Holidays on the Cotentin Peninsula

Between the largest man-made harbour in the world at Cherbourg, charming villages like Omonville-la-Petite and Barfleur, tropical gardens and the Channel Islands, there are plenty of activities and attractions to delight all the family.

History is embodied by the remains of the Normandy Landings of 1944, especially around Carentan and of course, Sainte-Mère-Eglise, where a paratrooper named John Steele spent two hours hanging from the church tower during the lead up to D-Day.

Today a dummy still hangs from the tower in tribute to the hundreds of parachutists who landed in the area that day. Many museums and discovery trails allow visitors to relive all the events of the Liberation. For an undersea adventure, visit the Cité de la Mer maritime museum in Cherbourg and its Abyssal aquarium, the deepest in Europe. The Cité has three different sectors which showcase the diversity of the undersea world by presenting all the techniques used by man to share the underwater environment.

The Cotentin is a marvellous place for walkers with hundreds of kilometres of designated footpaths leading to attractions like the top of the ‘Phare de Gatteville’, the second tallest lighthouse in France (75m) with amazing views of the English Channel, and the beautiful scenery of the Nez de Jobourg Bird Reserve. Take a boat trip to the Channel Islands, a unique blend of British, Norman and international traditions, including Jersey, the largest island, and Guernsey, where you can visit the house Victor Hugo lived in while in exile.  The Cotentin Peninsula is a vast maritime region of Northern France which benefits from a long coastline, beaches, marshes, open countryside and a strong sense of hospitality and tradition.