Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Vallée de la Vire
As it winds
towards the sea, the
River Vire cuts deeply
through granite schists
to form a ribbon of
water amid glorious
countryside. Towpaths
border most of the
river between Vire and
St-Lô, so you can
picnic, cycle, walk or
horse-ride alongside.
Condé-sur-Vire is the place for
canoeing, while at Roches de
Ham, the granite terrain leaps up
to form a towering 80 m (260 ft)
rock face above the river. Here
are magnificent views of the
verdant valley - and a welcome
little crêperie and cider bar in
summer. Nearby, La Chapelle-
sur-Vire makes a perfect picnic
spot. The grandiose chapel that
dominates the village has been a
place of pilgrimage since the
12th century. At Torigni-sur-Vire,
the Château de Matignon houses
a fine collection of tapestries.
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Map C4
•
Tourist office: pl Général-de-
Gaulle, St-Lô. 02 33 77 60 35
Vallée de la Vire
Coutances
One somehow doesn't
expect to find a great cathedral
in this isolated corner of France,
but here it is: a soaring stone
rocket crowning the hill around
which the town is gathered. In
the 13th century, with the aid of
the de Hauteville family, who had
prospered in Sicily and southern
Italy, a new Norman Gothic
building was surmounted on the
remains of the previous, fire-
damaged Romanesque one. Its
remarkable octagonal lantern
above the altar rises to 41 m
(135 ft), and its many towers,
spires and pointed arches sweep
the eye skyward. In town, the
flower-filled Jardin des Plantes
makes a perfect setting for some
of the concerts that take place in
Coutances during the annual
Jazz sous les Pommiers festival
in May
(see p72)
.
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Map B4
•
Tourist
office: pl Georges Leclerc. 02 33 19 08 10
Abbaye de Hambye
Tucked beneath a wooded
escarpment by the River Sienne,
Hambye's roofless remains have
an immediately calming effect on
visitors. The monastic buildings
have been restored, and host
exhibitions and concerts.
d
Map
B4
•
Open Apr-Oct: 10am-noon, 2-6pm,
Wed-Mon
•
Adm charge
Le Bocage
A rolling landscape of mixed
woodland and meadow, bordered
by banks topped with high, thick
hedgerows, bisected by narrow,
sunken lanes - this is the
bocage
that covers much of Normandy,
particularly around St-Lô and Vire.
Pastoral in peacetime, it proved a
nightmare for the Allies in 1944,
making progress against the
enemy near impossible.
Granville
At first sight, Granville seems
an unlikely setting for one of
Normandy's most popular seaside
resorts
(see p61)
, but it has two
distinct faces. Ramparts enclose
the upper town, which sits on a
rocky spur overlooking the Baie
du Mont-St-Michel. The walled
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