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From Coutances, the D971 runs down to the coast at
GRANVILLE
, the Norman equivalent of Brittany's St-Malo
, with a history of piracy and the severe citadel of the
haute ville
guarding the approaches to the bay of Mont St-Michel. Thanks in part to the long beach that stretches away north of town, which disappears almost completely at low tide, it's the most lively town and most popular resort in the area. However, it simply doesn't match the appeal of its Breton rival, with its nightmarish traffic and hordes of tourists milling around in summer in the vain hope of finding some way of amusing themselves.
The great difference between Granville and St-Malo is that in Granville the fortified citadel contains virtually nothing of interest, just three or four long, narrow, parallel streets of forbidding grey-granite eighteenth-century houses, although the views up and down the coast, across to Mont St-Michel and out to the Eles Chausey, whose granite was quarried for the Mont St-Michel buildings, are dramatic.
The
tourist office
is below the citadel at 4 cours Jonville (July & Aug Mon-Sat 9am-7.30pm, Sun 10.30am-12.30pm & 4-6pm; rest of year Mon-Sat 9am-12.30pm & 2-6.30pm; tel 02.33.91.30.03,
www.ville-granville.fr
). Trains between Paris and Cherbourg arrive well to the east at the
gare SNCF
on avenue Marechal-Leclerc, which also serves as the
gare routiEre. Ferries
run from Granville to the Channel Islands and the Eles Chausey.
With so many visitors in summer, it's well worth booking
accommodation
in advance. There are no hotels in old Granville; most are concentrated in the new town, either beneath the walls on the seaward side, or near the station. The
Michelet
, 5 rue Jules-Michelet (tel 02.33.50.06.55; under 160F/eŽ24), which has no restaurant, is well equipped but characterless; the
Normandy ChaumiEre
, 20 rue Paul-Poirier, not far from the tourist office (tel 02.33.50.01.71; 220-300F/eŽ34-46; closed Tues evening & Wed out of season), has a reasonable restaurant. Options nearer the station include the
Terminus
at 5 place de la Gare (tel 02.33.50.02.05; 160-220F/eŽ24-34). The modern, oceanfront
Centre Regional de Nautisme
(tel 02.33.91.22.60; closed Sun in low season), a kilometre south of the station in the town centre, serves as Granville's
hostel
. Dorm beds cost 79F/eŽ12.04, while a private double is 125F/eŽ19.06; sailing lessons are easy to arrange.
Where Granville really does excel is in its waterfront
restaurants
, hard below the citadel walls, though be warned that the views here are of a gritty commercial port rather than a delightful harbour. The best are the
Restaurant du Port
, 19 rue du Port (tel 02.33.50.00.55), with its mouthwatering assortment of very fishy menus, and the
Phare
, nearby at no. 11 (tel 02.33.50.12.94; closed Tues evening & Wed Sept-June), has the standard mussels and
panache de poissons
on its 89F/eŽ13.57 menu, and an extraordinarily copious
assiette des fruits de mer
on the 148F/eŽ22.56 one. Up in the old town,
L'Echauguette
, 24 rue St-Jean (tel 02.33.50.51.87; closed Tues), serves good simple meals, grilled over an open fire.
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