Things to do in Guernsey

Guernseys numerous attractions offer something for everyone. St Peter Ports remarkable Castle Cornet today houses some interesting museums and regular open-air theatre productions. The town is a fascinating mix of styles, surrounded by terraces and tiered gardens and traversed by worn steps and hidden alleys.
Fort Grey, on Guernseys rocky west coast, is a former Napoleonic stronghold and today houses the islands Shipwreck Museum.

The Islands (Alderney, Sark and Herm)

Daily connections to Guernseys smaller islands mean your visit can be four holidays in one. Alderney features beautiful open countryside and wide sandy bays. The capital, St Annes, is home to lovely cottages, town houses and pubs. Visitors can ride in luxury on the Channel Islands only standard gauge railway, featuring old London Underground coaches. Sark is well-known for its feudal government and rejection of the motor car. The result is a timeless world of bicycles, horse drawn taxis and lazy, alfresco lobster lunches. Also on Sark, the word stress is not in the dictionary. Herm has played host to Neolithic man, monks, pirates, quarrymen and a motley crew of tenants. These days the subtropical flowers, white sand and serenity of this unspoiled seaside paradise still captivate most visitors.

Castle Cornet

Guernsey's old harbour fortress was located on a remote, rocky islet until a breakwater and bridge were built in the 19th century. The castle is home to a number of museums, such as the Maritime Museum (which tells of Guernseys relationship with the sea since Roman times), the Militia Museum (chronicling the Royal Guernsey Militia and containing many regimental relics) and the 201 Squadron RAF Museum (depicting Guernseys Own air heroes). Phone: +44 1481 721 657; website: www.museum.guernsey.net.

Little Chapel

At just 16 feet long, the Little Chapel may well be the smallest chapel in the whole world. Built by a French monk, Brother Dodat, construction on it began in March 1914. He planned to build a miniature version of the celebrated grotto and cathedral at Lourdes in France. Located in St Andrews, the Little Chapel is wonderfully decorated with sea shells, pebbles and colourful shards of broken china. Guardianship of the Little Chapel now rests with Blanchelande Girls College, which is run by a charitable trust. No entrance fee, but donations are appreciated.
Phone: +44 1481 237 200; website: www.thelittlechapel.org.

Sausmarez Manor and Park

The manor is the bastion of one of Guernseys oldest families. This is where the de Sausmarez family has lived since 1254. Over the generations the family have been explorers, diplomats, admirals and generals who have all left their mark. The impressive granite house contains a set of family portraits. The house is surrounded by beautiful, informal gardens featuring a lake and woodland. A nine-hole golf course and putting green are also on the grounds. In a converted outbuilding on the grounds, there is the Dolls House Collection which features doll houses and furnishings dating back to 1830. The Art Park and sculpture trail, set in and around the subtropical woods, is one of the first in Britain and displays over 170 works by 70 artists. Tours of the Manor House are available Easter to October, Monday to Thursday 10:30 and 11:30, with additional tours offered from June to September.

Guernsey Aquarium

Located amid some old German tunnels, the Guernsey Aquarium is not far from La Vallette bathing pools. The aquarium contains 47 separate exhibits, with a diverse range of local species of fish, in addition to amphibians and reptiles. Species include local sea fish, European freshwater fish or tropical marine fish, anemones and inverts of assorted kinds. Visitors can also see frogs, toads, terrapins and Guernseys resident lizards, basilisks. Phone: +44 1481 723 301.

Hauteville House

This was the home of famous French writer Victor Hugo, who was exiled from France in 1851 following the coup by Napoleon III. He lived on Guernsey from 1856-70. His home Hauteville House, where he wrote Les Misrables, has been well preserved. Its an opulent place, with Hugos inflated character stamped all over the furnishings. He created many pieces himself from odds and ends he found. The writer used everyday objects to fashion all kinds of unusual items, including a candelabra made out of reels. Hugo wrote many of his lofty works in his rooftop glass lookout and the houses lovely walled garden has been restored based on photographs and drawings from his lifetime. Phone: +44 1481 721 911.

Museums

Guernsey is home to a good range of museums depicting the islands historical and maritime past. The Guernsey Museum and Art Gallery houses a collection of fine porcelain, antiquities, weapons, furniture and books on the Channel Islands donated to Guernsey by two locals who moved abroad to New York. The Fort Grey Shipwreck Museum, built in 1804, illustrates the many ships that fell victim to the treacherous waters off Guernseys west coast.

La Valette Underground Military Museum consists of a network of tunnels built into the cliff by slave labourers during the German occupation. Formerly a refuelling post for submarines, the tunnels today house a collection of Red Cross food parcels and posters detailing procedures for evacuation of the island in 1940.

Set in the grounds of Sausmarez Park, the Folk Museum features rebuilt rooms showing a typical cottage kitchen of a century ago and the drawing room of a middle-class residence, with costumes and period furnishings. Another exhibit on childhood contrasts the comfortable life of the nursery against the tough working life of children forced to work in the granite mine.

The Telephone Museum, run by volunteers, is an unusual museum but more interesting than it sounds. It illustrates the development of the telephones, switchboards and other equipment used in Guernsey since 1898.