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A bit of Paradise!
Gavray
Our nearest market town where we go on a Saturday for the local produce, including meat, fish, vegetables and fruit.
The town hosts a "Norman Fair" in July, when the streets are full of livestock, vintage cars and traditional dress. There are several bars and restaurants, a pleasant riverside walk. Overlooking the town on a steep hill is a ruined Norman castle. On the evening of the fair, there is an excellent firework display launched from the castle hill. There is a "beast" market once a month with cows, horses, goats and sheep being traded. A lot of the produce found in the local supermarkets originates here. Mont Saint-Michel 
The most impressive and visited monument in France is only just around the corner from us, about 45 minutes drive.
At the very top is a golden angel on top of the spire. This is on top of the church which is in turn on top of the monastery. People often comment that it is a bit like St. Michael’s Mount in Cornwall. 
During the holiday season the streets at the base of the rock can often be overcrowded, but further up (many steps!) the crowds thin out and a calm takes over. The climb is worthwhile, however, with fantastic views over both the Cherbourg peninsular and over the coast of north Brittany. Don't miss the human-powered sledge, which was used to haul supplies up to the monastery. Villedieu-les-Poêles 
The name means ‘Town-of-God-the-frying-pans’, and if you like decorative pots, pans, copperware
and brassware then this is the place to go. Villedieu also hosts one of the biggest and oldest
the bell-foundries in France.
The church contains a number of examples of the fine post-war stained glass of this part of Normandy. Not far away is the zoo at Champrépus, which is well worth a visit. Click here to visit their website. In common with other local towns, Villedieu has an excellent market selling local produce. Granville Sometimes known as ‘Monaco of the North’, Granville boasts its own casino, an aquarium and beautiful coastline. It is also, nevertheless a major holiday resort for the French and others with many attractions. Click here to view a live web-cam looking from Granville Casino over the beach. 
There is an excellent view from the Pointe du Roc, which by virtue of its protrusion into the sea offers a near 360 panorama. The "Old Town" of Granville is on a hilltop, and the walls, drawbridges and watchtowers are still virtually intact. Granville is surrounded by beaches at the resorts towns to the north and south. On the clifftops perch a series of luxurious villas, including the one shown, where Christian Dior spent his childhood. The villa and gardens now form the Christian Dior Museum.
Coutances
Coutances is a Catherderal town, spectacularly built on an elevated position.
The crest of the ridge is crowned by three great medieval churches:
The Cathedral, an acknowledged masterpiece of Norman-Gothic. Saint-Nicolas, of the earliest Gothic in style. Saint-Pierre, late Gothic and Renaissance. Besides these, and possibly the greatest glory of the town is its park, the "Jardin des Plantes", originally the private garden of the house which is now the town museum. Here, a formal French garden with fountains and floral sculptures is surrounded by an English garden full of shady walks and winding paths, in its turn surrounded by a belt of virgin woodland.
Bayeux
Renowned for the Bayeux Tapestry, of course which the French call ‘La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde’.
There is much more to see in Bayeux:-
Bayeux was the luckiest town in Normandy in 1944; liberated on the evening
of D-day, it suffered practically no damage in an area where most towns were completely destroyed.
A maze of medieval streets can, therefore, still be explored.
Caen
Thoroughly devastated during the war, it yet retains a good deal of interest: excellent shopping, of course,
especially at the two out-of-town shopping centre, Hérouville Saint-Clair to the North and Mondeville to
the South; and a host of restored medieval churches, including (above) the Abbaye aux Hommes, with the tomb
of William the Conqueror; the Abbaye aux Dames with that of his Queen, Matilda, and in the centre of the city
Saint-Pierre, a masterpiece of the Flamboyant Gothic.
Next to Saint-Pierre is the enormous and rambling Castle. There are museums and galleries all over town, but the most important is the MEMORIAL, a Museum for Peace entirely appropriate to one of the places where war has been at its worst.
Cherbourg
Cherbourg used to be the port of departure for transatlantic liners (including the Titanic), and its deep-water berth still frequently hosts cruise ships. The port is the world’s biggest artificial harbour. Emmanuel Liais the mayor of Cherbourg in the late 1800's, created the exotic gardens in 1886. Covering a hectare, the gardens were bequeathed to the town of Cherbourg when he died in 1900. The town of Cherbourg is charming and not too large, with pedestrian streets, picturesque quaysides and good shopping, and a spectacular view from the Fort du Roule on its cliff above the town. The Cité de la Mer, located at the old transatlantic terminal, is a spectacular sealife centre, with a vast aquarium and even a submarine to visit. |
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