Ferry from Portsmouth to Cherbourg

Portsmouth to Cherbourg is a well travelled route, currently operated by two well established ferry companies. Condor Ferries operate one crossing per week, while Brittany Ferries offer a service that covers seven crossings each week.

With Brittany ferries, your journey will take around just 3 hours, whereas booking with Condor will result in a trip that takes around 5 hours and 30 minutes.

The facilities available with Brittany are based on a luxury experience, with French cuisine available, as well as various designer shopping boutiques on board.

Condor Ferries are one of the only cross channel ferry operators to offer real duty free savings onboard all of their ferries, so don’t forget to stock up on fragrances, spirits, tobacco and cigarettes, wines and beers, cosmetics, confectionery and electronic goods amongst other things, should you decide the longer journey time is worth the extra shopping options.

At Cherbourg, you will find an affluent, idyllic town that has historically been used as a port since ancient times. Earliest historical records show that the Vikings were some of the first people to invest in the town for the purposes of travelling by sea.

Since then, Cherbourg has become one of the most prestigious places for nautical events.  Cherbourg is one of the few French ports able to host the Tall Ships’ Race; this is because of its unique infrastructure and history. For almost 20 years, Cherbourg has been a key location for more than 50 sailing events.

Aside from sailing events all year round, there are also a number of attractions on land that may be of interest. The Liberation museum is housed in a military fort that was built between 1852 and 1857. It was completely renovated and enlarged for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the D-Day Landings. It now covers 800 square metres and contains 17 rooms over two floors.

The Emmanuel Liais Gardens is also a site of great interest, as one of Cherbourg’s most beautiful public gardens.  Son of a rich family of Cherbourg shipbuilders, Emmanuel Liais (1826-1900) was Mayor of Cherbourg for ten years: from 1884 to 1886, then from 1892 to his death in 1900.  At the end of the 19th century, exotic gardens like this were extremely popular. Well-off families tried to outdo each other in ingenuity. Indeed, some of them lost their whole fortunes in the attempt.
 
Although married to a Dutch woman, Margaritha Trouwen, Emmanuel Liais had no children. On his death, he donated his property to the town of Cherbourg.

The Cité de la mer; a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects is also a must see.

The local train station in town sits at the end of a line which connects directly to Paris. Many people use Cherbourg as a starting point for further forays not just into the larger cities but also into the countryside.