Cherbourg Port Destination Guide – History, Location & Things To See And Do

About Cherbourg

Cherbourg is a seaside port on the northern edge of France. It is a popular cruise port, with many European itineraries stopping here.

Cherbourg is very famous for its Titanic connection.

The Titanic departed Cherbourg on its ill-fated journey to New York on 12 April 1912. She made one final stop at Queenstown (Cobh, Ireland) before setting sail across the Atlantic.

The ship departed from a cruise terminal building, which is now the Cite De La Mer (a Museum and Aquarium).

Normandy

Cherbourg is viewed as a gateway to Normandy. Many cruise line passengers on excursions visit the beaches of Normandy because there isn’t much to do in the city.

It is primarily a fishing port and marina, with a large artificial harbour.  I have to be honest, when I first saw Cherbourg my cruise itinerary (and did some research online) I wasn’t expecting to get off the ship at all.

That was until I spotted the Cite De La Mer, a Museum and Aquarium that is located just beside the port.

It is definitely a very interesting place to visit in Cherbourg, and I would thoroughly recommend it.

Cite De La Mer

The Cite De La Mer is made up of three parts:

• A Submarine Museum
  • Visit the Le Redoutable submarine. The name means”formidable” or “fearsome” in French
  • One of the first Nuclear powered submarines, commissioned in 1971 and decommissioned in 1991
• An Aquarium
  • Visit 17 stunning separate aquariums full of life and colour.
    • Don’t miss the abyssal aquarium, which is 11 metres deep.
• The Titanic Museum
  • 43 artefacts from the Titanic tell the story of the Ocean liner.
  • There is a full-scale reconstruction of a 1st-class cabin of the Titanic 
  • Learn the stories of the passengers, including the 281 who boarded in Cherbourg

There is a restaurant and gift shop at Cite De La Mer. The building is pretty impressive!

Le Redoubtable

The Redoutable is a decommissioned submarine. It still has a torpedo!

Engine rooms don’t really interest me but it was interested to see inside, I particularly liked seeing the living quarters or the people that lived onboard.

It definitely made me appreciate my cruise ship cabin.

When you enter the submarine you are given an audio guide which takes 35 minutes, it is available in quite a few languages and takes you through all the main areas of the ship.

You get to see the engine room, control centre, staff canteen, living quarters and more.

There are a couple of steep ladders to climb up/down. If you are tall, you may have trouble fitting through some of the doorways. If you are over six feet tall, you may have trouble in submarines at all!

Aquarium

I loved the aquarium. We actually managed to spend quite a lot of time here.

There is a huge tank that has all types of fish, including sharks, sting rays, etc!

There are quite a few smaller tanks with jellyfish, seahorses, and loads more undersea creatures.

I was visiting onboard Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas, which was docked right beside the museum, but the aquarium wasn’t too busy.  (More about her here!)

There was also one of those “Touch Pools” where you can touch a couple of sea creatures.

(that always reminds me of the scene in Finding Dory where Dory is trying to escape being poked by the humans!)

Titanic Museum

The Titanic museum was huge. I’ve been to several Titanic exhibitions before, but this was by far the largest.

It is split up into sections that follow the building of the Titanic, its first sailing, and its sinking. You can see here how close the cruise ship is to the museum. We were literally docked next door.

There is a model of a third class cabin onboard the Titanic.

This was considered luxurious at the time, but I don’t think I’d fancy it…

Have you ever wondered how big Titanic was, compared to modern day cruise ships? Find out in the article below:

Titanic vs a Modern Cruise Ship Fleet – Comparison with Photos!

The Museum Is Great For Children

There are loads of interactive games and screens to keep children entertained.

I tested out a lot of the interactive things for the children (for research purposes I swear) and they were a lot of fun, I even learnt my name is morse code.

There is only one restriction which is that children under 5 are not allowed in the submarine – which makes sense.

The museum has definitely really been designed with children in mind.

Tickets & Practical Information

You can buy tickets at the museum or online. At the time of writing (August 2024) they cost:

• Adults – €19
• Children 5-17 €14
• Children under 5 – free
• Student €15

A visit is well worth the money, in my opinion.

The opening times do vary depending on the time of the year but it is usually open around 9.30 – 6pm.

I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Cite De La Mer if you are in Cherbourg and don’t want to take an excursion to Normandy.

When we entered the museum it said that on average people spend 4 hours here, I laughed!

However, after visiting the museum, I do see how you could get lost for hours in there. It is by far the best thing to do in Cherbourg.

Before You Go

Find out what to expect when you get off your ship in port here:

Getting Off The Cruise Ship in Port – What To Expect, What To Take – And Other Useful Hints and Tips For A Successful Day Out!

Another great place to visit by ship is Barcelona. You won’t be disappointed! Find out more about that here:

Everything You Need to Know About Cruising From Barcelona (Location, Transport and More)