Attractions

Normandy hosts many fine towns and villages, the nearest is Carteret where you can visit local restaurants and buy all of your basic goods from a selection of shops and convenience stores.  For your weekly shopping “Champion” and “Le Mutant” are easily accessible supermarkets in Barneville and there is laundrette just adjacent to the town square.  There are also a variety of cafes in Carteret; along the quay you can enjoy coffee or something a bit stronger if the mood takes you.  One of our favorite haunts is the Bar du Port where the owner, Stefan, is very helpful and friendly.

Local Activities

   Tennis and Basketball courts

   Cliff top walks and breathtaking views

   Explore the rock-pools and secluded caves

   Miles of sandy beaches

   Cycling, Horse riding, Fishing.

   Lighthouse and “Cap”

   Golf courses

   Stunning sunsets

On the west side of the Cotentin peninsula of Normandy, the coast at Barneville-Carteret is warmed by the Gulf Stream and protected by the Channel Islands creating a microclimate and has therefore been favoured as a holiday area for around 200 years. With a wealth of attractions, including good restaurants (especially for fish and shellfish lovers with oysters, mussels, shrimps, prawns, scallops and lobster), glorious sandy beaches (at Barnville and Carteret, Port-bail to name but a few), peaceful lanes, pretty market towns and fascinating chateaux and churches are to be found in abundance. Excellent sporting facilities include swimming, horse riding, dinghy sailing, canoeing, mountain bike riding and golf.

There are colourful open-air street markets in Barneville on Saturday mornings, in Bricquebec on Monday mornings, in Valognes on Friday and in Les Pieux on Friday mornings (at all of which there are a wide range of cheeses, fresh vegetables, locally produced goods etc).

The Cotentin peninsula and the neighbouring Calvados area provide plenty of major attractions. France produces some four hundred cheeses and farm tours are available where Camembert, Livarot and Pont l' Eveque are made by traditional methods in the Normandy area. The region's apple orchards provide the local drinks of cider and Calvados (the fiery apple brandy of Normandy).

For children there are two easily accessible zoos; one is towards St Vaast on the east coast of the peninisular and the second is near Bayeaux; at Caen there is a childrens theme park called Festyland.

Places of Interest

      D-Day landing beaches, St Mere Eglise, Carentan and their Museums

      Mont St Michel  one of the France’s most famous landmarks

      Coutance cathedral over one thousand years old

      Cherbourg “Cite de la mer” submarine “Redoubtable”

      St Malo the walled city

      Le Maison de Biscuits where they make a delicious variety of biscuits

       St Mere Eglise                                              St Malo                                         Le Mont St Michel

Nearby towns include:-

Bricquebec - said to boast the largest square in Normandy overlooked by the impressive 14th Century castle Du Donjon and nearby Trappist monastery.

St Sauveur-le-Vicomte - a most attractive town with a castle and Benedictine abbey. For the more energetic there is white canoeing on the River Douve. On the outskirts there is a forest, ideal for walks and picnics.

Valognes - the former aristocratic capital of the Cotentin. The town is known as "petite Versailles" because of its beautiful 18th century buildings. Here there is a museum dedicated to cider and Calvados.

Cherbourg - is well worth a visit. See the old centre of the town with its magnificent buildings and winding 'secret' passageways evoking the past together with the modern shopping centre and miles of lanes filled with bars, restaurants and shops. Call in to the Tourist Office on the town quayside opposite the swing bridge (Pont Tournant) to find full details of the many museums (Fine Art, Maritime, War & Liberation and Natural History) and tourist attractions. The famous La Cité de La Mer houses the first French nuclear submarine "La Redoubtable" and is open to visitors - over 10 years old.

The D-Day beaches - UTAH, OMAHA, GOLD, JUNO &, SWORD BEACH, and other surrounding villages, which were all pivotal to operations during the Second World War, is a worthwhile experience and provides one of the richest sources of modern history.

Pointe de Hoc - offers you the opportunity to stand inside the craters created by the bombings on this area of coast. 

Further a field (but still only a day trip) are :-

The historic medieval city of Bayeux with buildings dating from the 15th century, Musée Mémorial 1944 depicting the Battle of Normandy, the Musée Mémorial du Général de Gaulle, the British War Cemetery, the Cathedral of Notre Dame and, of course, the world-famous tapestry at the Centre Guillaume le Conquérant (William the Conqueror Centre).

The town of Caen is famous for the Ducal Castle, home of William the Conqueror, before he drove Harold out of England by his victory at Hastings in 1066 the Abbaye aux Hommes monastery built by William and the Abbaye aux Dames founded by his mistress Matilda. Also good shops are to be found!

The charming fishing port of Honfleur with the 17th century salt warehouses (which supplied the cod fishing industry) now used to display modern day art exhibitions. Impressionist artists including Picasso, Monet, Renoir and Cézanne painted many scenes within the harbour and surrounding streets.

A visit to the magical Mont St Michel with the Abbey at the very top founded by Richard I during the early 10th century can be concluded well after midnight during the summer months by enjoying the Son et lumières having climbed the steps to the highest point on the rock.

The walled maritime town of St Malo and the nearby seaside resort of Dinard are within easy reach by car as is sunny Sable d’or les pins in Brittany.

The island of Jersey is only fifteen minutes away by regular passenger ferry service, leaving the quay at Carteret.

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