Manche

The département of the Manche takes its name from its shape, in the form of a sleeve (manche in French) stretching out into the eponymous sea (La Manche is also the French name for the English Channel). The département is primarily coastal, the hinterland consisting mainly of marshes and wooded pastures. Travelling from north to south, from Cherbourg to Avranches by way of Saint-Lô, take time to appreciate how much of its heritage the Manche has managed to preserve despite the massive destruction wreaked by the Second World War: churches, buildings, mediaeval gardens and, of course, the famous Mont-Saint-Michel, a World Heritage site absolutely not to be missed during your stay.

Julius Caesar invaded the land of the Unelles and Abrincates and developed urban settlements in 56 BC. Coutances and Avranches were thus founded.

La Manche was integrated into the duchy of Normandy in 933, and was finally made part of the French Kingdom in 1204. This particular area suffered a turbulent, dramatic history between the Middle Ages and the 18th century - the Hundred Years' War, the va-nu-pieds ("barefoots") revolution and the British landing in Cherbourg in 1758.

The départment ("county") was created in 1790 and encompassed areas of the former province of Normandy (Coutançais, Avranchin and Bocage).

The Manche and Calvados departments were the central stage of the Normandy landings.

There are two great traditions in the Manche area.

The first is the pilgrimage to the Mont-Saint-Michel abbey, an age-old religious tradition. Since the Middle Ages, people from all walks of life have been undertaking spiritual journeys to the Mont. Even today, weary city-folk come to rest there during retirement.

The second great tradition is of course gastronomy - local cuisine boasts everything from cider to seafood (in particular the grey shrimp)… A great opportunity to enjoy some quality food.

In the Manche area, as in the rest of Normandy, people are proud of their terroir products and gastronomical traditions - visitors are only too delighted to discover them. Cider is indeed a local celebrity but be sure to taste the grey shrimp from the Mont-Saint-Michel bay with a slice of buttered bread and a drop or lemon juice. Bouchot mussels, oysters and other shellfish are available in almost any restaurant. Lamb from the bay's salt meadows is usually roasted, served with flageolets or green beans, and is usually a divine experience.

Those with a sweet-tooth, do not dispair - local "galettes" are exceptional, and the famous mère Poulard biscuit company has an outlet in the heart of the Mont-Saint-Michel…