La Hague

La Hague is the north-west tip of the Cotentin peninsula. The places worth visiting line the cliffs around the cape: the Nez de Jobourg, the lighthouse at Goury, Port Racine and the dunes at Vauville.

Nez de Jobourg

At the Nez de Jobourg the cliffs reach 128 m, 22.9 km from Cherbourg as the crow flies. The GR223 coastal path runs along here and on towards Écalgrain and Goury. At the headland there are car parks, picnic spots and fenced viewpoints.

Goury and the Raz Blanchard

Goury sits at the very tip of the Cap de la Hague, 25.3 km from Cherbourg as the crow flies. By car the drive along the D901 takes around 30 minutes. The lighthouse is 50 m tall and has been in service since 1837. Offshore runs the Raz Blanchard, the tidal race known in English as the Alderney Race.

Goury has had a lifeboat station since 1870. The lifeboat Mona Rigolet, 17.60 m long, has been based here since 1989, and a new boathouse was added in 1990.

Port Racine

Port Racine is said to be the smallest harbour in France. It covers around 800 m², the entrance is 11 m wide, and there is room for 27 boats up to 5.50 m long and 2 m wide. It is named after the privateer Racine, who chose the cove as a refuge in early 1813 and had a jetty built. The harbour in its present form dates from 1870 to 1886.

Port Racine is 21.0 km from Cherbourg as the crow flies. Bus line A only runs this far at weekends and in the French school holidays.

Anse de Vauville

South of the Nez de Jobourg the Anse de Vauville opens out. The bay is 29 km long, 11 km of it sandy beach, backed by more than 700 ha of dunes. The area is part of the Natura 2000 network, and 62 ha around the Mare de Vauville are protected as a Réserve naturelle nationale.

The Plage de Vauville is 16.1 km from Cherbourg as the crow flies. Bathing beaches closer to town are on the beaches page.

Walking the GR223

The GR223 coastal path, the Sentier des Douaniers or customs officers’ path, runs around the Cotentin from the Baie des Veys to Denneville. From Cherbourg you reach La Hague in two stages:

From the Nez de Jobourg the path continues towards Écalgrain and Goury. Camping du Hable is in Omonville-la-Rogue at the end of the first stage, and Camping de Clairefontaine is on the west coast at Siouville-Hague. Both are on the camping page.

Maison Jacques Prévert

The poet Jacques Prévert’s house is in Omonville-la-Petite, at 3 Hameau du Val. It was renovated by the film set designer Alexandre Trauner. Prévert moved in with his wife Janine in 1971 and lived there full-time from 1975. He died on 11 April 1977 and is buried in the village cemetery. The house has been a museum since 1995, and the garden was designed by Éric Pellerin.

The house only admits individual visitors during the French school holidays and from April to September:

The last tickets are sold an hour before closing. Park in the designated car park opposite the church; from there it is a 700 m walk to the house. Small dogs are allowed if you carry them. The calendar with all closing days is on the museum’s Maison Jacques Prévert visitor page.

By bus to La Hague

Cap Cotentin bus line A “La Hague Cherbourg - Gare” links Cherbourg with Digulleville. It only serves Port Racine at weekends and in the French school holidays. For places off the route, such as the Maison Jacques Prévert, there is the on-demand bus Cap à la Demande, which you book the day before.

Timetables are published as PDFs and change with the season. Current services are on the Cap Cotentin route pages.

The counterpart in the east of the Cotentin is Barfleur with the Phare de Gatteville. More ideas are on the day trips page.