La Manche is a remote department, swept by the winds of the Atlantic and the English Channel, where the land juts out into the sea to form spectacular peninsulas and headlands. This insular and coastal geography has shaped a distinctive defensive architecture: fortified castles guarding harbours and straits, fortified manor houses nestled in the valleys, and towers and keep watch over the sea horizon.
Mont-Saint-Michel, a marvel of medieval architecture standing on its rock in the middle of the bay, is the most visited monument in France after Versailles. Although it is more of an abbey than a castle, it alone embodies the power and spirituality of medieval Normandy. The Château de Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, the ruins of the Château de Pirou — one of the oldest in Normandy — and the Manoir de Gratot with its romantic ruined towers reflected in the moat offer a striking panorama of Norman castle architecture.
The Cotentin Peninsula, the harbours of the Cotentin and the bocage landscapes of southern Manche are home to numerous typically Norman farmhouses, with half-timbered walls and slate roofs, which form a rural heritage of great uniformity.