Beautiful gardens in the heart of St Peter Port with lawned areas and fish ponds and the most stunning views over St Peter Port harbour, Herm and Sark. Also offers a museum, art gallery, and a cafe housed in a Victorian bandstand.
Location
Candie Gardens is located in St Peter Port on Candie Road, a 5 minute walk from the high street. There are a number of entrances around the park and on-street parking on Candie Road. Parking spaces can be hard to come by near Candie Gardens but, as it is such a short walk from the town centre parking areas, they are probably your best option.
The Gardens
Candie Gardens offers a spot of tranquility in St Peter Port with beautiful flower beds, lawns, and fish ponds along with stunning views over St Peter Port Harbour, Herm and Sark. The garden is split over 2 levels with a large lawned area in the upper garden and 2 fish ponds and beautiful flower beds in the lower garden. There are benches dotted throughout the gardens to take in the views and enjoy the tranquility of the area.
At the top of the Gardens is the Priaulx Library. The library includes extensive collections of books, maps and documents, particularly relating to local history.
Guernsey Museum at Candie
Guernsey Museum is a great place to visit with kids thanks to the Discovery Room, a space dedicated to hands-on learning where visitors of all ages can enjoy retro games and traditional toys including a rocking horse, table football, punch & Judy, a model railway and a space hopper!
The Discovery Room also features the Time Warp, which changes each year to a different time period or theme for immersive interactive play and learning. The theme for 2021 is the Vikings and my girls have had lots of fun trying on the Viking costumes along with playing in the Viking longship and looking through the treasure box full of Viking goodies including helmets, shields, shoes, chainmail to name a few. On the centre table there are replica Viking games including draughts, one of my girls really wanted to play but I couldn’t for the life of me remember the rules!!
The main museum galleries are also great for kids and you can pick up activity sheets for the exhibitions from the Discovery Room to allow a deeper interaction with the galleries. Current Galleries include Early People of Guernsey, Collecting the World, Folklore of Guernsey, Guernsey language and Wildlife Photographer of the Year which is fascinating.
There is no charge to enter Candie Gardens but there is a charge to enter the museum costing £6.50 for adults, £2 for children (under 18) & students (with valid student card) and no charge for children under 7 years old. Or entry is free with a Discovery Pass that costs £20 per adult for 12 months unlimited access and accompanying children then go FREE!
Cafe Victoria
Cafe Victoria is housed within a cast iron Victorian bandstand linked to the museum, but can be accessed without paying admission. Its glass windows and terrace tables offer stunning views over the harbour and Castle Cornet to Herm, Sark and beyond. The menu offers light lunches prepared on the premises and home-made cakes.
Address
Candie Road, Guernsey, GY1 1UG
Bus Routes
41, 42, 51, 52, 61, 62, 71, 81
Admission Price
There is no charge to enter Candie Gardens but there is a charge to enter the museum costing £6.50 for adults, £2 for children (under 18) & students (with valid student card) and no charge for children under 7 years old. Or entry is free with a Discovery Pass that costs £20 per adult for 12 months unlimited access and accompanying children then go FREE!
