Norman Switzerland

Norman Switzerland (French: Suisse Normande) is a part of Normandy, France, in the border region of the departments Calvados and Orne. Its name comes from its rugged and verdant relief resembling the Swiss Alps, with gorges carved by the river Orne and its tributaries, and by erosion in the Armorican Massif between Putanges-Pont-Écrepin and Thury-Harcourt. The river has created a rugged landscape.

In the hills, small steep fields are often bordered by thick hedges or granite dry stone walls and have dense vegetation. Mont Pinçon, at 345 metres (1,132 ft) in elevation, is the highest point in Norman Switzerland. Churches, houses and farm buildings have a style closer to what is found across the English Channel in the United Kingdom (i.e., stone buildings with slate roofs), rather than the timber structures of the Pays d'Auge.

The main towns are Athis-de-l'Orne, Clécy, Condé-sur-Noireau, Flers-de-l'Orne, Pont-d'Ouilly, Putanges-Pont-Écrepin and Thury-Harcourt. Some 34 communes are grouped into the Communauté de Communes de la Suisse Normande.

There are many outdoor tourist activities: canoeing, horse riding, rock climbing, hang gliding, kayaking, paragliding and mountain biking. Thury-Harcourt hosted the European Canoe Polo Championship in 2007.

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Wikipedia