Things to see and do Guernesey

After 18 months of extensive renovations, Hauteville House reopened in April 2019. To get your bearings, a French flag marks the large white house located on the heights of the city. The Paris City Council is responsible for the conservation of the site, attached to the mansion on the Place des Vosges in Paris.

After his departure from Paris following the coup d'état of Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (future Napoleon III), the writer chose to go to the islands to remain close to France. After a stay in Jersey, he was forced to leave the island. His presence was indeed considered undesirable after he had defended a journalist who had strongly criticized the visit of Queen Victoria to Napoleon III. When he arrived in Guernsey, he bought this house in 1856 and stayed there until 1870. It was here that Victor Hugo wrote Les Travailleurs de la mer, dedicated to the inhabitants of Guernsey, La Légende des siècles and L'Homme qui rit. He also completed Les Misérables here. The decoration of the house is the work of the writer. It is based on contrast and organized abundance. Fascinated by second-hand goods and driven by an overflowing imagination, he decorated Hauteville House with Delft earthenware, chinoiseries, antique chests, mirrors, tapestries, oriental embroideries..

The first floor - the vestibule. It is very dark and the atmosphere is heavy. The hallway is divided into two parts and has many carved oak panels. Some of the scenes depicted are taken from his novel Notre-Dame de Paris.

The billiard room. At the time of the departure of his sons, Charles and François-Victor, he used it as a storeroom. On the walls hang copies of family paintings, the originals of which are in Paris, as well as drawings by the poet.

The tapestry room. Walls and ceilings are decorated with tapestries from Gobelins and Aubusson. A huge sideboard is fixed on the fireplace in Delft earthenware with blue and white decoration. The adjoining smoking room is decorated in the same way. The decoration is conceived from elements found by the poet, who designed the projects and entrusted the realization to the cabinetmaker Mauger.

The dining room. A large fireplace covered with earthenware bears the initials of Victor Hugo and HH. Between the two windows is the ancestor's chair, intended for the spirits. It bears the Latin inscription Absentus Advent (the absent are present).

Second floor. The red salon faces the blue salon. Victor Hugo liked to believe that every object in this room had belonged to royal personages, although there is no proof of this. In a play of contrasts and a theatrical atmosphere, the two monumental fireplaces face each other. A winter garden overlooking the blue salon allowed Hugo to observe the French coast when the weather was clear.

Second floor. The oak gallery. The chandeliers and woodwork were designed by Hugo. In the center of the room stands the fire tree. Hugo stored his manuscripts and papers here. The room is called "Garibaldi's room". Victor Hugo had invited his Italian colleague to join him, but he never came.

Third floor. Victor Hugo had installed his apartments in the attic. The look-out, from which he dominated the city, served as his study. The decoration is much more sober and on a human scale.

The garden is finally very pleasant, with its fountain and its camellias in particular.

This is a beautiful park with spectacular views over Saint-Peter-Port and the nearby islands of Herm, Sark and Jethou. In season, the gardens are abundantly flowered with camellias and mimosas. A statue depicts Victor Hugo with his hair and coat blowing in the wind. On the base of the statue, the islanders have reproduced the dedication of his book Les Travailleurs de la mer: "To the rock of hospitality and freedom, to this corner of old Norman land where the noble little people of the sea live, to the severe and gentle island of Guernsey. "

The dolmen of Déhus is a dolmen with a gallery under a tumulus of 10 m length and 4 m width, dating from 2000 BC. It was discovered in 1930. The corridor leads to six small chambers and a larger "bottle-shaped" room, typical of many megalithic monuments in the region. A drawing is engraved in the stone, inside, and seems to represent a bearded man armed with a bow and arrows. Of more recent construction (1000 B.C.), it would seem to have been the magical guardian of the tumulus. A good excuse for a nice walk.

The Pleinmont Observation Tower is a five-story observation tower built by the German Army during World War II and used between 1942 and 1945. The tower was intended to defend the south and west coasts as part of the Atlantic Wall defense system and is still equipped with working rangefinders. You can also visit the barracks on the days the site is open.

This chapel, tiny as its name suggests, was built between 1914 and 1923. Its builder, Brother Déodat, wanted to build a replica of the Lourdes basilica. He was a member of the Brothers of St. John Baptist de la Salle congregation, a great founder of schools and of an order known in France as the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Déodat also created several schools in the large building above the chapel, thanks to donations from Catholic communities in Europe and even America, who supported the work. The chapel, however, took him 3 tries. The first chapel, deemed ugly, was demolished. The second couldn't even accommodate the bishop and his retinue who came to consecrate it. The third is just as small (5 m x 3 m, 2.75 m high) and just as unattractive, though well worth the detour and highly original, with its interior and exterior lining of shells, pebbles and locally-colored porcelain.

It has its own crypt and a grotto of the Notre-Dame de Lourdes type. It has never been consecrated, except perhaps to the British Crown, judging by the portraits of Queen Victoria, Edward VII and George V on the walls.

Today, a foundation has been set up to maintain the edifice, after having completely restored it. This highly photogenic tourist site makes a pleasant detour during your visit to the island. Remember to leave a small donation to help conserve the chapel.

Built during the Second World War to serve as a hospital for German soldiers wounded during the war in France and then during the Allied landings in Normandy, it is also a maze of tunnels dug by prisoners to protect the fuel tanks of German submarines from bombs. In three years, 2 km of galleries were dug by prisoners deported from Eastern Europe, who had to extract 60,000 tons of rock.

The fortifications of this castle are almost eight centuries old. When King John Lackland lost Normandy to France in 1204, Guernsey chose to remain loyal to the English king. The island was immediately threatened by the French and the islanders decided to build Castle Cornet to protect themselves. Construction began in 1206 and lasted nearly twenty years. During the Hundred Years' War, the French and the English fought bitterly over it and it passed from hand to hand several times, after fierce battles.

As military techniques progressed, the castle was constantly reinforced and modified. During the civil war that tore England apart, the governor of Guernsey, Peter Osborne, withdrew there and challenged the rest of the island who had sided with Cromwell. The castle had to endure a siege of nearly nine years, during which it received the invaluable support of Jersey, which remained loyal to its sovereign. More than 100,000 cannonballs were fired against the castle.

At the time of the restoration of royalty, it was the prison of Sir John Lambert, Cromwell's former general, who was feared to be taking over the succession. But Lambert had become peaceful again, and he spent his captivity lovingly landscaping the castle gardens, which can be visited today. In 1672, a dramatic accident occurred. During a violent storm, lightning fell on the ammunition depot, which exploded. The blast caused the keep to collapse, taking with it the dwelling where Lady Hatton, the governor's wife, was staying.

During the Napoleonic era, for fear of another French attack, Castle Cornet was modernized and armed with formidable cannons, which were never used. When hostilities between the English and French ended, the castle was used as an arsenal, prison and barracks. Its military function was abandoned until 1940, when the Germans invaded the island. The Germans concreted some parts of the castle in order to integrate it into their defense system, the Atlantic Wall.

The gardens are maintained with a very English care. The many rooms of the fortress present a wide variety of exhibits, 4 small museums are housed there: the Royal Guernsey Militia Museum, 201 Squadron RAF, the Royal Guernsey Light Infantry Museum (former armory of the castle presenting a collection of weapons from the Middle Ages to the present) and a painting gallery, The Story of Castle Cornet Museum.

This Market Place, or French Halles, or Commercial Arcane (depending on the period), dates back to 1780. As the population grew, they soon became too small. They had to be enlarged, and the architect John Wilson was commissioned to build a new market with three halls: a fish market (1877), a vegetable market (1879) and a meat market (1822). From these halls, you can reach High Street, a pedestrian street, which, along with Le Pollet, is one of the main shopping streets of the island.

Located in the tower of a fortress, this Martello tower dates back to 1804, now painted white, has long served as a landmark to sailors approaching the coast of Guernsey. Today, the tower houses a museum that evokes the shipwrecks and great maritime tragedies that took place in the island's waters. One can observe maps, various objects recovered from the wrecks, photographs, explanatory panels and even a video film. Interesting.

Granite menhir, 1.60 m high, dated to about 4000 B.C. Like the menhir of Castel Church, it would have been retouched in the Bronze Age (700 B.C.), to take on a more feminine appearance evoking, according to archaeologists, the grandmother or the goddess of fertility. According to Christian custom, this place was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. However, in the minds of the islanders, she remained the grandmother. The newlyweds bring her bouquets and coins to attract her favor.

The former armory of Castel Cornet exhibits a fine collection of weapons covering a period from the Middle Ages to the present day, from blunderbusses to automatic rifles. It has thus become a museum of the armies which also allows a better understanding of the role of the Channel Islands and especially of Guernsey during the First World War. After joining the British forces, the island's soldiers participated in the effort under the Guernsey banner.

The tourist office is located in front of the port in a massive gray granite building built in 1911. We strongly advise you to visit it as the information given is numerous and the staff very helpful. Innumerable brochures of tourist and practical information of the islands of the Bailiff are at your disposal or proposed on request. Cyclists, hikers, culture lovers, do not hesitate to ask for practical information, it seems that there are answers to everything here! Warm welcome.

The company's coaches offer to take you to the island's main attractions - including The Little Chapel, Pleinmont and Rousse Tower - on a popular half-day tour (approx. 3.5 hours) that will allow you to get to know the whole island of Guernsey. Depending on the time of year, other options include full-day tours or cruises to the island of Herm. Please note that tours can be customized. Please inquire.

This is a beautiful fortress(Stutzpunkt Rotenstein by its German name) dating from the time of the German occupation (and renovated since) which was supposed to guard the north of Vazon Bay as part of the Atlantic Wall. To the north, you will see the Martello Tower built in 1804. It is still possible to see remains of the original red granite fort. An interesting visit to imagine the living conditions of the Germans in a bunker.

In the heart of the beautiful park of Saumarez, this small ethnographic museum of the peasantry has been installed in a 19th century granite building. Several old interiors have been reconstructed, with mannequins in situation: a Victorian kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a child's room, a dairy and a laundry room. You will see an 1896 waxing machine and a 1905 vacuum cleaner, old tools and traditional costumes. A playful visit.

Please don't confuse it with Sausmarez Manor! They are not at all located in the same parish. This is Saumarez Park. It boasts numerous trees, a Japanese garden, a bamboo alley and a rose garden. Every summer, the park hosts the Battle of the Flowers, the Viaër Marchi (old market) festival and the donkey derby. Children can play on large lawns and watch the ducks in the middle of a pond. There's also a playground and a café. It's a wonderful place to relax.

There does not remain about it today more large-thing, but this fortress has a long history. Only the thick walls today are recognized. Its initial interest was to sit enthroned in the center of an island placed strategically well. This island is not today any more, water were driven out. The hill of the island was seems it occupied since the iron age with a fort going back to 600 av. J. - C. the medieval fort goes back him to 1400. Hutments were added to the 18th century (for the wars vis-a-vis the French) before being destroyed by the Germans in 1945.

Both a fortress and a three-story watchtower (which offers a superb view of the coastline from its top), the imposing Rousse Tower was built in the 19th century to defend the island of Guernsey from a possible French invasion and has since been fully restored and is equipped with replicas of five cannons. Even if today it is closed to the public for rehabilitation, one can take advantage of a walk in this beautiful corner of the island to have a look at it from the outside. Before you can enjoy it again.

Located at the place called L'Ancresse, this dolmen is a place of worship of 12 meters in length which also dates from the Middle Neolithic period (around 4500 years B.C.). Discovered in 1977, the tumulus, delimited by granite blocks and dry stone walls, has been partly reconstructed. During the excavations, more than 35,000 remains were found on the site, such as flints, ornaments, tools and numerous pieces of pottery. Some of these remains are on display at the Guernsey Museum in St. Peter Port.

North of the Fouaillages, at the top of a small hill overlooking Pembroke Bay, the dolmen of La Varde is a remarkable megalithic structure. It is a covered walkway dating from the Neolithic era, 11 meters long and one of the most impressive on the island. It was discovered in 1811 and dates back to 2500 BC. During the excavations, human bones, flints, stone tools and numerous pieces of pottery were also discovered. A site that we strongly advise to discover during a walk.