The Donville-les-Bains Cliff

Starting point: Saint-Clair Church, Rue de la Vieille Église.

^1st circular loop

(S/E) Leave the church on your left and continue along Rue de la Vieille Église for a few dozen metres. When you reach a one-way street, leave Rue Pasteur on your left and take the path leading uphill on the right, known as Chemin Philippe Letessier.

(1) At the top of the path, carry on straight ahead, passing a private chapel on your left and with a panoramic view of the sea behind you. Join the Route de Coutances (D 971E5) and turn right. About thirty metres further on, turn right again onto Chemin du Clos des Landes.

(2) Take the^first street on the right, Rue Saint-Hélier, which leads downhill. Turn left with the road and, at the^second left-hand bend, turn right into a lane that ends in a flight of steps leading to Rue de la Vieille Église.

^2nd circular loop

(S/E) Leave the church on your left and turn into a lane lined with low walls immediately after the church. When you reach a large open area, follow the path across the grass, keep to the right and continue until you reach the trees opposite.

(3) Then take the Chemin de la Falaise, turning sharply left between the trees. Continue along this path, which widens into a lane lined with shrubs and decorative stones.
At a crossroads, leave this path and turn left to walk along the cliff on your left. Continue straight ahead along this wide, stony path.

(4) When you reach the end of the cliff, just before the road and opposite a hotel with tiered balconies, take the path leading uphill to the left.
At the top, turn left at a 90° angle onto the first path through the grass, overlooking the sea to your left.
Then walk along the top of the cliff, with houses lining the right-hand side. At the bottom, turn right, leaving a wooden gate on your left. When you reach Rue du Moutier, turn left. Turn left again onto Rue de l’Observatoire, a one-way, downhill street.
On your left at No. 31, you’ll pass a house with a pretty, decorated letterbox and a lizard on the façade. Further on, there’s a succession of artists’ studios.
Continue to Rue de la Vieille Église and the starting point (S/E).

Saint-Clair Church (12th century), built on the site of a Roman villa, the remains of which have been uncovered. Now fully renovated, it is mainly used for cultural events.

Water tower decorated with a seascape fresco depicting, on one side, shore fishing, the dunes and the sea, and on the other side, the ‘bisquine’ fishing boat: ‘La Granvillaise’, off the Chausey Islands.

The Donville Cliff, a protected natural site some thirty metres high, offers a magnificent view from its summit of the Pointe du Roc in Granville, the Chausey Islands and the Côte des Havres.