Saint Helier
St Helier is the capital of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands in the English Channel.
It is the most populous of the twelve parishes of Jersey, with a population of 35,822, over one-third of the island's total population. The town of St Helier is the largest settlement and only town of Jersey. The town consists of the built-up areas of St Helier, including First Tower, and parts of the parishes of St Saviour and St Clement, with further suburbs in surrounding parishes.
Getting to Saint Helier
If you enter Jersey from the other Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the United Kingdom, there are no regular immigration checks. However, you must carry photo identification and may be asked to confirm your nationality and prove you entered the British Isles legally (this is very rare).
- 01Jersey Airport
- 02Port Elizabeth in St Helier is
Worth seeing
Consider buying a Jersey Heritage Pass for the main attractions. In 2022 it costs £36.75 adult, £33.25 senior, £24.40 child or student. It's valid for four sites over 7 days, so effectively it saves the fourth entry fee.
- 01Elizabeth Castle
Castle on a tidal islet, built from the 16th century when the stronghold at Mont Orgueil became vulnerable to improving cannon power.
- 02Maritime Museum
Apr-Oct: daily 10AM-5PM; Nov-Mar: Sun 10AM-4PM.
- 03Jersey Museum & Art Gallery
Apr-Oct: daily 10AM-5PM; Nov-Mar: daily 10AM-4PM.
- 04Samarès Manor Botanic Gardens
Grande Route de St Clement JE2 6QW (Bus 1a),.
- 05Government House
The official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of Jersey.
Things to do
What's on? Check the Jersey Evening Post, Jersey.com, or BBC Radio Jersey on 88.8 FM. Check the tides a few days in advance for those attractions reached by tidal causeway, since low tide comes 45-60 min later each day. Elizabeth Castle website (above) posts crossing times that will be close enough for the others. Otherwise check Easytide (free) with the reference port as St Helier.
- 01Jersey Opera House
This theatre and opera house remains closed for reconstruction and is not planned to reopen until 2025, but is running performances at other locations in 2024.
Where to eat
Occasional themed food weeks celebrate the different cuisines of Jersey. Tennerfest in Oct/Nov is a promotion where you can sample top-rated restaurants for a fixed price. Midtown places include Quayside Bistro, Casa Paco, Bohemia (below), Colmar (below), Cafe Spice, Abilio's, Mano's and Park House Thai. East of the harbour are Moita's, Roseville, D L'Etang and Thai Dicq.
- 01Cafe JAC
Phillips Street, St Helier JE2 4SW (Underneath Jersey Arts Centre),.
- 02Halkett Pub & Eating House
Halkett Place, St Helier JE2 4WG,.
- 03Brasserie Colmar
Slick friendly bistro with a good menu selection.
- 04Great Wall
Chinese takeaway, mostly good standard of food.
- 05Trinity Arms
Pleasant slick place for pub grub — the full car park tells you it's popular.
Getting around Saint Helier the local way
- Get inAll these ferries are year-round and take vehicles, with daily sailings in summer, but the fast-cat from Poole is more likely to be cancelled in bad weather.
- Get inin St Helier is the usual landing point, but some of the Manche Iles ferries sail to Gorey on the east coast.
- Get aroundMost of the routes follow green and quiet lanes and off-road shared use paths, however some routes do have sections on main roads, which on the densely populated island can be quite traffic heavy at times.
- Go nextGuernsey: the ferry lands you at St Peter Port, with a much-battered harbour castle and a museum.
From Wikivoyage: Jersey, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.