Avranches (French pronunciation: [avʁɑ̃ʃ] ⓘ; Norman: Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France.

Álvaro Vaz de Almada was made 1st Count of Avranches by King Henry VI of England on August 8, 1444.

The town lost some influence after the French Revolution during which the diocese was abolished, the bailif was removed and primary and secondary schools were closed.

[7] A literary description of the town in the 19th century is recorded in Guy de Maupassant's novel Notre Cœur, when the main character Mariolle meets his lover and sets out for Mont Saint-Michel: The houses crowning the heights gave to the place from a distance the appearance of a fortification.

The town was founded on high ground overlooking the dunes and coastal marshes along the bay forming the corner between the peninsulas of the Cotentin and Brittany.

A museum, Le Scriptorial, houses the collection of manuscripts of Mont Saint-Michel, deposited in the municipal archives during the French Revolution.

Formerly dominated by the cathedral, where Henry II did penance, an open grassed area La Plate-Forme overlooking the bay towards Mont Saint-Michel displays only a few remnants of the destroyed building.

The major church Notre Dame des Champs (Avranches) was constructed in Gothic Revival style in the 19th century to restore the religious life of the town after the destruction of the cathedral.