Guernsey

The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. Guernsey is not only all ten parishes on the main Island, but also the islands of Alderney (highest number of pubs per head with open countryside) and Sark (the last feudal society in Europe) each with their own parliament and also the smaller islands of Herm, (where Guernsey people go for a day out), Jethou (a tiny island off Guernsey with a handful of houses) and Lihou (reachable by a tidal causeway).

Guernsey Coast

It lies within the Common Travel Area of the British Isles and is not a part of the European Union but has a special relationship with it, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods. Guernsey can only be reached by plane or boat.

A Guernsey Penny

Guernsey food includes many international cuisines featuring lots of fresh local seafood. For nice views and good food head for L’Auberge de Jerbourg, La Fregate, La Nautique, Pier 17, Sawatdi (Thai) or Mora’s.

Victor Hugo wrote some of his best-known works while in exile in Guernsey, including Les Misérables. His home in St. Peter Port, Hauteville House, is now a museum administered by the city of Paris. In 1866, he published a novel set on Guernsey, Travailleurs de la Mer (Toilers of the Sea), which he dedicated to the island.

Victor Hugo’s House in Guernsey

Guernsey issues its own sterling coinage and banknotes. UK coinage and (English, Scottish and Northern Irish-faced) banknotes also circulate freely and interchangeable.