Natural wonders · Manche
1 Le Nez de Jobourg
The region's main site is the grandiose Nez de Jobourg, an ornithological reserve. These cliffs are among the highest in Europe (128 m).
View full page →What to see in Manche in 3 days
Manche is a département of wild coasts, bays, lighthouses, castles and memorial sites. Mont-Saint-Michel and the Cotentin peninsula are the big names.
This itinerary spreads the best-rated sites in the catalogue over three days.
Our day-by-day itinerary
The map shows the numbered stops in visiting order, with one colour per day. The line follows the roads where available; otherwise it joins the stops as the crow flies. Distances and times are approximate (by car, without traffic).
Day 1 — Le Nez de Jobourg to Barfleur
This day brings together 6 sites close to each other: natural wonders, towns and cities and castles. It passes through Auderville, La Hague and Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Driving for the day: about 62.7 km, or 1 h 18 behind the wheel in total (excluding visits).
↓ 4.1 km · about 7 min by car to the next stop
Natural wonders · Auderville
2 Baie d'Écalgrain
Between the Nez de Jobourg and the port of Goury, this crescent bay offers one of the finest panoramas of La Hague. Its dunes and heath, followed by the customs officers' path, remain preserved from all urbanisation.
View full page →↓ 9.5 km · about 11 min by car to the next stop
Natural wonders · La Hague
3 Cap de la Hague
The extreme tip of the Cotentin, the Cap de la Hague faces one of the most powerful tidal currents in Europe, the Raz Blanchard. Wild heath, granite villages and the Goury lighthouse make up this harsh, wind-battered landscape.
View full page →↓ 18.5 km · about 23 min by car to the next stop
Towns & cities · Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
4 Cherbourg
A great military and transatlantic port at the tip of the Cotentin, with the largest artificial harbour in Europe and a rich maritime history.
View full page →↓ 6.5 km · about 9 min by car to the next stop
Castles · Manche
5 Château des Ravalet
The château des Ravalet, or château de Tourlaville, is a Renaissance-style castle in blue schist, built between 1562 and 1575, property of the town of Cherbourg since 1935, in the territory of Tourlaville.
View full page →↓ 24.0 km · about 27 min by car to the next stop
Villages · Manche
6 Barfleur
A former Roman-Viking port, Barfleur had nine thousand inhabitants in the time of Norman power and remained the leading port of the Cotentin in the Middle Ages.
View full page →Day 2 — Les moines et l'Elèphant to Batterie d'Azeville
This day brings together 3 sites close to each other: natural wonders, towns and cities and museums. It passes through Granville. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Driving for the day: about 90.6 km, or 1 h 39 behind the wheel in total (excluding visits).
Natural wonders · Manche
7 Les moines et l'Elèphant
52 islets, 365 rocks at low tide (one for every day!), Chausey is an archipelago unique in France, once well known for its granite that built Saint-Malo, Fécamp, Paris and London!
View full page →↓ 2.2 km · about 6 min by car to the next stop
Towns & cities · Granville
8 Granville
A fortified corsair town perched on a rocky cape overlooking the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, birthplace of the couturier Christian Dior.
View full page →↓ 88.3 km · about 1 h 33 by car to the next stop
Museums · Manche
9 Batterie d'Azeville
Near Sainte-Mère-Église, a guided visit of a German coastal defence battery.
View full page →Day 3 — L'Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel to Les cascades de Mortain
This day brings together 3 sites close to each other: castles, villages and waterfalls. Allow half an hour to an hour and a half per site, plus travel time.
Driving for the day: about 56.3 km, or 1 h 23 behind the wheel in total (excluding visits).
Castles · Manche
10 L'Abbaye du Mont-Saint-Michel
On a rocky islet in the middle of immense sands subject to the coming and going of powerful tides, on the border between Normandy and Brittany, rise the "Wonder of the West", a Gothic Benedictine abbey dedicated to the archangel Saint Michael, and the village born in the shelter of its walls.
View full page →↓ 0.0 km · about 0 min by car to the next stop
Villages · Manche
11 Le Mont Saint Michel
The prodigious architecture of Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay make it the most visited tourist site in Normandy and the third in France (after the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles), with some 3,200,000 visitors every year.
View full page →↓ 56.3 km · about 1 h 23 by car to the next stop
Waterfalls · Manche
12 Les cascades de Mortain
The waterfalls capture the very essence of deep Normandy. The Cance and Cançon have flowed here since time immemorial.
View full page →When to go
From May to September, the weather is milder. The weather changes quickly all year round: pack a windproof jacket. Tides affect visits to the bay and some coastal sites.
Getting around
A car is practical for linking the Cotentin sites. Check tide times before going onto the foreshore or into the bay. Coastal roads are pleasant but slow.
Our tips
- Check tide times before seaside visits.
- Pack waterproof clothing.
- Follow safety instructions on the foreshore.
- Taste seafood and local butter.
If you have more time
Natural wonders · Manche
Roches de Ham
The natural site of the Roches de Ham is in the Vire valley. These steep cliffs overlook the valley from about a hundred metres' height.
Natural wonders · Manche
Les Marais Salants
The Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel is a site of international importance regularly sheltering more than 20,000 waterbirds.
Natural wonders · Manche
Rocher de Castel-Vandon
The Castel Vendon is a rocky promontory overlooking the sea near the hamlet of Gruchy, in the commune of Gréville-Hague, in the Manche.
Natural wonders · Manche
Le Banc des Hermelles
The Banc lies opposite the Sainte-Anne chapel (commune of Saint-Broladre), 6 km from the shore. It is a remarkable sand reef built by small marine building worms: the hermelles (Sabellaria alveolata).
Museums · Manche
Musée du Débarquement Utah Beach
The Utah Beach museum is set on the very site of the American naval landing of 6 June 1944. With archive documents, models and a film, the story of D-Day is retraced in a unique way.
Museums · Manche
Planétarium ludiver
"Ludiver" is an astronomy discovery site open to all audiences; it includes a planetarium where live sky shows take place.
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