Saint Peter Port

Saint Peter Port is the capital of Guernsey as well as the main port. The population in 2001 was 16,488. In Guernésiais and in French, historically the official language of Guernsey, the name of the town and its surrounding parish is St Pierre Port. The "port" distinguishes this parish from Saint Pierre Du Bois.

As well as being a parish, St. Peter Port is a small town consisting mostly of steep narrow streets and steps on the overlooking slopes. It is known that a trading post/town has existed here since before Roman times, the pre-Christian name of which has not survived into the modern era.

The post code for addresses in this parish starts with GY1.

People from St. Peter Port, were nicknamed "les Villais" (the townspeople) or "cllichards" in Guernésiais.

Geography
St. Peter Port is located on the East coast of Guernsey. It borders St Sampson's in the North, The Vale in the North-West, St Andrew's in the West and St Martin's in the South.

On the seaward side it faces Herm to the east, across the Little Roussel, and Sark and Brecqhou even further east across the Big Roussel between them and Herm. The Bréhon Tower sits in the Little Roussel between St Peter Port and Herm.

Relief
The land in the North and by the harbour is low lying but in the South, the land gets much higher (but not as high as St Martin's or the Forest). This means that there are quite a few cliffs on the coast between Havelet and Fermain.

Sport & Leisure
St. Peter Port has an English Non-League football club Guernsey F.C. who play at Footes Lane.

Subdivisions
Saint Peter Port is subdivided into four cantons:
 * 1) Canton 1 or North Canton
 * 2) Canton 2 or Canton of the North-West
 * 3) Canton 3 or Canton of the South-West
 * 4) Canton 4 or Canton of the South

In addition, the islands of Herm and Jethou belong to the parish, but are not part of any canton. They belong to Electoral district Saint Peter Port South.

Features
The features of the town include:
 * The Royal Court House, seat of the States of Guernsey
 * Hauteville House, Victor Hugo's house of exile, which is now a museum under the aegis of the city of Paris).
 * The Town Church, the parish church of St Peter Port at the heart of the town
 * St Peter Port Harbour
 * Castle Cornet, the historic fortress that guarded the strategic entrance to the port. The castle was formerly a tidal island, but since 1859 a breakwater has connected it to the enlarged harbour.
 * Elizabeth College founded in 1563 by Elizabeth I of England. The main building (built 1826) is a prominent feature of the skyline.
 * The market, the Arcade, the High Street and the Pollet, which are all part of the shopping district
 * The Guernsey Aquarium, situated in fortified tunnels built by the Nazis during the German Occupation.
 * Footes Lane

Castle Carey
Castle Carey was built in 1840 for John Carey. It is a Gothic revival property, attributed to the architect John Wilson, who designed Elizabeth College and St James Concert Hall. It was briefly the residence of the Lieutenant Governor of the Bailiwick of Guernsey and hosted Queen Victoria and Prince Albert during their visit to Guernsey in 1859, and the Duke of Cambridge in 1862. Victor Hugo’s novel “Les Travailleurs de la Mer”, published in 1866 and dedicated to Guernsey, where he spent 15 years in exile, mentions Castle Carey. The Castle stayed in the Carey family until William Wilfred Carey sold it in 1912. During the Second World War, the Germans occupying Guernsey used Castle Carey as an officers’ club.

Main roads
The following main roads (listed from North-South) provide important links between St Peter Port and the other parishes: The following coastal roads (listed from north to south) are also very important as they provide access to the shops, carparks and the harbour:
 * Les Banques (leads up the coast to St Sampson's and the north of the Island)
 * Rue des Varendes (leads to the parish of Castel)
 * Mount Row (leads to St Andrew's and the west of the Island)
 * Ruette Brayes (leads to St Martin's and the south of the Island)
 * Fort Road (leads to St Martin's)
 * St George's Esplanade
 * North Esplanade
 * South Esplanade
 * Mount Durand

Economy
Blue Islands, a regional airline, has its head office in Saint Peter Port.

Famous people

 * Sir Isaac Brock – Major General, "Hero of Upper Canada", War of 1812
 * Matthew Le Tissier, footballer
 * Georges Métivier, poet
 * Heather Watson, tennis player
 * Victor Hugo, French writer, In exile in St-Peter Port from 1855 to 1870.