The local guide
Here is what we recommend to our guests around Saint-Rémy-des-Landes: the beach is a few minutes away, and the whole western Cotentin can be explored from the house. Every entry links to its official site.
By Jeanne and Bernard, your hosts Updated on 9 August 2026 4 min read
The beach at Saint-Rémy-des-Landes is 2.5 km away, facing Jersey. Around the house: Portbail and its tidal harbour, Barneville-Carteret and its dunes, Lessay Abbey, Sainte-Mère-Église and La Cité de la Mer. On the plate: mussels, oysters, salt-marsh lamb and PDO Cotentin cider.
From the Portbail harbour to the D-Day beaches: six outings worth the trip, from the closest to the furthest.
The neighbouring village, on the edge of a harbour that empties and fills with the tide. The long bridge crosses it towards the old church of Notre-Dame and the port; at low tide the boats lie down on the sand.
Our tip: The closest place for a stroll: market, shops and harbour a few minutes from the house.
The seaside resort of the Côte des Isles: a harbour, seaside villas, beaches, and the Carteret headland crowned by its lighthouse. The old customs officers’ path offers the finest views on this coast, all the way to Vieille Église beach.
Our tip: Walk up to the lighthouse late in the day: the light on the headland and over Jersey is superb.
A dune system of nearly 500 hectares protected by the Conservatoire du littoral, with perched dunes rising 80 metres above an immense beach. Along the path, the ruins of Saint-Germain-le-Scot church watch over the bay.
Our tip: The waymarked headland loop (GR 223, white and red markings) avoids long stretches of soft sand.
The Romanesque abbey church of Lessay, whose ribbed vaults are among the oldest of their kind, is open to visitors through the summer. And on the second weekend of September the heath hosts the Sainte-Croix fair, born in the 11th century: more than 1,500 exhibitors, from 11 to 13 September in 2026.
Our tip: A fine outing even in the rain; the September fair alone is worth the detour.
Lessay on encotentin.fr ↗ The Sainte-Croix fair on lessay.fr ↗
The paratrooper of the night of 6 June 1944 still hangs from the church tower of Sainte-Mère-Église. The Airborne Museum tells the story of the American drops, and Utah Beach, some twenty kilometres away, completes a proper D-Day day out.
Our tip: The ideal day of remembrance: the museum in the morning, Utah Beach in the afternoon.
Inside the former transatlantic ferry terminal, a great museum of the sea: the submarine Le Redoutable to walk through from end to end, deep aquariums, and the Titanic exhibition, Cherbourg having been the liner’s last continental call.
Our tip: The best rainy-day plan: allow a full half-day.
The sea is the great playground here: on foot, on horseback, by sand yacht or by catamaran.
The beach at Saint-Rémy-des-Landes looks straight across to Jersey: immense at low tide, rarely crowded, perfect for sandcastles and kites. Carteret and Siouville-Hague complete the collection, each with its own character.
Our tip: Guests put it about 2.5 km from the house: the perfect after-dinner outing.
The wide flat beaches of the west coast are a dream playground for sand yachting and kitesurfing. The Barneville-Carteret sailing club runs lessons, courses and hire, and there is a wind sports school at Portbail.
Our tip: Book early in summer: sand yachting slots go quickly.
From Carteret harbour, the Manche Îles Express catamaran reaches Jersey in about an hour: the shortest crossing from France. A day in Britain a stone’s throw from the house, from April to October depending on the tides.
Our tip: Sailings follow the tide, and you will need ID: check everything on their site before booking.
Between Carteret and Portbail, a genuine little train of the old days runs 9 kilometres along the coast, kept going by a group of enthusiasts. Children love it, and so do the grown-ups.
Our tip: It runs in season: check days and times on their site before setting off.
A coastal and hedgerow larder, to bring home in the basket or to enjoy on the spot.
Cotentin cider carries a protected designation of origin: pure juice, unpasteurised, from local apple varieties, made by a handful of cider houses. Dry for preference, with a seafood platter or a wedge of camembert.
Our tip: Bring a bottle back from the market: the holiday souvenir you can drink.
The mussel pot in the kitchen is no accident: the west coast lives off the sea, mussels and oysters first among them, while the salt meadows of the Manche give salt-marsh lamb. Markets, fishmongers and local farms do the rest.
Our tip: And in the morning, taste what comes from the house itself: milk from the morning milking, homemade yoghurts and the hens’ eggs.
Distances as the crow flies from the house, rounded: allow a little more by road. Official links checked on 9 August 2026. The beaches in pictures.
The one at Saint-Rémy-des-Landes, facing Jersey. The listing puts it 10 minutes away, and guests who have walked it speak of about 2.5 km: perfect for an after-dinner outing.
At the house: feed the hens and rabbits, collect the eggs, play in the enclosed courtyard. Nearby: the beaches, the Cotentin heritage railway, and both Portbail and Barneville-Carteret hold the Famille Plus family label. For a day out: La Cité de la Mer and its submarine.
La Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg, the Airborne Museum at Sainte-Mère-Église and Lessay Abbey are three fine plans under cover. And the house has fibre internet, board games, books and DVDs.
Yes: from Carteret harbour, about 20 minutes from the house, Manche Îles Express reaches Jersey in roughly an hour at sea, from April to October. Sailing times depend on the tides, and the documents required are set out on their site.
“Everything you need is less than a 10-minute drive away”, wrote a guest in November 2021. Portbail is the nearest town; market days are listed on the Cotentin tourist board site.
Photographs of the beaches, the breakfast and the mussel pot: the hosts. The other photographs come from Wikimedia Commons, cropped for this guide, and remain under their licence:
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