During our last week in Jersey, we took a short ferry ride over to the neighboring island of Guernsey. The ferry ride from Jersey to Guernsey takes about an hour, and there are great views along the way of Jersey’s coastline and some of the smaller Channel Islands.

We arrived in St. Peter Port to find another beautiful port city full of interesting architecture and scenery. The history and culture of Guernsey is very like that of Jersey. The islands are of similar size and population and have followed each other very closely throughout the course of their histories. They both have nearly identical legal systems and governments, but each are separate countries and Crown Dependencies of the United Kingdom.

The only time Jersey and Guernsey significantly differed in their historical paths was during the English Civil War when Jersey sided with the Royalists, serving as a sanctuary for the exiled King Charles II while Guernsey sided with the Parliamentarians and Oliver Cromwell. Otherwise, there is not much more than friendly rivalry between the two islands today.

During our visit, we were rushing between several discussion conferences with Guernsey’s many law firms and accounting firms to discuss Guernsey’s financial services industry. Through that process, we could develop a comparison with Guernsey to Jersey’s financial services industry.

Eventually, we found some time to explore the city, which was beautiful. We even saw the home of author Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885), who lived in Guernsey from 1855 until 1870, following his exile from France. Hugo began, completed or published ​many of ​his best-known works, ​such as Les Miserables and Toilers of the Sea, during this time.

After a very busy, but rewarding visit in Guernsey, we took the short ferry ride back to Jersey the following day.