Hiking · GR 21

Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre

A hundred and eighty kilometres along the white cliff: dry valleys, shingle harbours, fishermen’s huts, and the arches of Étretat halfway along.

Normandie

Distance
166 km
Stages
7
Elevation gain
2 164 m
Difficulty
easy
Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre and its 7 stage points. Base map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Where to sleep on Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre

Halta lists 102 places to sleep within 5 km of the route: 78 campsites, 1 bivouac spot, 23 hotels. For each one, the app shows the real detour from your stage — and it is that distance, not the straight line, that decides how a day ends.

  • Campsites
  • Bivouac spots
  • Hotels

Alongside the campsites, mountain huts and bivouac spots drawn from open data, there are the hosts of the Halta community: travellers who welcome others into their homes, usually for free. You write to them before you come; you do not book a slot.

The 7 stages of Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre

An indicative split, drawn on real roads: distances and elevation come from route calculation, not from an estimate. In the app every stage can be adjusted — stretched, cut short, or pushed back a day.

Stages of Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre with distance and elevation gain.
#StageDistanceElevation
1 Le Havre → Étretat 37 km 448 m
2 Étretat → Fécamp 18 km 334 m
3 Fécamp → Saint-Valery-en-Caux 39 km 404 m
4 Saint-Valery-en-Caux → Veules-les-Roses 8 km 71 m
5 Veules-les-Roses → Dieppe 28 km 374 m
6 Dieppe → Criel-sur-Mer 26 km 339 m
7 Criel-sur-Mer → Le Tréport 10 km 194 m

Frequently asked questions about Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre

How many days does Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre take?

Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre takes about 7 days, split into 7 stages over 166 km — an average of 24 km a day. The split is indicative: stages stretch or shorten depending on your form and the weather.

Where can you sleep on Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre?

Halta lists 102 places to sleep within 5 km of Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre: 78 campsites, 1 bivouac spot, 23 hotels. On top of those are the hosts of the Halta community, travellers who welcome others into their homes, usually for free.

How hard is Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre?

Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre is rated easy, with 2 164 m of cumulative elevation gain over 166 km. Per stage, that works out at roughly 309 m of climbing a day.

Where does Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre go?

Le GR 21, la côte d’Albâtre runs from Le Havre to Le Tréport, by way of Fécamp, Veules-les-Roses, Criel-sur-Mer, across Normandie. It is travelled on foot and totals 166 km split into 7 stages.

Figures established on 17 September 2026, from Halta’s own data. How they are calculated.

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Étapes indicatives d'après le GR 21 (balisage FFRandonnée). Tracé reconstitué par routage (ODbL, openrouteservice.org). Halta 2026-08. Places to sleep: OpenStreetMap, refuges.info and DATAtourisme (ODbL). Photo : Wikimedia Commons (CC).