Cherbourg
Ideally situated as a port for both leisure craft and military ships, Cherbourg has long been a centre for the French navy as well as a popular destination with local and international yachtsmen who enjoy the choppy seas and challenging winds. The town was once also the centre for transatlantic liners and in its heyday saw many a famous celebrity arrive or depart from the Gare Maritime. Now transformed into the Cité de la Mer, an impressive museum dedicated to the world undersea and exhibiting the world’s largest submarine open to the public; this building is an architectural reminder of the town’s glamorous past.
A lively town, with numerous quayside restaurants and hotels as wells as a bustling commercial centre plus several colourful markets, Cherbourg also has one of the most exotic-looking buildings in the area - a 19th Century “Italian-style” theatre, vaguely reminiscent of Monaco’s Casino Square.
For art lovers, the Thomas Henry Fine Arts Museum boasts a good collection of works by local artist Millet, and for visitors on the Second World War trail there is a Museum dedicated to the Liberation. Caen can be access by ferry services from the UK and Ireland, plus regular trains from Paris.
Copyright CRT Normandy / Maison du Tourisme Cherbourg-Cotentin