Stay : In the footsteps of Victor Hugo..
In 1852, Victor Hugo fled to the Channel Islands, where he lived for the next seventeen years. Already one of the most recognized political and literary figures of his time, his opposition to Louis Bonaparte's coup d'état on December 2, 1851 forced him to flee. His exile inspired many of his major works, including Les Misérables and Les Travailleurs de la mer.
Summary of the stay
Best time to go
6 days
€€ - Charm and comfort
Detail of the stay : In the footsteps of Victor Hugo.. - 6 days
Day 1: Arrival in Guernsey
Steps: Saint-Peter-Port, Saint-Peter
Visit Saint-Peter-Port, the capital, which seduced Victor Hugo as soon as he arrived. Stroll through the town to see the Ship and Crown pub, formerly the Crown Hotel, where Juliette Drouet once stayed. Also the parish church of Saint-Peter-Port, the covered market and the old quarter between Mansell Street and La Trinité church. Don't hesitate to leave the busy streets and take the staircase, a reminder that the town was built on the slopes of a cliff. And also Castle Cornet, the statue of Victor Hugo in Candie Gardens, Victoria Tower, the prison, Ivy Gate, the Robais, Hugo's homes: Hauteville House, at 38 Hauteville Street, La Fallue (Juliette Drouet's house), not forgetting Havelet Bay and the Foulon cemetery.
Day 2: Tour of the island
Steps: Saint-Martin, Saint-Martin, Saint-Peter-Port
Take a tour of the island from Saint-Peter-Port, starting in the north, to discover the enchanting places that made Victor Hugo so happy. In Saint-Andrew, the Bailiff's Cross, in Saint-Sampson where the action of The Workers of the Sea takes place, and in the north, Houmet Paradis. In Vale, the castle; the dolmen of Déhus; l'Ancresse, the Red Tower between the bay of Grat and that of Grand Havre. In the south-east of the island are the Maison visionnée, the Gouffre, Moulin Huet Bay, the Grand-Mère of the cemetery in Saint-Martin, the Doyle column, Fermain Bay.
Day 3: Herm
Steps: Herm
Rendezvous in Herm for the day to discover the island that Victor Hugo contemplated from his room at Hauteville House.
Day 4: Sark
Steps: Sercq
Take the boat to Sark, "a kind of fairy castle, full of wonders". The island has inspired many poems in the Chansons des rues et des bois. To see: the Dixcart valley, the Autelets rocks, the Victor Hugo cave, Le Havre Gosselin, the Coupée which links LittleSark to Grand Sark.
Day 5: Alderney
Steps: Aurigny
Plane to Alderney. While flying along its coast in 1864, Victor Hugo described it as follows: "The rocks and cliffs are superb. We never talk about them. This is almost as good as Sark He depicts, in L'Homme qui rit, the Ortac Rock, the Casquets.
Day 6: Jersey
Steps: Saint-Helier
Ferry to Jersey, where the poet spent 3 years in exile. There, he wrote Les Contemplations. Visit Saint-Hélier : near the Howard Davis Park garden, head for the beach to find a large rock nicknamed Le Dicq, the "Rock of the Outcasts", where Hugo used to meet his exiled friends.
HOWARD DAVIS PARK
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