Tatihou Island: A Destination Between Nature And Culture
Tatihou Island, located opposite Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue in the Manche department, is a small piece of land spanning 28 hectares. Despite its modest size, this destination boasts significant attractions: unspoiled nature, Vauban fortifications, and a highly popular music festival.
Tahitou, the natural side
The Tatihou Island, which belongs to the Coastal Protection Agency, is a preserved territory and a true paradise for birds. It includes a three-hectare ornithological reserve, which serves as a wintering or migration area for numerous species.
There are more than 150 different species recorded, such as herring gulls, lesser black-backed gulls, and great black-backed gulls, oystercatchers, Steller's eiders, common teals, yellow-legged gulls, snow buntings, and rock pipits.
The island also has gardens that bring together several hundred coastal species:
• A discovery garden or "habitats garden"
• A three-hectare maritime garden, which highlights the endemic plants of the Atlantic Channel
• An acclimatization garden that features exotic species in the former courtyards of the Lazaret.
Tahiti's heritage side
Tahitou Island can also boast of its historical heritage. It has no fewer than two monuments designed by Vauban: a Fort Vauban built in 1694 and a Vauban Tower listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008.
The former Lazaretto, built in 1720, now houses a maritime museum. This museum, which receives 60,000 visitors per year, invites you to discover the fishing and shipbuilding activities on the Normandy coast.
Good to know
As the island is located opposite the port of Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, access is by amphibious vehicle or on foot at certain low tides. It is strongly recommended to book, especially in summer, as the number of seats on board is limited.
Departures from the port of Saint-Vaast are every 30 minutes at high tide and every hour at low tide. Dogs are strictly forbidden on the island, even if kept on a leash or carried in a bag.
Tatihou Island Festival
Tatihou Island has the unique feature of hosting a festival of sea music: Les Traversées Tatihou.
This festival, organized annually around August 15th, celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2024.
The 30th edition will be organized by the Manche Department between land and sea. It will take place from August 20 to 25, 2024 between Val de Saire, Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue, and Tatihou Island.
The program of this festival, paced by the tides, includes concerts, dances, Irish sessions, cinema screenings, activities, artistic practice workshops, meetings, musical strolls, garden promenade-concerts, and musical encounters with Frank Tenaille.
