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A sorrowful centennial
A sad anniversary to be commemorated in 2012 is the most famous maritime disaster in history: the first and last voyage, 100 years ago, of the Titanic, the White Star ocean liner which “God Himself couldn’t sink”. Built in Belfast and launched from Southampton, Titanic made her only continental stopover in France at Cherbourg late in the afternoon on the 10th of April 1912. Two hundred and eighty-one souls took passage, along with nearly 40 tonnes of meat, 10,000 bottles of wine, and countless other provisions.
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Museum in Memoriam
The coast of Normandy in northern France will forever be intimately linked with the invasion, on 6 June 1944, of the Allied forces of liberation, and Utah Beach was one of the principal landing areas, the westernmost and closest to the essential target of Cherbourg harbour. To commemorate this historic day, the Utah Beach Museum was created in 1962 by Michel de Vallavieille, Mayor of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, on the site of “La Madeleine” beach within the extraordinary natural setting of the Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin.
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Stroll to the mount
The Mont Saint-Michel project, inaugurated in 2003, is designed to restore this glorious edifice, one of the most iconic images of France, to its original maritime setting. The initial phase, involving the construction of a dam across the Couesnon River to aid in reducing sedimentation around the island, is complete, and there are informative tours of the dam. The lightweight footbridge joining the Mont to the mainland is still under construction; it is scheduled for completion in 2014. Until then the old causeway will be preserved, allowing visitors to travel on foot, or on a horse-driven shuttle...
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Five new restaurants in Normandy
L’Ermitage, just down the road from the Unesco World Heritage site Mont St-Michel, combines a luxury hotel and a fine restaurant in a 19th century coach inn, carefully renovated this year. Chef Guillaume Leroux, previously at various Michelin-starred restaurants such as l’Arpège and Chez Camdeborde in Paris, has put together a subtle and innovative cuisine, with all ingredients seasonal and sourced from within 100km. Try especially the Salade de Homard (lobster salad). There is a fine collection of single malt whiskeys assembled by noted expert John Glaser of Compass Box...
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A short drive (or long iron) from your ferry
A novel take on one of the world’s favourite pastimes can be found just outside the centre of Caen, and within minutes of the French Channel port of Ouistreham. Compact Golf Louvigny is more than just a pitch’n’putt range. Although only six holes long, and one round playable in not much over an hour or so, the course, designed by Stuart Hallett, offers technical challenges for advanced golfers, while the shorter distances go easy on us duffers. The greens are eco-friendly: made of synthetic turf, they play just like the real thing, and all year ‘round.
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