St. Helier, Jersey

The capital of Jersey, Saint Helier is a charming town with a vibrant foodie and shopping scene, and an ideal location from which to base your tour of Jersey and the Channel Islands. Odyssey’s Anglo French Tour: Normandy, Brittany and the Channel Islands includes a guided walking tour of St Helier as part of its small group journey through the Channel Islands.

The town was named after Hellerius, or Saint Helier, a 6th century ascetic hermit. Hellerius’s pagan parents sought out St. Cunibert because they had struggled to conceive a child. Cunibert advised them to pray to God, and when they had a child, to hand him over to God, so he (Cunibert) could raise him in the Christian faith. However, after Hellerius’s birth, his father, a Frankish governor, came to resent the influence that Cunibert had over his son and killed Cunibert. Hellerius fled his parents, wandering what is now Normandy, joining monastic orders, but found nowhere that could provide the quiet he wanted for Christian contemplation.

Finally, he answered a call from the few inhabitants of Jersey (then known as Gersut or Agna) to protect them from – depending on who tells the tale – Vikings or Saxons, and bring them the gospel. In Jersey, Hellerius settled on a tidal island – now known as the Hermitage Rock – near today’s Saint Helier, where he watched for invaders and (according to legend) lived in fasting and prayer for about 15 years. Helier was eventually martyred by pirates, who beheaded him with an axe. Today, believers make a pilgrimage to the Hermitage each year around his feast day, 16 July, while Saint Helier is recognised as the patron saint of Jersey.

Elizabeth Castle at low tide, St Helier.

An Abbey of St Helier was founded on a tidal island adjacent to the Hermitage in 1155. Closed during the English Reformation, the site of the abbey became the island’s major fortress, Elizabeth Castle, begun in the 1590s and named after Queen Elizabeth I by Sir Walter Raleigh, Governor of Jersey from 1600.

Elizabeth Castle remained in use as a fortress until 1923, when it was opened to the public as a museum. It was soon put into military use once again when Jersey was occupied by Germany during World War Two. The Nazis modernised the castle, and used Eastern European slave labour to rebuild its fortifications. Today the castle is again open to the public as a museum (check seasonal opening times); the Jersey War Tunnels, inland in St Lawrence, tell more of the story of the Occupation. The castle is accessible by foot at low tide and by boat at high water.

Until the end of the 18th century, Saint Helier was only a small village. King George II gave 200 pounds to build a Saint Helier harbour, bringing greater prosperity and population growth to the town, while Saint Helier grew further in the 19th century with an influx of English residents. Reflecting its rapid growth during this period, the town today has a mostly Regency and Victorian Old Town, easily explored on foot. To explore this history head to the Georgian house at 16 New Street, now renovated and open to the public as a museum.

Today, around 35,800 people live in Saint Helier (2021 census), making it the biggest settlement in the Channel Islands. Though the port and city can get busy, the charming historic centre makes a tour of St Helier easy to walk around and always full of life. Sights of interest on a tour of St Helier include the Jersey Museum and Art Gallery, located in a restored 19th century merchant’s house, and the Jersey Maritime Museum and Occupation Tapestry Gallery. The Maritime Museum brings to life Jersey’s long connection to the sea, while the occupation tapestries are a moving reminder of the island’s sacrifice under Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1945.

St Helier today

In recent years, Saint Helier has emerged as something of a foodie hub. The town is home to Bohemia, which has held a Michelin star for many years, as well as plenty of more affordable locations that offer menus based on local and seasonal produce.

Most of all, Saint Helier is an ideal launching point from which to experience the beautiful coastal scenery of Jersey, such as the Royal Bay of Grouville, Noirmont Point, La Corbière lighthouse, St Ouen’s Bay and St Brelade’s Bay. As Jersey is only about 14.5 km (9 miles) long and 8 km (5 miles) wide, it’s easy to drive from St. Helier to whatever hidden cove takes your fancy. A regular ferry service makes it easy to make a day tour of Guernsey from Saint Helier. Odyssey reaches Saint Helier by ferry from Saint-Malo, France.

Seeing St Helier on our Anglo French Tour

On our Anglo French Tour: Normandy, Brittany and the Channel Islands, the group takes the ferry from Saint-Malo to Jersey on Day 13. Day 14 tours the town and port of St Helier, with the Jersey Museum and the Occupation Tapestry, then makes short trips to La Hougue Bie and Mont Orgueil Castle at Gorey. Day 15 brings a guided walking tour of the capital, the Jersey War Tunnels, La Corbière lighthouse and St Aubin’s Bay, and Day 16 is free. On Day 17 the group visits Elizabeth Castle before the ferry to Guernsey. Our Jersey, Guernsey and Sark itinerary compares the three islands, and our Normandy, Brittany and Channel Islands itinerary sets out the whole route.

Articles about the Channel Islands published by Odyssey Traveller:

• Channel Islands: Wildflowers, Potato Peel Pie and Rebels.
• Walking Tours for Active Travellers

For all the articles Odyssey Traveller has published for mature travellers, click through on this link.

External articles to assist you on your visit to the Channel Islands:

• Insiders Guide to St. Helier
• Lonely Planet guide to the Channel Islands
• 11 Reasons to make Jersey your next holiday destination
• Lee Durrell: ‘Before I came here, I thought the whole of Jersey was Gerry’s zoo’