Island guide
What to do on Belle-Île-en-Mer: the guide
The Vauban citadel in Le Palais, Sauzon, the Port-Coton needles, the Pointe des Poulains, the great lighthouse and the beaches: what to do on Belle-Île-en-Mer and how to get there.
7 min read
The largest of the Breton islands, Belle-Île has four municipalities: Le Palais, Sauzon, Bangor and Locmaria. On the mainland side, harbours and sheltered beaches; on the ocean side, one of the most spectacular wild coasts in Brittany.
How to get there
Boats leave all year round from Quiberon for Le Palais, in less than an hour, and in season for Sauzon too. Other services run in summer from Vannes, Port-Navalo or Lorient. Taking your car is expensive and must be booked well in advance: a bike, a scooter or a hire car on the island is enough.
Le Palais and its citadel
The citadel, remodelled by Vauban, overlooks the harbour where the boats arrive. Visits have been suspended for restoration work: ask on site before going up.
Sauzon and the Pointe des Poulains
Sauzon, with its colourful houses around the harbour, is the most photographed village on the island. To the north, the Pointe des Poulains, where Sarah Bernhardt spent her summers, ends with a lighthouse on an islet. The Grotte de l’Apothicairerie opens in the cliff nearby.
Villages and headlands
VillageSauzonSauzon · 2 hours to half a day, a full day with the Pointe des Poulains or DonnantSauzon is Belle-Île’s picture-postcard little harbour, with pastel facades, boats, terraces and easy access to the Pointe des Poulains, Donnant and the wild coast.
VillageLe PalaisLe Palais · 2 hours to half a day for the town, a full day with another site on Belle-ÎleLe Palais welcomes the Belle-Île ferries beneath the massive outline of the Vauban Citadel, among ramparts, harbour basins, lanes, artists and military heritage.
ViewpointPointe des PoulainsSauzon, Belle-Île-en-Mer · 2 hours to half a day.The jewel of north-west Belle-Île, with an 1868 lighthouse, Sarah Bernhardt’s estate and a 360° ocean view, open all year but with an islet cut off at high tide.
LighthousePoulains LighthouseSauzon, Belle-Île · 1 h 30 to 3 hours, longer with the Sarah Bernhardt spaces and a hikeAt the north-western tip of Belle-Île, an 18 m lighthouse with keeper’s house, opened in 1868, 62 steps, a white flash every 5 seconds and an islet cut off at high tide.
The wild coast and Port-Coton
The Port-Coton needles, painted by Claude Monet in 1886, raise their rocky points against the ocean. The great Goulphar lighthouse, close by, can be visited in the summer season. Port-Donnant, a superb beach between two cliffs, is dangerous for swimming.
The wild coast
ViewpointAiguilles de Port CotonBangor · 45 minutes to 1 h 30 for the site, longer for a hike or the Monet trail.One of Belle-Île-en-Mer’s most famous landscapes, immortalised by Claude Monet in 1886, with rock needles, cliffs and a spectacular sunset.
LighthouseGoulphar LighthouseBangor, Belle-Île · 1 h to 1 h 30.A major landfall lighthouse on Belle-Île, 52.25 m high, with 247 steps, a lighthouse museum and one of the island’s great views.
BeachDonnant BeachBelle-Île-en-Mer · 3 to 5 hours, a full day with a hikeIn Bangor, Donnant is a cove more than 350 m long facing due west, overlooked by huge dunes, known for its rollers, its surf schools and lifeguarded swimming in July and August.
The beaches
On the east side, the Grands Sables beach in Locmaria is the largest on the island, and the safest for swimming. Herlin and Ramonette offer other sheltered coves.
The beaches of Belle-Île
BeachPlage des Grands Sables, secteur LocmariaLocmaria · 2 h 30 to half a dayThe Locmaria side of Les Grands Sables, on the east coast of Groix, reached by a path, with white sand, clear water and the Sables Rouges close by.
BeachPlage d’HerlinBelle-Île-en-Mer · 3 to 5 hours, a full day with a walkIn Bangor on Belle-Île-en-Mer, Herlin fans out between high cliffs, with fine sand, rollers suited to bodyboarding, summer lifeguards and side currents that must never be underestimated.
BeachPlage de RamonetteLe Palais, Belle-Île-en-Mer · 1 h 30 to half a dayOn Belle-Île-en-Mer, Ramonette is the closest beach to Le Palais, facing due east, very sunny in summer, with pale sand, a small cave and an old tradition of bathing huts.
Where to stay on Belle-Île-en-Mer
Stay in Belle-Île-en-Mer
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