Cherbourg cruise port
Cherbourg from your cruise ship
Cruise ships berth at Quai de France in Cherbourg. A covered footbridge leads into the terminal in the former Gare maritime transatlantique, which also houses the Cité de la Mer. The centre is within walking distance, and the old town and the roadstead fit into a few hours ashore.
On this page
Where cruise ships berth
Cruise ships berth at Quai de France in Cherbourg. The quay is around 600 m long, plus a 45 m extension, and up to 14 m deep. A cruise ship and a large ferry can tie up here at the same time, and ships can come alongside around the clock.
From the quay, a covered footbridge leads straight into the former Gare maritime transatlantique. The building serves as the cruise terminal and houses the Cité de la Mer. Passengers come ashore in the former baggage hall, the Salle des Bagages.
In 2026 the cruise lines calling at Cherbourg include AIDA, MSC, P&O and Cunard. Ships cannot be visited while they are in port.
In the terminal you will find:
- an information desk, plus customs and police desks
- two levels with lifts
- toilets, a shop and the Cité de la Mer’s restaurant and bar
- free Wi-Fi
Volunteer Cruise Greeters welcome passengers on every call. How the cruise berth, the ferry terminal and the Cité de la Mer fit together is shown on the harbour page.
Into town
The centre is within walking distance of the terminal. As the crow flies, it is around 900 m to the tourist office (Office de Tourisme) on Quai de Caligny and around 1.0 km to Place du Général de Gaulle in the old town. The walk itself is longer.
Shuttle, taxi and car hire
On cruise days a shuttle to the centre is planned from 10:00 to 18:00. It runs to the tourist office and to a shopping centre, and operates on request. Ask at the information desk in the terminal whether it runs on your call, where it stops and what it costs.
Taxis and ride-hailing cars (VTC) wait at the Gare maritime, and there is car hire at the terminal too. The tourist office’s information point in the terminal sells tickets for the Cap Cotentin buses.
Tourist office
The tourist office at 56 Quai de Caligny sells tickets, including for the Cité de la Mer, and has free Wi-Fi. From October to December 2026 it is open Monday to Saturday from 09:30 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 17:00.
Three to six hours ashore
How much you can fit in depends on how long your ship is in port. The sights in the centre are close together:
| Sight | Time needed |
|---|---|
| Cité de la Mer | 4 to 5 hours |
| Old town walk | about 1 hour for 3.0 km |
| Boat trip around the roadstead | about 1 hour |
| Carriage ride | 30 minutes |
Three hours is enough for the old town walk and the boat trip around the roadstead. With five to six hours you have time for the Cité de la Mer and a short stroll through the old town. Leave yourself a buffer for getting back to the ship, as the walk is longer than the distance as the crow flies.
Cité de la Mer
The Cité de la Mer is in the same building as the terminal. Its highlights are the nuclear submarine Le Redoutable, a deep-sea aquarium and the story of the Titanic, which called at Cherbourg at 18:35 on 10 April 1912.
From October to March it is open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, from 09:30 during the French school holidays. It closes on some Mondays, and the annual closure runs from 4 January to 5 February 2027. Ticket desks close 90 minutes before the building does. Seeing everything takes four to five hours, so arriving in the morning gives you the most time. Your ticket is valid all day, so you can head into town and come back later.
The Salle des Bagages emigration exhibition is closed on days when a cruise ship is in port. Children under 5 are not allowed on board Le Redoutable. Opening days and prices are on the page Cité de la Mer: prices and opening times.
The old town on foot
The “Centre-ville historique” walk is 3.0 km long and takes about an hour. It starts at 12 Quai Alexandre III and takes in Place de la Révolution, Rue au Blé and Cour Marie on the way to the market halls of 1869. For shopping there are the pedestrianised Rue des Portes and Rue du Commerce. The stops are described on the old town page.
The main market is held on Place du Général de Gaulle on Thursdays from 08:30 to 13:30, with further markets on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Times and places are listed under market days.
Boat trip around the roadstead
The Hague à Part boat trip takes about an hour, and the boat “Adèle” carries up to 82 people. One departure point is at the Cité de la Mer, the other at the Pont Tournant on Quai Lawton Collins in the centre. There is more on the roadstead and the trip on the harbour page.
Carriage ride
A horse-drawn carriage pulled by Normandy draught horses takes you around town in 30 minutes. It starts from Place du Général de Gaulle and is run by Attelage et Patrimoine en Cotentin. At just half an hour, it fits into any time ashore.
Fort du Roule
Fort du Roule stands 117 m above the town, around 1.8 km from the terminal as the crow flies. Inside the fort, the Musée de la Libération tells the story of Cherbourg’s liberation in 1944, and from the top you look out over the town and the roadstead.
The museum is open from early February to 11 November, Tuesday to Friday from 10:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 18:00, and on Saturdays and Sundays from 13:00 to 18:00. It is closed on Mondays and public holidays, except 8 May and 11 November. It is uphill all the way; a taxi from the terminal saves you the climb.
Day trips into the Cotentin
With a hire car you can reach Barfleur and Goury at Cap de la Hague along the D901 in around 30 minutes each. Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, with its Vauban towers that are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is around 35 minutes away.
Without a car, Cap Cotentin’s line A runs to La Hague and line C to Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue and Valognes. You can buy tickets at the information point in the terminal. The buses follow a seasonal timetable, so plan your return to get back to the terminal well before your ship is due to leave. Routes and stops are listed under getting around without a car.
Further afield are the D-Day landing beaches, Mont-Saint-Michel and the Bayeux Tapestry. The Utah Beach Museum is 41.2 km from Cherbourg as the crow flies, while Mont-Saint-Michel and Bayeux make for long day trips. They only work with a long call. More ideas are on the day trips page.
Seeing the town without a tour bus
The Train touristique du Cotentin runs between Barneville-Carteret and Portbail, not in Cherbourg. These are the ways to get an overview of the town:
- on foot, on the old town walk, about an hour
- by horse-drawn carriage from Place du Général de Gaulle, 30 minutes
- from the water, on the Hague à Part boat trip, about an hour
- by hire e-bike: more than 170 Cap Cotentin bikes are available from docking stations in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Valognes and Bretteville-en-Saire, and you can return them to any station