Obelisk Fountain Honfleur, Fountain in Honfleur, Normandy, France
The Fontaine Obélisque Honfleur is a stone fountain topped by a tall, narrow obelisk, located on Place Pierre Berthelot in Honfleur, Normandy. The column rises straight up from the square, surrounded by old buildings and narrow streets on all sides.
The Fontaine Obélisque stands on a square that was once part of the medieval fabric of Honfleur, a town that grew around the church of Saint-Étienne before the 11th century. Over the following centuries, fires and rebuilding changed much of the surrounding area, but the fountain remained a fixed point in the public space.
The square around the obelisk, known as Place Pierre Berthelot, is a spot where locals sit on benches and watch daily life go by. The two names used for the square, Place de l'Obélisque and Place Pierre Berthelot, reflect how deeply this fountain is tied to the everyday life of Honfleur.
The fountain is easy to reach on foot from the old town and the Vieux-Bassin harbor area of Honfleur. The cobblestone streets around the square are uneven, so sturdy shoes are a good idea.
Although the obelisk is relatively modest in size, it gave its popular name to the entire square before the official name Place Pierre Berthelot was adopted. This double naming makes the fountain a rare case where a simple monument shaped how an entire neighborhood is referred to in everyday speech.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
