DK Travel : Normandy : Northwestern Normandy : Places of interest

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La Cité de la Mer, Cherbourg

Man’s conquest of the deep is the theme of Cherbourg’s former Gare Maritime Transatlantique, an Art Deco jewel. Experience what it’s like to descend to the bottom of the ocean and live aboard a nuclear submarine (no children under six).
La Hague Peninsula

Calm and lovely on a sunny spring day, rugged and wind-swept during a winter storm, this furthest prong of Cotentin is stunningly beautiful. Its stone villages, majestic cliffs, jagged rocks and hidden coves are more reminiscent of Brittany than Normandy, and the presence of a vast nuclear power station slap in the middle does not detract – at least too much – from the glorious coastline (see Nez de Jobourg).
Lessay

The compact and comforting lines of Lessay’s abbey church, St-Trinité, make it one of the most beautiful Romanesque buildings in Normandy. Dating from 1098, it was almost destroyed in 1944, but has been magnificently reconstructed using original materials. The interior is plain and lovely, with fine stained glass adding warmth. Sleepy Lessay’s big moment comes in the second week of September, when thousands converge for the convivial three-day Foire de Ste-Croix (see Foire de Sainte-Croix, Lessay).
L’Attelage des Grandes Marées, Gouville-sur-Mer

In remembrance of the olden days, here you can visit an oyster park at low tide by horse-drawn carriage.
Manoir de Dur-Ecu

This lovely ancestral manor house hides a delightful surprise for children: a maize maze, designed by English maze-maker Adrian Fisher.
Mini-trains

Two mini-trains operate in the region: one along the coast from Carteret to Portbail, the other through marshland from St-Lô to Periers.
Musée Christian Dior

Mothers and daughters in particular will be drawn to the exhibition of designs by Dior and other top couturiers in Dior’s childhood house, set in a lovely clifftop garden.
Nez de Jobourg

The desolate Baie d’Ecalgrain sweeps round to this impressive promontory. From here, the road to Vauville is dominated by the huge Usine Atomique de la Hague nuclear power station.
Omonville-la-Petite

The pretty churchyard here contains the natural, uncarved headstone of poet Jacques Prévert, as well as those of his wife and daughter. Nearby is his house, open to the public in summer.
Parc Régional des Marais du Cotentin

The band of low-lying marshes and water meadows stretching across the base of the Cotentin Peninsula has been formed into a fascinating regional park with a rich birdlife, as well as houses made of clay and straw. Carentan is the gateway town, with a reception centre at Les Ponts d’Ouve (on the D913 between Carentan and St-Côme-du-Mont), in the centre of a watery landscape. An exhibition and video introduce the park to visitors, who explore on foot or by boat.