A short drive or cycle from Cherbourg brings you swiftly to idyllic coastal countryside and sweeping expanses of fine sand. Just west of Urville-Nacqueville, itself 10km west of the ferry port and a popular bathing station a century ago, the veteran Hôtel Landemer reopened last year following a stunning restoration. Bright, up-to-the-minute rooms with polished-oak floors look out over the Channel, and you can dine outside on a decked terrace. There’s surfing, windsurfing, sailing and diving nearby, as well as horse riding, and the long-distance GR223 footpath passes the hotel as it circles the Cotentin peninsula.