Things to do in Guernsey

Visit the beaches

Guernsey is home to some of the loveliest beaches in the whole of the British Isles, with pale sand and clear turquoise water, plus plenty of places to relax in the sunshine or enjoy some water sports if you’re feeling more energetic, including sea kayaking and surfing.

You’ll find everything from pebbly coves and secluded bays tucked away down a string of steps to wide open stretches of sand to enjoy. Cobo Bay is one of the most attractive, with crystal clear waters, while Port Soif is sheltered by sand dunes, and Vazon Bay is the largest beach in Guernsey and popular for watersports.

For something more unusual, Shell Beach has millions of tiny shell fragments washed up on its shore by the Gulf Stream. Or if you’re hoping to swim but aren’t sure about the open sea, head to La Vallette Bathing Pools on the east coast of Guernsey, a set of pools filled by seawater but protected from the tides.

Guernsey cliffs

Get outdoors

There’s a walking trail to suit everyone on Guernsey, including relatively flat and easy routes to soak up the scenery, and more challenging treks up hills and down to beaches – so much choice, in fact, that the island hosts regular walking festivals.

It’s easy to set off and follow your own route too, strolling from the seashore via peaceful woodland to enjoy the views from the cliffs. Or try one of the themed routes created by the tourist board with anything from walks taking in wartime history to historic gardens, forts and manor houses, as well as others making the most of the coast and exploring the smaller islands.

Explore St Peter Port

No visit to Guernsey is complete without at least one day in pretty St Peter Port, the island’s capital. Home to several of Guernsey’s biggest attractions, you can also find walking tours to introduce you to the area’s history and point out key locations from its fascinating past. But it’s also a lovely place to simply stroll along the cobbled streets, many lined with high street chains which are household names in the UK, but also passing old merchants’ houses and a string of enticing cafes and restaurants.

St Peter Port

Candie Gardens

These Victorian gardens are home to the oldest-known heated glasshouses in the British Isles, dating back to the late 18th century, and have been restored and preserved as a rare example of a late Victorian public flower garden. Free to stroll around, you get great views down to St Peter Port Harbour and out to some of the neighbouring islands. It’s also a lovely way to spend a sunny afternoon as you stroll along the paths past fish ponds and to a bandstand that now houses a café. There’s a statue of Victor Hugo here too, presented by the French Government.

The Guernsey Museum

Set within the grounds of Candie Gardens, this little museum is a great place to discover more about the history and culture of Guernsey, as well as seeing the collection of artworks. There are regular temporary exhibitions as well.

The Victoria Tower

Not far from Candie Gardens and the Guernsey Museum, the Victoria Tower has some of the best views of the island – collect the key from the museum during opening hours if you want to climb the 99 steps up to the viewing platform. The tower, reminiscent of a huge stone chess piece, was built in 1848 to commemorate the 1846 visit of Queen Victoria, the first by a reigning monarch to the island.

Castle Cornet

Castle Cornet

Built in the early 13th century, Castle Cornet was designed to defend the island from France after King John lost control of Normandy, and it still guards St Peter Port harbour to this day. The castle is now home to several museums, including 201 Squadron (RAF) Museum, Royal Guernsey Light Infantry Museum and the Royal Guernsey Militia Museum, as well as another telling the castle’s story.

One of the highlights of a visit is hearing the Noon Day gun, fired daily at midday by guards dressed in 19th century costume, a nod to its origins when it was used to summon soldiers back to barracks, and is sometimes followed by live re-enactments of stories from Guernsey’s past. The castle is also home to historic gardens and there’s a chance to climb the battlements and look out to St Peter Port as well as the nearby islands.

Step inside Victor Hugo’s house

Victor Hugo spent 15 years of his life on Guernsey, after being exiled from France in 1851 due to his political beliefs. Finding a safe haven here after being expelled from Belgium and Jersey as well, he bought Hauteville House from the proceeds of his best-selling collection of poetry, and it’s here that he wrote one of his best-known novels, Les Misérables.

You can still visit the house, which he decorated, designed and furnished himself, including the place where he wrote several major works. Look out for details inspired by The Hunchback of Notre-Dame as you explore inside and in the gardens surrounding the house in St Peter Port.

Discover wartime history

The Channel Islands were the only part of the British Isles to be occupied during the Second World, with German troops marching through Guernsey’s capital on June 30, 1940, two days after the island was bombed. Around 17,000 residents were evacuated in the days before the Occupation began, but the remaining inhabitants lived under Nazi rule for almost five years, until Liberation Day on May 9, 1945.

The legacy of this Occupation remains around the island, with historic fortified towers reinforced by German troops along the coastline, and huge bunkers added in several locations, which can be visited on special tours. These menacing concrete constructions were built by war prisoners and filled with guns, effectively turning the whole island into a fortress, and hint at life on the island during this dark chapter of Guernsey’s history.

You can also visit a museum on the German Military Underground Hospital which accommodated up to 800 patients in its dark wards, set within huge storage tunnels created by the Luftwaffe under Clarence Battery.

If you can visit during May, Liberation Day is still marked by a national holiday on the 9th, celebrating the island’s freedom with live music, food stalls, processions and tributes to those who lived through the Occupation.

The German Occupation Museum

One unmissable site if you’re interested in wartime history, the German Occupation Museum begins with a short video about the Nazi occupation and an impressive collection of original artefacts from the 1940s in the small museum. There’s a mix of personal items from both the local population and armed forces, with everything from posters on new regulations to ration cards, personal letters, and newspaper articles.

There’s a chance to learn more about local resistance, as well as some of the tragic stories from wartime, including accounts of Jews sent to Nazi concentration camps. The museum also brings occupation-era Guernsey to life in a recreated street complete with life-sized models.

Sark

Visit a smaller island

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is made up of five inhabited islands; Guernsey itself is the largest but it’s easy to visit some of the smaller islands on a day trip from St Peter Port, with a chance of spotting dolphins on your boat journey past smaller islets too.

Herm

The closest, Herm, is only 20 minutes away by boat and it’s possible to walk around the entire car-free island in a couple of hours, if you’re not tempted to stop at the lovely white sand beaches on the way. Look out for puffins on the cliffs in spring too.

Sark

Sark is the next closest to Guernsey itself; also car-free, you can hop aboard the tractor-drawn bus (known as the ‘toast rack’) for those who don’t want to walk up to the village. Or visit the little museum covering the island’s history, before setting out to enjoy more lovely walks.

Alderney

Alderney is around twice the size of Herm, but still only three miles long, with the only working railway in the Channel Islands, plus a Roman fort, lighthouse and Second World War observation tower. Save time for its own little museum too, with wombles on display, a link to author Elisabeth Beresford who lived on Alderney at the end of her life. Around 90 minutes by ferry, you can also fly here from Guernsey in around 15 minutes.

Explore this beautiful Channel Island for yourself on our escorted tour of Guernsey with a boat trip to Sark