Explore Normandy from Our Gîte (Local Places of Interest)
✔ Central Manche location · ✔ Easy day trips (no 6am alarms required)
✔ Coast, countryside & history in one stay · ✔ Return to peace and quiet each night 🌿
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First published: September 2025
Last updated: January 2026
Explore more about local customs, traditional festivals, and the heart of Normandy countryside life.
Staying at our gîte in Normandy means you’re perfectly placed to explore some of the region’s best attractions, without constantly repacking the car or questioning your life choices halfway round the périphérique. From sandy beaches and dramatic coastlines to abbeys, market towns and quietly impressive villages, this part of Manche puts a huge amount within easy reach.
Whether you’re travelling as a couple, a family, or a small group who enjoy history, food, walking, and the occasional sit-down, there’s something here for everyone — all within around an hour and a half or less from our front door. Importantly, you get to come back to calm countryside at the end of the day, rather than staying where the coach parks live.
Here’s our genuinely local guide to the places we recommend most during a stay at Holidays-Normandy.
🗺️ Historic and Cultural Day Trips
Le Mont-Saint-Michel
One of the most famous landmarks in France, Mont-Saint-Michel really does live up to the reputation. Rising out of the bay like something imagined after too much cider, this medieval abbey and island village has been a place of pilgrimage, defence and mild visitor confusion for over a thousand years.
Wander the narrow streets, climb to the abbey, and time your visit with the tides if you want to see the full drama of the surrounding bay. From our gîte, it’s a full but very doable day trip — and far more pleasant when you know you’re not staying on the causeway afterwards.
🚗 Distance from the gîte: About 1 hour 30 minutes.
🗺️ Bayeux – a genuine “must-visit”
Bayeux is best known for the Bayeux Tapestry — a 70-metre embroidered story of conquest, propaganda and surprisingly expressive medieval horses. But the town itself is just as appealing, with a beautiful cathedral, walkable historic centre, and cafés that reward sitting still.
It’s an excellent pairing with the D-Day sites nearby and works well as a slower cultural day out from the gîte.
🚗 Distance: About 1 hour.
🏰 Day Trip to Caen
Caen is the historic capital of Calvados and very much William the Conqueror’s legacy project. The Château de Caen dominates the city, flanked by the Abbaye aux Hommes and Abbaye aux Dames, both founded in the 11th century.
It’s a good choice if you want a mix of history, proper shopping, museums, and somewhere that feels like a functioning city rather than an open-air exhibit.
🚗 Distance: About 1 hour.
🗺️ Hambye Abbey
Hambye Abbey is one of Manche’s quieter treasures. Set beside a river and surrounded by countryside, these atmospheric ruins date back to the 12th century and are ideal for an unhurried visit.
This is the sort of place that suits photographers, history lovers, and anyone who appreciates a good ruin without a gift shop every six metres.
🚗 Distance: 25 minutes.
🕊️ Saint-Lô: History & Shopping
Saint-Lô, the second-largest town in Manche, is often called the “Capital of Ruins” due to the heavy destruction it suffered in 1944 — and the careful rebuilding that followed.
Today you’ll find medieval ramparts, the National Stud Farm, and a compact centre that combines history with everyday Norman life.
🚗 Distance: 30 minutes.
D-Day & WWII History
Normandy’s WWII sites deserve time, context and space — something staying in rural Manche allows you to do properly, rather than rushing through between coach schedules.
🗺️ D-Day Landing Beaches
The D-Day landing beaches stretch along the Calvados and Manche coastline and mark the beginning of the liberation of Western Europe on 6 June 1944.
From Utah and Omaha to Gold, Juno and Sword, each sector tells a different story. Visiting from our gîte allows you to pace the experience and combine it with quieter reflection away from the busiest areas.
🚗 Distance: Approx. 1 hour.
🇬🇧 British Normandy Memorial
Located above Gold Beach, the British Normandy Memorial commemorates over 22,000 servicemen and women who died under British command during D-Day and the Battle of Normandy.
It’s a powerful, well-designed site and particularly meaningful for UK visitors.
🚗 Distance: Approx. 1 hour 20 minutes.
🇺🇸 Normandy American Cemetery
Overlooking Omaha Beach, this 70-hectare cemetery is the final resting place of 9,387 American soldiers.
The visitor centre provides essential historical context, and most visits take around 90 minutes.
🚗 Distance: Approx. 1 hour.
🌊 Coastal Towns & Seaside
Day Trip to Granville
Often called the “Monaco of the North” (optimistic, but we’ll allow it), Granville is a lively port town with a historic upper town, seafood restaurants, and strong maritime character.
It’s also home to the Christian Dior Museum, set in his childhood home overlooking the sea.
🚗 Distance: 40 minutes.
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
Cherbourg is a major port city on the Channel and an important naval and ferry hub.
It’s also home to La Cité de la Mer, housed in the former transatlantic terminal — ideal if you like submarines, ocean liners, or impressive concrete buildings.
🚗 Distance: Approx. 1 hour.
🌿 Nature & Outdoor Activities
Discover the Vire Valley
The Vire Valley offers rolling hills, riverside paths and a calmer side of Normandy that suits walkers, cyclists and anyone who prefers birdsong to traffic.
Sections of the Vélomaritime cycle route pass nearby, and the valley is ideal for picnics and unhurried days.
🚗 Distance: 40 minutes.
Les Roches de Ham
These dramatic cliffs offer panoramic views over the Vire Valley and are popular for walking, kayaking, mountain biking and photography.
It’s one of those places that quietly reminds you why Normandy’s countryside is so appealing.
🚗 Distance: 30 minutes.
📍 Unusual Places & Local Curiosities
Taxus Baccata of Nicorps
Just a short walk from the gîte stands an ancient yew tree believed to be over 1,000 years old.
It’s peaceful, slightly humbling, and yes — hugging it is encouraged.
🚶 Distance: 10-minute walk.
Le Souterroscope des Ardoisières
Located in Caumont-l’Éventé, this former slate mine offers an underground visit with sound and light installations explaining how miners once worked below ground.
It’s unusual, educational, and takes around 1–1.5 hours.
🚗 Distance: About 50 minutes.
Why Our Gîte Works So Well for Exploring Normandy
Our gîte sits in rural Manche, which means you can reach major highlights — Mont-Saint-Michel, D-Day beaches, Granville, Bayeux — while staying somewhere genuinely quiet.
This location suits travellers who want depth rather than box-ticking: families who need space, couples who value calm evenings, and anyone who enjoys food markets, walking, history and coastal scenery without crowds outside their window.
After a full day out, you can return to the garden, open a bottle of cider, and plan tomorrow without traffic noise or coach engines idling nearby. That’s the advantage of doing Normandy properly.
Ready to Explore Normandy from the Right Base?
If you want to experience Normandy’s coast, countryside and history — and still sleep somewhere peaceful — our gîte in Nicorps is the ideal base. Book early for peak seasons, especially spring and summer, when this part of Manche quietly fills up.
Normandy rewards curiosity. Staying here simply makes it easier to enjoy it.
Our base rate comfortably covers up to 6 guests. Larger groups (up to 10) are welcome with a small nightly supplement.
Your total price is automatically calculated when you select your dates — no surprises.