Manche Cottages

Holiday Cottages in Manche

Often overlooked by those heading further south, Manche is an unspoilt little treasure looking across the English Channel in the west of Normandy.  Stretching from the port of Cherbourg in the north down to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Mont-Saint Michel in the South, Manche has a beautiful 222 miles of granite coast line, together with national parks, castles, rich farm land, vibrant market towns and villages to explore and enjoy.  You’ll find a huge diversity of wildlife and natural beauty in a patchwork quilt of woodland, marsh, moor and lush rolling scenery and you’re never far from sandy bays and cliff walks.  A Manche country cottage is a super way to enjoy this very special part of France.

Top towns include the well known port of Cherbourg, with its vast harbour, historic Barfleur and Granville, ‘the Monaco of the North’ and beaches looking out towards the Channel Islands.  There is the stunning Parc Naturel des Marais, some 140,000 hectares of marshland crisscrossed by glittering rivers – great for spotting birds like white storks and bitterns.  Also inland, the rich and fertile Bocage area – Manche’s culinary heartland that produces no less than 32 cheeses including creamy Camembert.

Things to do in Manche

Superb for walking, cycling and horse riding, all great ways to explore this lovely part of northern France.  For bird watching, wildlife and natural beauty head for the Parc Naturel des Marais, an area of immense diversity and beauty that has inspired many artists including Boudin and a young Claude Monet.  Beautiful Barfleur has a rich heritage and its 71 metre high lighthouse gives great views out over the Cotentin Peninsular, plus you can hop aboard a boat trip to the Channel Islands for the day.

The possibly ambitiously named ‘Monaco of the North’, Granville, perched on its rocky outcrop was childhood home to couturier Christian Dior.  Today, Dior’s pink cliff top Villa les Rhumbs is now a museum and well worth a visit.  Manche is a mix of wild seascape and sandy coves and seemingly endless sands; for top beaches head for Côte-des-Havres and the seaside resort of Agon-Coutainville for great watersports.  A visit to stunning Mont-Saint-Michel, described as ‘one of the historical wonders of the western world’, is a ‘must-see’ and kids will love Cité de Mer for underwater adventure in Cherbourg.