Wednesday July 13: Weather maps for broadcasters are final. At the weekend of July 14, only one station in France still recorded temperatures below 25 degrees, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. The media reports on the heat. France is suffocating. The Internet is ablaze and, above all, panicked, realizing that the city of umbrellas on the Normandy peninsula has become the last “city of refuge” in France.
Cherbourgeois, they enjoy their freshness (relatives anyway) and hesitate to socialize; warn the “horses” (foreigners) of the preserved pleasures of their habitat, at the risk of drowning, one day? , under mass tourism? Maybe yes, maybe not… The reasons to chill in the port city of Cherbourg and its peninsula, with its original landscapes at the ends of the world, between long deserted beaches, wild waves and granite cliffs, are many. So to say or not to say? Le Figaro breaks omerta yes…
Cherbourg city center
Why hire a tour guide when all you have to do is simply stroll instinctively, without any specific purpose of pleasure, in the heart of this historic city, whose foundations predate the Romans? Here, at the bend of the alley, on the small medieval cobbled street, the sea breeze is never far away to caress the passerby. Neither does the rain. The color of some of the facades, here purple, there green, recalls the tradition of fishermen who painted their houses with leftover paint from the hulls of boats. Which is not without giving a little Scandinavian air to the city that also knew the Vikings.
Otherwise, the blue of the stones of his old houses is simply unimaginable in its purity. The thousand-year-old Basilica of the Trinity, a delicate blend of Romanesque and Gothic, faces Napoleon Beach to commemorate the city’s “Marian” past (which the English left on August 15, Ascension Day, during the Hundred Years’ War). And what about its recently renovated Italianate theater, a holdover from a very Louis-Napoleonic past, guarded by a castle on Mount Roule dominating the Cherbourg basin?
- Our advice
A good seafood platter in the old port at Le Café de Paris, 40 quai de Caligny. Menu from €26.50. Such. 02 33 43 12 36.
Ports
Five ports, five atmospheres. Between its commercial basin and its colorful trawlers, the Art Deco transatlantic dock that once hosted the Titanic, the new naval station with its Irish or English tourists, the harbor (berth 1,700) with its weekly regattas and its yacht. A clubhouse, or even an old dock for small-scale fishing… It’s nice not to get bleak while getting lost in the sometimes wet docks of Cherbourg. Iodine, authenticity, herring gulls are guaranteed.
- Our advice
A sea voyage to discover the port of Cherbourg, the world’s largest man-made port. A one-hour excursion on board the Adele. Departure from the swinging bridge. allow €14.60 per adult and €10 per child. Such. 06 61 14 03 32:
The Hague
Its cliffs and fine sandy beaches on the west coast, known as the Islands; Chausey, Jersey, Guernsey, are only a few miles away. In other words, visible in good weather. Otherwise, I’m sorry, but it’s impossible to describe the cheeky and capricious beauty of the Hague chickens. They change colors five to ten times a day. Between the yellow more and the purple broom. Between sheep and cows, hidden behind small stone walls covered with mushrooms. Sometimes it got lost in the rain that made the Baskervilles’ hunt look pale. Sometimes drinks in the uncertain sea of the English Channel in front of the sunset. Some mention Ireland. Others Scotland. This is our Hague. Sublime beauty to cry. Here the elements are still at home.
- Our advice
Overnight at Hotel L’Erguillière, which overlooks the sea and overlooks France’s smallest port, Port Racine in Saint-Germain-des-Veuilles. Rooms from 90 to 160 euros. Such. 02 33 52 75 31:
Bocage, prison and old manor
Bushy hedgerows, dying elms, century-old oaks. Orchards. Apple trees. Castles, often ruined, sometimes renovated. Fortified bluestone farmhouses and old dovecotes. winding roads and big tractors. The Cotentin countryside remains authentic. Almost a miracle! Grassy greenery (even in summer), grassy chirping at dawn. On market days, in small towns, we still eat grilled sausage on a tray with fries. Unrepeatable.
- Our advice
A small bowl at the Wallonia Regional Cider Museum. Rue du Petit Versailles. Such. 06 75 89 89 52.
Lighthouses, forts and legends
On the east coast – Val des Saires. In other words, Brick Cove, Barfleur, Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue or even Cap Lévi lighthouse. More elusive beauties. Unique. Norman nobility got lost on a ski there one stormy evening. It was in 1125. Here the tides have strong coefficients. Locals even claim that there is ” four seasons a day! “. Sailor sweaters and yellow oily skin should be placed in the same bag as bathing suits and sunscreen. Here we predict. Here’s how to tell a local guy from a Parisian. “, we say…
- Our advice
Cap Cotentin tourist bus lines allow you to visit the most beautiful places on the coast, but also the Cotentin suburbs, with complete peace of mind. Bus station, which is located in front of the SNCF station.
Practical notebook
GO
By train
Paris Gare Saint-Lazare – Cherbourg, several direct trains a day. Count 3:30.
By car
Paris-Cherbourg, 356 km. Count 3 h 50.
Additional information
Cotentin Tourist Office, 14 quai Alexandre III, 50100 Cherbourg. Such. 02 33 93 52 02
Source: Le Figaro
