Étretat is best known for its cliffs, including a famous natural arch. These cliffs and the associated resort beach attracted artists including Eugène Boudin, Gustave Courbet and Claude Monet, and were featured prominently in the 1909 Arsène Lupin novel The Hollow Needle by Maurice Leblanc.

Two of the three famous arches seen from the town are the Porte d’Aval, and the Porte d’Amont. The Manneporte is the third which cannot be seen from the town.