Granville, Manche
Granville (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃.vil] ⓘ; Norman: Graunville) is a commune in the Manche department and region of Normandy, northwestern France. The chef-lieu of the canton of Granville and seat of the Communauté de communes de Granville, Terre et Mer, it is a seaside resort and health resort of Mont Saint-Michel Bay, at the end of the Côte des Havres, a former cod-fishing port and the first shellfish port of France. It is sometimes nicknamed "Monaco of the North" by virtue of its location on a rocky promontory.
Granville | |
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The harbour of Granville, with Notre-Dame church in the background | |
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Coat of arms | |
Location of Granville | |
Granville Granville | |
| Coordinates: 48°50′15″N 1°35′38″W | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Manche |
| Arrondissement | Avranches |
| Canton | Granville |
| Intercommunality | Granville, Terre et Mer |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2020–2026) | Gilles Ménard |
| Area 1 | 9.9 km2 (3.8 sq mi) |
| Population (2021) | 12,581 |
| • Density | 1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 50218 /50400 |
| Elevation | 0–67 m (0–220 ft) (avg. 37 m or 121 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
The town was founded by a vassal of William the Conqueror on land occupied by the Vikings in the 11th century. The old privateer city and fortification for the defence of Mont Saint-Michel became a seaside resort in the 19th century which was frequented by many artists and equipped with a golf course and a horse racing course.
Home of the Dior family of industrialists, an important commune that absorbed the village of Saint-Nicolas-près-Granville in 1962, port and airport of South Manche, it has also been a Douzelage city since 1991, twinned with 20 European cities. Administratively, the islands of Chausey, the French Channel Islands, which include a small harbour, are part of the commune of Granville.