In Donville-les-Bains, park in the beach car park on Rue de l'Ermitage, near the Camping de l'Ermitage campsite and the spa.
Please note! This walk is not signposted.
(S/E) Facing the sea, turn left onto the path that runs along the beach promenade, following the red and white markings ofthe GR®®223. At the first-aid station, you will see an information panel entitled "Panorama sur le littoral de Donville" (Panorama of the Donville coastline) on your left.
(1) Before the end of the beach, join the road parallel to the promenade, follow it to the right for a few metres as it climbs and curves to the left, then immediately take a few steps to the right, to the left of the picnic tables, then the alley that joins Rue de la Douane a little higher up. Take it to the right.
(2) When the street turns left at a right angle, at the picnic tables, leave theGR®® which continues along the road, and continue straight ahead on a path to pass between the cliff and the cemetery. You will soon come to a gate. Enter the cemetery, go straight ahead and then turn right to find another gate. Leave the cemetery via a technical services courtyard and turn right along an old greenhouse to enter the Christian Dior Garden.
(3) Head to the right to find the first perfume boxes, continue past the pond, then the rose garden overlooking the cliff. Continuing in the same direction, you will soon find a staircase on the right, marked withGR®® signage. Go down the stairs and, at the bottom, follow the Promenade du Plat Gousset to the left.
(4) At the rock pool on the right, which can only be seen at low tide, note the start of a staircase between two buildings on the left, which the route takes on the way back. For now, continue straight ahead. You will arrive in the centre of Granville at the casino.
(5) Walk past the casino and turn right. You will immediately see a staircase and a sign for "Site Historique de la Haute Ville" (Historic Site of the Upper Town). Climb the stairs.
(6) At the top, continue along the path furthest to the right, which runs along the cliff edge towards Pointe du Roc. Continue along this path, still following the cliff edge. At aGR®®223marker and a beautiful stone house, the path turns away from the cliff edge to the left. On the small cobbled street, turn right, leave the church on your left and go under the gate.
(7) Immediately afterwards, at a small car park on the left (Foyer des Jeunes Travailleurs), turn right to rejoin the cliff and continue along the path to Pointe du Roc. At the very end of the point, the coastal path is closed due to rockfalls. Turn left to pass in front of the lighthouse, then head left towards the orientation table.
(8) On the lawn, head towards the blockhouse and the Rond-Point des Français Libres marked with a stele. Take the road that descends to the right for a few metres, then climb a few steps to the left and continue on the path above. Shortly afterwards, you will see a sign for the Sentier Littoral coastal path and toilets. When the path begins to overlook the harbour, ignore the steps leading down to the right. When you reach the statue of the privateer Pleville le Pelley, turn left to continue along the promenade on the right-hand side of the road. Take the third street on the left and, at the end of this street, turn right.
(7) Go under the gate, then turn right to pass to the left of Notre-Dame Church. Turn right immediately behind the church and, at the beautiful half-timbered house with a turret, continue to the left along Rue du Midi, which once again overlooks the harbour. This street narrows and leads to Rue Cambernon. Walk a few metres to the right to pass under the gate and enjoy a view of the ramparts on the other side.
(9) Go back through the gate and, at the corner of the Granville Museum of Art and History, climb the steps on the right up Rue Lecarpentier. At the end of this street, you will arrive at the garden of the Museum of Modern Art. Turn left to find an orientation table and a sign for the "Promenades du Roc", then walk a few metres behind the orientation table to find the staircase you took on the way up.
(6) Go down to leave the Upper Town. At the bottom, turn right and then take Rue Paul Poirier on the left, a lively shopping street. Ignore a pedestrian street on the right and you will arrive at a crossroads with several streets. Note the Tourist Office opposite on the left. Continue left along Rue Docteur Letourneur and ignore two streets on the right. At the end of the street, turn left, then right onto Rue de la Libération. Turn left to arrive near the casino.
(5) Leave the town centre by taking the Plat Gousset promenade along the seafront, which you already took on the way there.
(4) At the first-aid station and a sign for "Sentier littoral" (coastal path), pass between the two buildings and take the stairs to climb up to the cliff top via the Sentier des Minquiers. You will come to a street; follow it to the left (red and whiteGR®® markings) towards the Jardin Christian Dior (sign for pedestrians). Further on, continue in this direction, taking a path to the left of the house "Le Lude". You will arrive at the Christian Dior Garden at the top of the stairs you took on the way down. Head to the right to pass close to the main entrance to the garden (information sign about the Garden and the House, withGR®® markings), then head towards the house (visit it if you wish), pass to its right, then turn right to leave the garden through the gate you took on the way in.
(3) Take the same route as on the way there to return to the car park on Rue de l'Ermitage (S/E).
