Hotel Chimene

Monument

by darkjedi

If you walk from Cherbourg center to the ferry port you will pass this monument/statue. I have no idea what it represents but it was really impressive and such an unusual design and belongs to the manufacturing plant next door. It has rusted over the years since its placement and now looks so shabby compared to when it was new andy shiny.

le Redoubtable

by darkjedi

If you know anyone who is even slightly interested in submarines, you HAVE to get them here. This machine is the most compicated and amazing thing I have ever seen and its type makes so many movie apprearances it is a rare chance to see one up close, both inside and out. The boat resides in a drydock so its possible to stand right under her and just gaze up at the immensity. Personally I thought this is one of the most amazing things I have seen in France, never mind Cherbourg!

On 29 March 1967 General de Gaule launched at Cherbourg La Redoubtable, the first of a series of submarines saw service from 1971 to 1985.

135 men lived aboard the 128m long giant undersea craft equipped for missions of 70 days at a time.

Retired from service in 1991 she joined Cite de la Mar in Jily 2000.

Audioguides are available in many languages and take you through a 35 minute tour.

Abbey of Notre Dame de Voeu

by Pavlik_NL

Close to the (military) marine parts of the harbour of Cherbourg, one can visit the ruins of the old abbey of Notre Dame de Voeu. This ancient abbey found it's origin in the 12th century and didn't have a history of peace. Already in the early centuries of it's excistance, it was several times raided by the English. This was especially easy, as the abbey was situated outside the city walls of Cherbourg and couldn't be defended. Time and time again it had to be restored after being turned into a ruin. After the French revolution, the abbey was turned into military barracks and in the second world war the same happened by the Nazi troops. This resulted in a complete destruction of the abbey in the battle for Cherbourg, after which the ruins were left aside in the renovation of the town. Only in the recent decades one has decided to try and keep as much as possible intact. Even today the ruins radiate a former grandeur, with it's gothic windows as highlight.

Cherbourg

by ranger49

"A good stopping off place."

Haughtily dismissed in a couple of better known and widely used UK travel guides as "a place to get out of fast," Cherbourg is a city with a long and interesting history.

It is believed to have been built on the site of a Roman camp, of which no remains have been found.
The name Cherbourg first appears in 1026 when Duke Richard II donated the castle to his future wife - 40 years before the Battle of Hastings.

Development of the Port at Cherbourg only followed the establishment of an Anglo-Norman state in 1066 after William's victory at Hastings.

By the early 13th century the King of France, Philip-Auguste, took control of Normandy.
Franco-English relations deteriorated and in 1295 the English carried out the first of many raids on Cherbourg.

With the outbreak of the Hundred Years War in 1337 Cherbourg became a strategic city and was fought over for centuries.
In 1563 and again in 1574, the Protestants of Normandy, tried to capture Cherbourg but the town was successfully defended by Jacques de Matignon whose descendants went on to govern Cherbourg until the middle of the 18th century.

The harbour consisted of a natural lagoon where over forty ships could anchor but without protection from attack.In 1686, the ubiquitous Vauban had proposed defence works but these were not completed.

From 1739 to 1744, on the orders of Louis XV, the town was given a commercial port that, in 1758, was entirely destroyed when the British again captured Cherbourg.
It was restored in a long-term project begun in the 1770s and completed mid-19th century.
In 1940, the Germans occupied Cherbourg and developed the port as a base for U-boats - protected by massive concrete "pens".

Allied bombing then, and later during its recapture in 1944 by the Allies, in Objectif un Port, caused heavy damage. Bombed and shattered after 6 years of Occupation Cherbourg was liberated on June 26th 1944.

Attempts to rebuild its pre-war prestige as a TransAtlantic shipping port were set back by the development of air traffic. but the increase in car ferry travel between France and the UK has breathed new life into an ancient town.
Most visitors from the UK arrive and leave by ferry and do not linger to explore. The city has changed in the years since our first overnight stop in 1966 and the most recent earlier this month.

There is far more to see there than is possible in such a short visit. We''ll be back!

http://www.ville-cherbourg.fr/uk/

Alannah's Cherbourg Page

by thisisbanane

Having only really seen the hypermarket before, last week I decided that I would try to see a little more of Cherbourg. Unfortunately the pull of the shops was too great! No, I didnt sped too much time shopping really, *promise* ! lol...

Anyway, I ended up having a great day, spending my time sitting outisde little cafés and wandering around the streets in the sun. I had hoped to take the "little train" that shows the sights ( how childish am I ??) but sadly (!) it never turned up, so we walked along random roads and just went wherever they took us. I particularly liked the large church, of which I have a few photos, but I havent developed them yet.

As well as the hypermarket, there are other shops worth looking at. You can not walk down any road without seeing a tabac - mostly due to the number of English who travel across the buy cheap tobacco, but there are also lots of good clothes shops (Pimkie being a favourite!), Sephora of course and plently of quirky little places selling everything from umbrellas to African art.

When I process my pics, I'll write a little more - I need them to jog my memory!