanks to the Alabaster Coast, Seine-Maritime is brimming with fish and shellfish!
So, shopping for fresh seafood products caught in the morning is very easy when you are staying by the sea and is part of the gourmet pleasures of the holidays in Seine-Maritime.
With its 130 km (80 miles) of coastline, Seine-Maritime provides seafood lovers with generous catches. You will be able to fill your shopping basket with lobster, brown shrimp, sole, turbot, brill, plaice, mackerel, sea trout, hake, cuttlefish, whiting, weever, velvet swimming crab, mussels, periwinkles, whelks, etc. Scallops and herrings are the most popular products of Seine-Maritime. Their return is celebrated every autumn in many seaside towns!
Oysters have been raised again in Seine-Maritime since the 1990s in Veules-les-roses. The local oyster, called the "Veulaise", is greatly appreciated by connoisseurs and has just been honoured at the Paris International Agricultural Show. Its unique taste comes from the combination of fresh and salt water in which it is raised. You can find it on the seafront in Veules-les-roses and in Quiberville, as well as at some of the markets in the Pays de Caux.
You will enjoy trying the numerous local dishes made with seafood products such as the "omelette tréportaise", an omelette made with mussels and prawns, herrings prepared in the style of Fécamp, the "turbotin gratiné à la Havraise" (turbot prepared in the style of Le Havre, with mussels, cream and white wine), scallops with a cider sauce, etc. Seafood and fish can also be prepared in a great number of ways according to your imagination, such as herring bagels, scallops baked in paper, etc.
These products are at their best on markets, such as the one in Dieppe held every Saturday morning, as well as the one in Le Tréport on Tuesday mornings. This town also has a beautiful municipal fish market, which is well stocked.
You can also catch your own seafood if you go shellfish picking. This activity delights children and is also another way of learning about the sea. Picking shellfish can be done all year round, but it is easier in summer during the high tides that reveal largely the beach and all the hidden wildlife! Make sure you check the tide timetables for Seine-Maritime and the minimum size limits for shellfish before going on this adventure!