Daniel Cailteux spent 12 days in Cherbourg with his wife. To share it with their children, they wrote a short text that they also wanted to share with you.
Why love Cherbourg?
Cherbourg and the north of the Cotentin peninsula are places where only people who want to go go.
There is no through traffic. As a result, there are not too many tourists and above all the towns and villages have remained very “local”, without being too affected by “same thing everywhere” tourism.
The tours and restaurants are mentioned below in the chronological order in which we discovered them in August 2022.
If you ever go to this magnificent region of France, this little document can guide you in your choices of visits, walks and restaurants. Most tours may interest children.
I added 5 personal favorites. Good reading,
Daniel Cailteux
Here is already a link to a map of the region
16 visits
- the Tourist Office : 14 quai Alexandre III, city map, brochures, welcoming hostesses.
- Walk the pedestrian streets : Many stores, small independents, regional products, gift ideas.
- Visit to the Les Eleis shopping center: Quai de l’Entrepôt. Typical shopping center of big cities. Gives access to a Carrefour hypermarket. Neighbor of Cherbourg station.
- Alternative route walk: 3km through the streets of Cherbourg, signposted, to discover 25 curiosities of the city's heritage, with an explanatory panel for each. Favorite: The Montebello Garden, rue Montebello.
- Walk along the water : Heart stroke. Sliding gangway and swing bridge, commercial basin (large fishing boats), marinas (small fishing and pleasure boats), cruise terminal (ferries, cruise ships), piers.
- Walk along the seaside towards the west, from Cherbourg to Querqueville (part of the GR 223A): Around 15 km round trip, track decorated with explanatory panels on the liners that docked in Cherbourg.
- Bike ride (not done): Many cycle paths, used, allow you to travel in town and especially along the sea (GR 223A). To rent a bike (only electric bikes), you must use a application from the town of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin.
- Visit of the City of the Sea : Located in the former Transatlantique ferry terminal. Content: Exploration machines, aquariums, Titanic museum, Le Redoutable submarine (favorite), emigration area.
- visit the Liberation Museum : Big favorite. Located in a fort that overlooks the city. Dedicated to the context of the end of the Second World War, the Normandy landings, and the essential role of Cherbourg in supplying the allies on all fronts. Panorama of Cherbourg.
- Market: Thursday and Saturday morning Place De Gaule.
- Visit to the Cherbourg Umbrellas factory : 22 quai Alexandre III. Possibility of purchase.
- Sea trip : 1 hour guided tour of the Cherbourg harbor, the largest artificial harbor in the world. Passage along the sea walls, forts and piers.
- Car ride to the northwest cape of the Cotentin peninsula: Approximately 70 km round trip. To have : Cape of La Hague, Nose of Jobourg, the route of the capes.
- Walk along the seaside towards the east, from Cherbourg to Tourlaville (part of the GR 223A): Around 15 km round trip, Collignon beach (sand), small Le Becquet marina.
- The movie "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”: Only on Sundays in July and August. Film by Jacques Demy from 1964, entirely sung, with Catherine Deneuve, with music by Michel Legrand. Enough to shed a tear and see the Simca cars of my childhood again.
- Car ride to the northeastern cape of the Cotentin peninsula: Approximately 70 km round trip. To have : Saint-Vaast-La-Hougue (small typical port, favorite village of the French 2019) and Tatihou Island, Barfleur (small port, one of the most beautiful villages in France), the Gatteville Lighthouse (365 steps, 2nd highest lighthouse in Europe).
10 French cuisine restaurants
- Generalities
Most restaurants offer a choice of fish, meat and seafood. A carafe of water and bread are offered. The fish are enhanced with a good sauce. The meats are accompanied by quality fries. The mussels are as good as those from Belgium.
Most restaurants offer a cheaper lunch option. It is possible to dine for two for 50 euros, bottle of wine included.
8 restaurants in the center of Cherbourg
- L’Accord Perfect, 6 quai Alexandre III.
- La Passerelle, 13 quai de l’Entrepôt, Mercure hotel.
- Le Liberty, 16 quai de Caligny.
- La Marina, 30 quai de Caligny.
- Le Café de Paris, 40 quai de Caligny.
- The antidote, 41 rue au Blé. Heart stroke. Reserve to have a place.
- La Scene, rue au Fourdray.
- The Cafe du Port, 20 quai de Caligny.
2 restaurants on the east coast
- Le Collignon, Collignon Beach, Tourlaville.
- La Marina, 8 quai Commandant Albert Paris, Saint-Vaast-La-Hougue.
1 hotel
Mercure Hotel, 13 quai de l'Entrepôt, 4 stars, hearty breakfast, large rooms with a view of the quays, located in the center of Cherbourg, close to the city center and the sea, large free enclosed parking.
A huge thank you to Daniel and his wife for sharing this very comprehensive feedback and this very nice comment that they sent to the attention of our stay advisors at the Cherbourg office
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