Getting there and getting around

Guernsey can be reached by daily ferry service operated by Condor Ferries (www.condorferries.co.uk). The trip takes about three hours from Weymouth or Poole on the southern English coast (60 pounds, about $95 at $1.58 to the pound, round trip), or two hours from St. Malo, France (65 euros, $84 at $1.30 to the euro, round trip). Aurigny (aurigny.com) and Flybe (flybe.com) airlines offer daily flights to Guernsey from London Gatwick and nine other airports in Britain. Guernsey's bus network serves all of the island's major attractions. (Note: Guernsey's own currency is pegged to the British pound.)

What to see

Hauteville House (38 Hauteville, St. Peter Port; 44-1481-721-911; victorhugo.gg) is open from April to September, Monday to Saturday. Visits available only by guided tour; reservations required. Admission is 6 pounds.

Gill Girard (44-1-481-252-403; gillgirardtourguide.com; 6 pounds) leads guided walks and bus tours of the island on a variety of themes including Victor Hugo, as well as the Guernsey-set novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

The island has a 45-kilometer network of clifftop footpaths that follow the rugged coast. Maps are available at the information center (44-1481-723-552; visitguernsey.com).

Where to stay

Steps away from Hauteville House, the Pandora Hotel (Hauteville, St. Peter Port; 44-1481-720-971; pandorahotel.co.uk; from 47 pounds), where Hugo's mistress Juliette Drouet lived, offers flowery, salmon-pink rooms that are comfortable, if a little shabby.

Old Government House (St. Ann's Place, St. Peter Port; 44-1481-724-921; theoghhotel.com; from 125 pounds), a former governor's mansion, offers luxurious rooms in the center of town.

(China Daily 08/12/2012 page16)