Granville, Manche

Granville
The harbour of Granville, with Notre-Dame church in the background
The harbour of Granville, with Notre-Dame church in the background
Coat of arms of Granville
Location of Granville
Map
Granville is located in France
Granville
Granville
Granville is located in Normandy
Granville
Granville
Coordinates: 48°50′15″N 1°35′38″W / 48.837401°N 1.593931°W / 48.837401; -1.593931
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
DepartmentManche
ArrondissementAvranches
CantonGranville
IntercommunalityGranville, Terre et Mer
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Gilles Ménard[1]
Area
1
9.9 km2 (3.8 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
12,581
 • Density1,300/km2 (3,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
50218 /50400
Elevation0–67 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.

Granville (French pronunciation: [ɡʁɑ̃.vil] ; Norman: Graunville) is a commune in the Manche department and region of Normandy, northwestern France.[3] The chef-lieu of the canton of Granville and seat of the Communauté de communes de Granville, Terre et Mer [fr], it is a seaside resort and health resort of Mont Saint-Michel Bay, at the end of the Côte des Havres [fr], 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.

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 [fr] 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.

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Commune de Granville (50218), INSEE