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Some extra points
- We both thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Cherbourg. It was a lovely marina with decent showers and there was plenty around to do.
- It is a great place to get work done as there are lots of workshops within the marina itself with shops attached and a couple of chandleries (we used Accastillage Diffusion quite a bit. Julien [the manager] was very helpful and even ended up showing us around Cherbourg!)
- The showers are hot and cleaned regularly – good sized shower cubicles too! You do need a code to get access to them.
- WiFi in the marina is not good. We found we couldn’t use it whilst on P pontoon so we found a space on K pontoon instead (and then realised we were a 10m boat on a pontoon meant for 9m boats…ooops!) the signal was slightly better but still not great. If you want to use the internet here, you need to go and sit inside the main building – there is a seating area with sofas and also a table with some high chairs complete with plug sockets!
- It’s a well protected marina but during our time there, there was a rogue wave that came in which caused some boats to hit their bows against the pontoon – don’t moor up too closely!!
- Visitor’s Pontoons – K West: vessels under 9 m; N and P: 9m to 12 m; Q west: 12m to 14 m; Q east: larger than 14 m; H north: up to 25m; J along the pier (used for boats in rallies): vessels up to 25m – please enquire at the marina office to use this pontoon; Waiting pontoon without connection to the land: vessels up to 25m.
- The Liberation Museum is well worth a visit. There is a little bit to read that has been translated into English but it is mostly geared towards French speakers (unsurprisingly seeing as it is in France!) Lots of interesting things to look at though. The view from the top, overlooking the city, is stunning. It’s a long, steep (calf-burning) walk up though so wear some decent shoes! It’s around €4 to get entry or free on a Wednesday (I think!).
- We also visited Cité de la Mer during our time here. It’s on the quay itself and has a number of different really interesting exhibits. I think we were able to get a discount here (check your welcome pack from the marina for a coupons).
- There are a few boulangeries around for any freshly baked croissant fixes (we had plenty!)
- Carrefour (the hypermarket) is about a 15-20 minute walk away but is WELL worth a visit! It is GINORMOUS! You name it, you can probably buy it there! I was in heaven! I LOVE foreign supermarkets (don’t take the mick) because of all the new and delicious food you can buy!
- If you’ve watched our video from our time in Cherbourg, you’ll see that we got all our food delivered from Carrefour right to the boat (like he literally brought all the bags to the side of the boat on the pontoon!) AND the delivery driver even gave us our €1 back that we’d left in the shopping trolley!
- When you’re in France – you must try a Raclette! I was introduced to these at a very early age during a family holiday to France. We bought one back home with us and brought it out every now and then growing up. Now I have my very own! 😀 Think hot bubbling, melted cheese sandwiched around different thinly sliced meats (from ham to salami or anything else that you enjoy!) alongside piping hot potatoes, tomatoes and mushrooms that have been cooking away on the hot plate. Warm, crusty french bread do mop it all up with is a must!
- Julien took us to a few different places when he took us out for the day in his car. Omonville-La-Rogue is a beautiful seaside commune and Port Racine is the smallest port in France. See them both in episode 9.
- There is the option of anchoring out just outside the marina. It’s still very protected in there due to the design of the port of Cherbourg. If we went back now (now we have a working dinghy and engine), we’d probably stay in the anchorage – even though it’s very reasonable to stay at Port Chantereyne (see our Sailing Travel Journal entry above for our costing), especially if you stay for 7 days and are a member of the RYA / Cruising Association or similar [20% OFF!!!] as we now prefer the peace and quiet of a FREE anchorage compared to a marina. (Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you can see where we ended up anchoring this season – we found some pretty incredible spots!)
- Cherbourg is a large ferry port so my Mum and her partner took the opportunity to come over for a visit. This could be handy for any crew changes you have planned as foot passenger can come over easily. It is within walking distance of the marina (approx 30 minutes?!).
Photographs from Cherbourg
Contact Details
Port Chantereyne
CHERBOURG-OCTEVILLE
50100 Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
France
T: +33 (0)2 33 87 65 70
Websites: Port Chantereyne, Wikipedia, Normandy Tourism, The Crazy Tourist
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Is there something you wished we’d shared about this place? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll try and include it in future (and update this post if we can!)
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