Normandy towns and villages
Across the square in Coutances from the cathedral are the fabulous Coutances gardens. They are known as Le Jardin des Plantes and are open all year round albeit with shorter hours in the winter. They’re one of Normandy’s oldest public gardens and have a mix of English and French styles. Every year a theme is…
If you’re looking for some family fun, then the Coutances maze is open every day during the summer holidays. You can find it between Coutances and Gratot on the D57 and it is well signposted as ’Labyrinthe de Coutances’. It is close to the déchetterie (recycling centre) for Gratot which is also signposted. The maze…
Although Saint-Malo is in Brittany, it’s very accessible from the southern Manche in Normandy. I have guests who go for a day trip as it’s less than 90 minutes drive. Highlights include the Solidor Tower in Saint-Servan – a 14th-century building that houses a collection tracing the history of voyages around Cape Horn, the Great…
There are three Gavray boulangeries all serving amazing breakfast pastries, bread and cakes. They’re all within a hundred metres of each other but are all equally as busy. I refer to them by the colours of the shop front so we have a red one, purple one and a yellow one. They each have a…
The Andouillerie de la Baleine is a delicatessen in Gavray making a local speciality of andouille. It’s a sausage made of diced stomach and intestines seasoned in pepper and salt for a week. Perhaps not for the faint-hearted! The savoury mixture is then placed in individual intestines, smoked over beech wood and cooked for 6…
Saturday 7th July 2018 saw the return of the Marché Normand in Gavray. It’s an annual event and the main street in the town is closed to traffic for the whole day for some family fun. It started at 10am with dancing from a local dance group who wear traditional Normandy costumes. At 11am the…
Guided tours of the upper galleries of Coutances Cathedral can usually be booked throughout the summer. They are also offered during the school holidays. In the summer there is often a tour in English once a week. French tours are available every day in both the morning and the afternoon. The tours last around an…
Let me take you on a tour of my favourite fortified chateu in Pirou. It was originally built from wood in the 11th century on an island surrounded by three moats and five defensive gates. The stone version that stands today was built in 1146. I passed through the first three gates in quick succession….
I love the colourful beach huts at Gouville-sur-Mer; bright pops of colour nestled in the sand dunes. As you approach Gouville from the south you can see the brightly coloured roofs in the distance. They’re now symbolic of Gouville and have been a part of the landscape for around a hundred years. About a century…
If you love seafood, then Normandy should definitely be on your bucket list. There are a good number of restaurants, shops selling fish and seafood and producers to visit. I can highly recommend Le Restaurant du Port in Granville although I’d recommend booking. When I went recently it was full by 8pm and would-be diners…
The beautiful town of Coutances in Normandy is perfect for a day of exploring. The Tourist Office have published this guide to Coutances. It’s written in English and there’s a map of the towns showing the highlights. I took these photos late one afternoon in the Normandy sunshine. The public garden is delightful – beautifully…
Regnéville is a delightful Normandy village and an important port dating from the 11th century. It sits at the mouth of the river Sienne and looks out onto a natural harbour surrounded by marshland. The first settlers in the village were Vikings who arrived by boat. The harbour enabled goods to be transported into the…
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