Parc-musée du Granit

About the museum

The Parc-musée du Granit lies in the center of Saint-Michel-de-Montjoie in the Manche department. It traces the history of quarrying a granite known as Bleu de Vire. At the beginning of the 20th century, around a hundred quarries of all sizes were worked in the commune.

A granite museum was set up in the village in 1975, with technical and financial support from the Syndicat mixte pour l'équipement touristique de la Manche. The park is named after its founder, Marcel Cathrin, a former mayor of the commune. The quarries themselves cannot be visited, but the park presents a reconstruction.

The visit is a walk along the park's paths, with educational stops on geology, granite resources and stone-cutting techniques, as well as architectural elements, boundary stones and press troughs. The museum building houses statues and works in various granites, and a film presents the traditions and techniques of stone-cutting. Bleu de Vire was used, for example, for the tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe and for the Place de la Concorde.

Highlights

• Reconstructed quarry and old tools used by quarry workers
• Educational stops on the geology, extraction and cutting of granite
• Granite pieces: lintels, boundary stones, press troughs
• Museum building with statues and a film on stone-cutting
• Free admission all year round

Permanent exhibition

• Parc-musée du granit – Outdoor trail around a reconstructed quarry, old tools and carved pieces, with an exhibition building and a film.

Founded

1975

Visitors per year

approx. 2,573

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Free admission. Rates for adult or school groups are available on request.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

Picnic area, toilets and bicycle parking.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit