Portbail and its harbour
7 kmThe thirteen-arch bridge, Notre-Dame church with its 6th-century baptistery, sailing boats resting on the sand at low tide — and on Tuesday mornings, one of the finest markets in the Manche, with 250 stallholders.
Around the gîte
Between sea and hedgerows, the Cotentin at your fingertips
Besneville is a countryside village 8 km from the sandy beaches of the Côte des Isles, between Portbail-sur-Mer and Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte. From the gîte everything fans out around you: the Tuesday market, the harbours of the west coast, the D-Day sites, Cherbourg… and even a day on the island of Jersey. Here are our tips — the ones we give our guests.
Our must-sees
Barneville-Carteret and the Cap
15 kmThe lighthouse, the old customs officers' path cut into the heath, sandy beaches and, on a clear day, the Channel Islands on the horizon.
The Hatainville dunes
15 kmOne of the most spectacular wild dune massifs on the Cotentin west coast, magnificent at the end of the day.
A day trip to Jersey
ferry at 15 kmFrom April to September, about an hour's crossing from Carteret harbour: the lanes of Saint Helier, a genuinely British atmosphere. Don't forget your passport!
La Maison du Biscuit
11 kmIn Sortosville-en-Beaumont, the most tempting biscuit factory and fine grocery in the Cotentin, in a 1900s shop setting. The perfect tea-time stop.
The Mont de Besneville
4.8 kmThe village's balcony: 116 metres high — enough to take in the hedgerows, the harbours and the sea in one glance. Walk or cycle there from the gîte.
Whatever the mood
By the sea
- Fine sandy beach on the Côte des Isles — 8 km
- Portbail sailing school — 8 km
- Shellfish gathering in the harbour at big tides — 7 km
- The GR223 coastal path, from harbour to harbour — 8 km
- Côte des Isles golf course, facing the sea — 9 km
- Cycling the Vélomaritime along the coast — 8 km
Heritage
- Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte: medieval castle and abbey — 10 km
- Bricquebec: medieval keep and Notre-Dame de Grâce abbey — 12 km
- Lessay's Romanesque abbey — and its thousand-year-old Holy Cross fair in September — 20 km
- Valognes, the « Norman Versailles » and its mansions — 27 km
- Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, its oysters and Tatihou island (Vauban towers) — 45 km
- Mont-Saint-Michel, for the grand day out — 125 km
In the footsteps of D-Day
- Sainte-Mère-Église and the Airborne Museum — 30 km
- Cherbourg: La Cité de la Mer and the submarine Le Redoutable — 35 km
- Utah Beach and its D-Day museum — 45 km
With children
- Treetop adventure park, canoeing and swimming pool in Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte — 10 km
- Riding school at Sainte-Colombe / Barneville-Carteret — 11.5 km
- The Cotentin heritage train between Carteret and Portbail (in season) — 8 km
- Montaigu-la-Brisette wildlife park — 37 km
- Lake fishing in Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte — 8 km
Practical
- Village shop: groceries, bread, tobacconist — 1.7 km
- Doctor and pharmacy in Portbail — 7 km
- Bakery and butcher in Portbail — 7 km
- Restaurants around the gîte — 7 to 12 km
- Valognes railway station (Paris–Cherbourg line) — 27 km
Walking
Several marked trails from Besneville, through the hedgerows and up to the Mont.
River and lake fishing
Trout, pike, eel… in the rivers and ponds nearby.
A few landscapes around the gîte
Photo rob Stoeltje — CC BY 2.0 
Photo Xfigpower — CC BY-SA 3.0 
Photo Ikmo-ned — CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped) 
Photo Urs Flükiger — CC BY-SA 3.0 
Photo Xfigpower — CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) Your base camp in Normandy
The gîte is free on your dates? All that's left is to drop your bags.