Activities near the hotel
An Ideal Location to Discover Normandy
From Canisy, guests may go on many tours (with or without guide) that we at the Château can assist you in organizing. Let yourself be guided through the landing beaches of Omaha, Utah, Sword, etc. or the bay of the Mont Saint-Michel on foot or on horseback for an unforgettable moment.
The Channel is 30 minutes away, which makes it easy to go for long walks on the endless soft sand beaches or to observe the highest spring tide phenomenon. Canisy is 45 minutes way from the port of Granville, from which you can take a ferry to the picturesque Chausey Islands.
Many cultural landmarks pepper the Normand landscape close to Canisy. A lovely pink family house in Granville, once dearly cherished childhood home of Christian Dior, is now a museum dedicated to the designer. North East from Canisy, Bayeux will amaze you with its famous tapestry and its magnificent cathedral. 30 minutes away from the Château, Villedieu les Poeles is a town famous for its copper workshops, the same workshops that once restored the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral (Paris). Two of our copper bathtubs, made in the fashion of the 18th century, originate from this town. In the neighbourhood, there are also exceptional gardens and charming little fishing harbors on the Cotentin Peninsula.
You can also explore the marshes located on the estate by four-wheel drive and thus watch incredibly beautiful birds in the wild.
About a dozen Golf courses are available in the neighbourhood among which the famous Omaha Beach golf, the Granville golf, one of the most beautiful links in France designed by famous architect Harry Colt in 1912, and the golf of Agon Coutainville.
Mont Saint-Michel
About 1 hour from the Château.
Mont Saint Michel is a marvel of Western civilization and a World Heritage treasure, founded over 1,300 years ago after the fiery Archangel St Michel appeared to a bishop in a vision.
It is one of the world’s best preserved examples of medieval architecture and a humbling place to visit, whatever your creed. Over 3 million people visit each year to see its Abbey and Ramparts and to celebrate Mass.
This UNESCO site is also where Mère Poulard, the famous chef, founded her inn in 1888 and created famed dishes such as the omelet that bears her name.
D-DAY beaches
The landing beaches are around 45 minutes away.
Discover the famous beaches where thousands of young Allied soldiers gave their lives to turn the tide of World War 2 in a series of history’s most decisive and important battles.
The Normandy invasion is also the stuff of Hollywood legend: stride Omaha Beach for yourself, setting of Steven Spielberg’s ‘Saving Private Ryan’, or visit the 82nd and 101st Airborne Drop Zones made famous recently by the series ‘Band of Brothers’.
To the west, Utah Beach was the first to be stormed on D-Day, and today the Utah Beach Landing Museum stands right on the sand, telling that story through its original B-26 bomber.
D-Day Festival Normandy is also offering each year in May/June a program of festive events for the anniversary of the Allied Landings.
Sainte-Mère-Église
About 50 minutes from the Château.
Sainte-Mère-Église was the first French town liberated on D-Day, and its name is forever tied to paratrooper John Steele, whose parachute caught on the church steeple while fighting raged below, an episode immortalized in the 1962 film ‘The Longest Day’. A life-size effigy still hangs there today, a quiet but striking reminder for anyone passing through the square.
Right across from the church, the Airborne Museum tells the story of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions who jumped into the darkness behind Utah Beach that night. Its collection includes an original C-47 transport plane and a WACO glider, alongside thousands of personal items belonging to the men who fought there.
the Bayeux Tapestry
30 minutes from the Château.
Listed as a “Memory of the World” by UNESCO, the Bayeux Tapestry is a hand-embroidered masterpiece over 70m long created in the 11th century to celebrate the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy.
It is thought to have been made by monks in the region, and records the events of the Battle of Hastings on October 14th, 1066 with a little bit of artistic license.
Fantastic animals, magnificent ships and dragoons of troops under Viking, Norman and Saxon standards battle, each stitch vivid with the feats of William, thereafter aptly called “the Conqueror” for his victory over Harold, another contender to the English Throne.
Christian Dior’s childhood home
45 minutes from the Château.
The childhood home of fashion maven Christian Dior stands on a windswept cliff facing the Channel Islands in Granville, Normandy, not far from Mont St Michel.
Villa Les Rhumbs was built by a ship owner in the late nineteenth century and was named after the old marine term ‘Rhumb’, into which wind or compass roses where divided. One such rose appears as a mosaic floor ornament in one of the house’s entrances.
Dior’s parents bought this grand house with its winter garden located in a park in 1905 and the avatar of French fashion later wrote that ‘my life and my style owe everything to its site and architecture’.
Exceptional Norman Gastronomy
Normandy is famous for its rich local products: 4 iconic AOP cheeses, the legendary Camembert, Livarot, Pont-l’Évêque, and Neufchâtel, plus AOP Isigny Butter and Cream, made just down the road from the Château.
The coast adds its own treasures, oysters, mussels, and scallops, France’s finest, while grass-fed Norman beef rounds out the local fare. This land of orchards also produces a refined cider and renowned Calvados, an apple brandy obtained through distillation.
At the Château, we hold ourselves to that same standard: our honey, cider, and Calvados are all produced right here on the estate, from clean, wholesome ingredients grown on our own land.
Haras National de Saint-Lô
Just 15 minutes from the Château.
Closer to home, in the town of Saint-Lô itself, stands another of Normandy’s great equine institutions – the Haras National de Saint-Lô, also known as the Pôle Hippique. Founded by Napoleon I in 1806, it moved to its current 7.5-hectare site between 1882 and 1898 after outgrowing its original home in a former abbey.
Today the Haras National de Saint-Lô is considered the birthplace of the Selle Français, France’s leading sport-horse breed, alongside the sturdy Cob Normand. Free self-guided visits are offered daily, with guided tours on summer afternoons, and the site hosts lively events throughout the year such as the Jeudis de Saint-Lô horse shows and the Normandy Horse Show.
Haras du Pin
About 1.5 hours from the Château.
Normandy is justly famous for its horses and stud farms. Near the small town of Le Pin is the most famous and spectacular stud farm in all of France – the Haras du Pin, one of only two whose buildings are also listed on the French National Monuments register.
It was founded in 1665 and approved by Louis XIV in 1715. Besides horse breeding, Haras du Pin also features horse and carriage displays.
France’s royal stud farms date back to the 17th century, and were set up to ensure a reliable supply of quality horseflesh for the army.
September and October also sees horse races at one of the France’s oldest and most prestigious racetracks, the Bergerie, near Le Pin.
For cycling lovers
The Château is just 15 minutes from La Vélomaritime, the French section of EuroVelo 4. Coming from Saint-Lô, once you reach Candol, follow the signs for Canisy to find us.
Get directions on Google Maps
More about EuroVelo 4: Running from Brittany to the Belgian border, this 1,500 km coastal route is now fully completed and passes through legendary sites such as the Pink Granite Coast, Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay, the D-Day landing beaches, the cliffs of Étretat, the Somme estuary and the Opal Coast. With long shared-road sections, it’s the ideal route for cyclists seeking adventure, a challenge, or a cultural and gastronomic discovery.
For hiking lovers
Château de Canisy sits right on the GR221 trail, making it the perfect place to rest after a long day’s walk, with no detour needed.
If you’re arriving by car, you can also easily reach the GR223, a beautiful coastal trail that circles the entire Manche coastline (and beyond). The closest access point is Isigny-sur-Mer, a small Norman village. Expect quality sightseeing through quiet countryside, lively villages and beaches.
GR223 — Manche Seaside : Itinerary · Other walks in the Manche area
GR221 — Normand Countryside, Saint-Lô : Itinerary
Cotentin’s parks and botanical gardens
Our Top 3:
Jardin botanique Vauville (about 1h15 from the Château) At the very tip of the Cotentin, this Gulf Stream–warmed garden shelters over 1,000 species from the southern hemisphere, including Chinese palm groves, Tasmanian tree ferns, and giant Brazilian gunnera.
Parc de la Roche-Fauconnière (about 1 hour from the Château) Perched above Cherbourg, this historic park created by the Favier family in 1869 holds one of France’s rarest plant collections, with rhododendrons, magnolias and eucalyptus from China, Korea and beyond.
Le Pré du Moulin (just 15 minutes from the Château) A peaceful two-hectare valley garden, patiently shaped since 2004 around the site of an old mill, with ponds, Japanese maples and a striking weeping beech.
