Leisure Activities

Swimming
Beaches at Jullouville, St Pair-sur-Mer, and Carolles as well Granville and along the coast to Saint Martin-de-Bréhal all provide wonderful swimming. All beaches have excellent refreshment areas and children's facilities too. There are excellent municipal swimming pools in Avranches (Aqua Baie), Villedieu-les-Poeles, Vire and Granville. They are all modern, clean and well equipped and some have saunas, steam-rooms, slides, tubes and pools for parents with babies.

Walking and Cycling
Within 5 minutes of the cottage in St Pois, the countryside is ideal for walking and trekking. Bikes and, in some areas, off-road mountain bike riding, are well-catered for and outdoor activities are always encouraged in the area. Maps of local and far-reaching walks or trails can be picked up at the local Mairie or at tourist centres in main towns.

Fishing
There are fantastic areas for course and sea fishing within 30-45 minutes of the village and easy access to riverbanks and fishing clubs as well as ports and excellent sea fishing trips around the coastline.

Horse Racing and Trotting
A very popular spectator sport in Normandy, many towns have excellent horse racing courses and it's always competitive but good fun.

Football and Tennis
St Pois has a Stade that provides free football pitches including goals and nets and areas for playing football, netball and tennis.

Shopping
All towns in France hold a market at least once a week. Visitors to the markets in the area can buy anything from carrots to lawn mowers, carpets to CD's at any one time and half the fun can be gained by watching the locals buying their food. Granville and Avranches have excellent shops that sell designer clothes and goods and, further north, Deauville, Trouville and Honfleur all have fantastic shopping.

And, of course, Eating and Drinking...
The French are renown for their food and drink! Local produce is invariably used in restaurants in the area around St Pois so quality is almost guaranteed! All towns in Normandy will have at least one good restaurant and a tabac or bar. Small towns or villages will be more than pleased to serve up a 4 course lunch with wine for a very reasonable price. Granville has numerous good seafood restaurants as well as the more traditional Norman cuisine and international bars and restaurants. Avranches offers excellent dining out, as does, Villedieu-les-Poeles, Vire and Mortain. And, if a day out involves a trip anywhere on the north Normandy coast, an evening meal in a restaurant overlooking the old harbour at Honfleur is essential!