Travel guide
Cherbourg
Cherbourg is a ferry and cruise port on the north coast of the Cotentin peninsula. Kilometres of breakwaters enclose one of the largest man-made roadsteads ever built. In the Art Deco station built for the transatlantic liners, the Cité de la Mer covers the deep sea, France’s first ballistic missile submarine and the Titanic’s call at Cherbourg.
What brings you to Cherbourg?
Town and sea
Time ashore
Ferry
Cité de la Mer, Fort du Roule and Barfleur
Cherbourg and the Cotentin
The old town and the harbour sit side by side. The cliffs of La Hague, in the west of the Cotentin, make a good day trip.
Cherbourg on the map
All places on the map as a list (7)
Your stay
One town made of five communes
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin was created in 2016 from Cherbourg-Octeville and four neighbouring communes, and has 78,258 inhabitants. The town hall is on Place Napoléon, while the former communes of Équeurdreville-Hainneville, Tourlaville, La Glacerie and Querqueville have kept their own mairie. That is why addresses often still carry the old place names. For visitors, what matters most is old Cherbourg between the harbour and Fort du Roule. In the old town, the theatre, Place du Général de Gaulle and the pedestrianised Rue des Portes and Rue du Commerce are all close together.
The roadstead still shapes the town. The central breakwater (Digue centrale) was built between 1783 and 1853, and the eastern and western breakwaters followed in the late 19th century. Together with their forts they enclose more than 1,500 ha of water, and the whole complex has been protected as a Monument historique since 2021. On the shore in front of it are the beaches of Collignon to the east and Querqueville to the west.
How much time for Cherbourg?
The Cité de la Mer, in the former transatlantic station, takes the longest: allow four to five hours to see everything. The walk around the old town takes about an hour. Fort du Roule, 117 m above the town, houses the Musée de la Libération and looks out over the town and the roadstead. On a cruise call, the Cité de la Mer and the old town are both within walking distance, and our page on the Cherbourg cruise port helps you plan the time you have.
With two or three days you can add day trips. Barfleur to the east is a harbour village of grey granite, while La Hague to the west is a coast of cliffs and heathland. The forecast and climate figures are on the weather page, and hotels under where to stay.
If you are arriving or leaving by sea, the routes are covered under ferries from Cherbourg. The crossings to Rosslare and Dublin are overnight, and Brittany Ferries sails to Portsmouth. Getting to the terminal and what happens there are explained on the harbour page.