DIVES, the port from which William the Conqueror sailed for Hastings, is another 3km west from Houlgate, though like Honfleur it's now pushed well back from the sea. A lively Saturday market focuses around the ancient oak halles, whose steep tiled roof must be five times the height of its walls; on market days, it's crammed with mouthwatering delicacies and Norman specialities. If you, look for a Cabourg hotel, look at this website. Dives is also home to a large, inexpensive Etap hotel, on voie nouvelle de Port-Guillaume (tel 02.31.28.13.97; €30–40).At the much newer town of CABOURG, across the mouth of the Dives river, the fin-de-siècle streets of the town centre fan out in perfect symmetry from what must be the straightest promenade in France, with semi-circular avenues linking them together. The resort, contemporary with Deauville, seems to be stuck in the nineteenth century – immobilized by memories of Proust, perhaps, who wrote for a while in the Grand Hôtel, one of an outrageous ensemble of buildings around the Jardins du Casino. The tourist office in the Jardins du Casino has full details on hotels (July & Aug daily 9.30am–7pm; Sept–June Mon–Sat 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–6pm, Sun 10am–noon & 2–4pm; tel 02.31.91.20.00, www.cabourg.net). A pleasant place to stay and eat is L'Oie qui Fume, a logis de France at 18 av de la Brèche-Buhot (tel 02.31.91.27.79; €40–55; closed Jan to mid-Feb, plus Mon eve, Tues & Wed in low season), 100m back from the sea on a quiet road half a dozen streets west of the centre; its €21.34 menu features goose (oie) as either starter or main course. Alternate spellings:: France, Dives, Dives and Cabourg, Dives
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