Cherbourg: Port of important emigration passage!

Every stop is the opportunity for Cherbourg-Octeville to make its history and heritage known to all cruiseline visitors to the region.

The Atlantic Hotel is one such landmark that illustrates a moment in the history of Cherbourg-Octeville.

The Hotel was built in 1922 by various companies dealing with emigration candidates to USA. Among those companies were the famous White Star Line, Cunard Line, and Red Star Line.
This route of "Third Class Passengers" opened in 1926, and the old Transatlantic Railway Terminal in Cherbourg, as part of the important emigration passage, is still in operation today.

La Cité de la Mer, situated on the site of the old railway terminal, is not only a cherished souvenir of the transatlantic period, but today it is also serves as a new and unique tourist centre of great interest both as a cultural relic and as a place of scientific discovery. In fact, the centre houses the deepest aquarium in all of Europe and hosts the biggest submarine in the world that is open to the public.

The transatlantic spirit will be in full swing in 2010, as Cherbourg is expecting 21 stops that will bring more than 40,000 passengers to the area.