Guernsey

Guernsey is the second largest of the Channel Islands and a British Crown dependency in the English Channel approximately twenty-seven miles west of Normandy, France, and seventy-five miles from the south coast of England. The island covers approximately 24 square miles and has a population of around 67,000; it is a self-governing jurisdiction with its own parliament, the States of Guernsey, and an offshore financial sector that forms a significant part of its economy. The island was occupied by Germany from 1940 to 1945 and contains extensive fortifications from that period. Victor Hugo lived in exile in Guernsey for fifteen years and wrote Les Misérables there; his house, Hauteville House, is open to visitors.