Castle Cornet
A tidal island castle that has guarded the entrance to St Peter Port for 800 years. Its walls, gardens and five museums overlook the harbour, and the midday gun firing remains a tradition.
Castle Cornet was built in the early 13th century on a reef island outside St Peter Port. It is now linked to the town by a breakwater. During the English Civil War, it was one of the last Royalist strongholds, and it was besieged for eight and a half years. Fortifications were added during the German occupation in World War II.
The castle has five small museums: the Maritime Museum, the Guernsey Militia Museum, the No. 201 Squadron RAF Museum, the Story of the Castle exhibition, and one more. It also has four gardens restored to different periods. At 12 noon every day, a uniformed soldier fires the noon gun.
It is generally open from about April to October, from 10:00 to 17:00. Admission is about £14. It is about a 10 minute walk from the town centre along the breakwater.
Opening hours
Approx. Apr–Oct 10:00–17:00
Nearby sights
- La Vallette Bathing Pools
- St Peter Port Old Town & Harbour
- Town Church, St Peter Port
- Hauteville House (Victor Hugo's House)
- Candie Gardens & Guernsey Museum
- Victoria Tower
- Fermain Bay
- Sausmarez Manor