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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).

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

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

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

Cruise on a traditional ship (Les Vieux Gréements) under full sail, visit the fortifications in Cherbourg harbour, or take the Jolie France from Granville for a picnic day on Chausey’s Grand-Île.

Children enjoy the amphibious craft that takes them across to this tiny pleasure island with a fascinating history, just off St-Vaast-la-Hougue (see St-Vaast-la-Hougue and Île de Tatihou).

As a reminder of the ferocity of war, St-Lô’s Notre-Dame church has been left virtually untouched after its bombardment; the ramparts also remain, and you can see these sights while gliding by on a barge on the River Vire.

A farm for children: visit the animals; see an apple press in action; bake bread for a splendid traditional tea.

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.

A network of circular cycle paths, each about 20 km (12 miles), has been developed all over rural Manche especially for family bike rides.