French property watch: farmhouses and ferry links in Manche, Normandy
The department is home to ferry port Cherbourg and property bargains can still be found if you want a renovation project
Cherbourg is one of the main towns in the Manche department
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Departmental capital: Saint-Lô
Main cities/towns: Cherbourg, Coutances, Granville, Avranches
Manche is the long ‘thumb’ sticking out into the English Channel (in French this is known as La Manche – literally ‘sleeve’, and hence the department’s name).
As many people who have raced to catch a ferry from Cherbourg for Poole or Portsmouth will know, it is long – around 150km from the south to its northernmost tip – and most of its roads are two-lane.
There are only 80km separating the south coast of England from the north of Manche, but even so, the weather is almost always that bit warmer and sunnier on the Manche peninsula than the Isle of Wight.
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Food and energy production
It is one of the richest, if not the richest, agricultural departments in France.
Milk, apples, corn, beef and lamb all grow to perfection most years.
Cherbourg is no longer the main port for transatlantic liners but still has ferry crossings, as well as a slow train service to Paris.
The department is also a centre for nuclear submarine building, nuclear power at La Hague, and, more recently, assembling off-shore wind turbines.
€29,500 renovation project
There are still property bargains to be had, including old farmhouses priced under €50,000 if you are prepared to do work.
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One example was a two-room 70m² house with stone walls and brick window surrounds.
It came with two attached barns and 1,169m² of land for €29,500 in La Colombe in the extreme south of the department.
The walls looked solid, some of the corrugated iron roof would need replacement, but the house could be camped in while work starts.
Around 15% of properties are second homes, according to 2019 figures from the state statistics agency Insee.
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