Cheeses of Pont-l'Évêque
A Normandy market town that gave its name to one of France's oldest cheeses, a square washed-rind cow's milk cheese.
Made, aged and sold here
Best time: May to October.
Pont-l'Évêque is a market town on the river Touques in the Pays d'Auge, a few kilometres inland from Deauville. The square cheese named after it is among the oldest cheeses in Normandy, thought to descend from a cheese mentioned in the Middle Ages. Soft, supple and gently washed, it is milder than its neighbour Livarot, and smells of the farm.
The cheese
Pont-l'Évêque is a soft cow's milk cheese made in square moulds, salted, then turned and brushed or washed as it ripens for a few weeks. Its rind is golden to orange, its paste pale and supple, and its flavour savoury and creamy. It is a protected name, made in Normandy and the Mayenne from the milk of cows that graze for much of the year.
Town and orchards
The town has half-timbered streets, an old church and the Calvados distillers of the Pays d'Auge all around. Deauville and Trouville, the seaside resorts, are just to the north. Inland, the green valleys of the Touques hold farms that make cider, pommeau, Calvados and cheese, and many sell from the farm gate.
A trail idea for Pont-l'Évêque
- Pont-l'Évêque town The old streets and the river Touques.
- A Calvados distillery Taste apple brandy with the local cheese.
- A farm shop Buy Pont-l'Évêque and cider from a Pays d'Auge farm.
- Trouville The fishing port and beach at the mouth of the Touques.
Written by the EveryCheese desk with AI assistance. Background: "Pont-l'Évêque, Calvados" on Wikipedia. Opening hours, markets, caves and tours change; check locally before travelling. If something is wrong, tell us.
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