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Hiking on the island of Belle-Ile-en-Mer in southern Brittany.

A superb hike on the coastal path between Sauzon and the Pointe des Poulains.

The hike starts in Sauzon, a pretty little Breton port, and ends at the Pointe des Poulains, a magnificent rocky spur planted in the Atlantic Ocean. The departure of the coastal path is not difficult to find, it is located at the end of the port of Sauzon. On the other hand, it is quite difficult to get to Sauzon, there are very few connections with the mainland (there are only in July and August). The other option is to arrive at the other port of Belle-Ile, Le Palais, where the connections with Quiberon are much more frequent. Belle-Ile is a large island (20 km by 9 km), it is not possible to visit everything in one day. To get around the island you can come with your car, rent a bike, take the bus... To come back to Sauzon you have to go the other way around, making a loop in the back country is not very interesting.

Interest: good (1 user)
Difficulty:
Duration: 4 h.
Practical information

The port of Sauzon

A charming little town, it is the second port of the island after the port of Le Palais. It is the starting and ending point of the hike.
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Sauzon

The city is not very big. If you don't want to go on a long hike, you can just go up to the Cardinal's point to have a magnificent view.
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View on the Atlantic Ocean

All the course follows the coast. One never moves away from the ocean what allows to have magnificent points of view. There is no difficulty in finding your way along the path, it is marked out and it is not possible to make a mistake.
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The creeks

Along the route there are small beaches where it is good to rest. All along the coast there are points, coves, islets...
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Chemin escarpé

The coastal path is not very easy, the climbs are short but quite rough. It is never flat. To make the round trip from Sauzon to Les Poulains you need to count 9-10 kms.
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Slab indicating the path

On the picture you can see a stone indicating that you are on the coastal path (GR34). The total distance between Sauzon and Les Poulains is 4,5 kms. The path is reserved for pedestrians and forbidden to bikes. It is anyway too difficult for bikes.
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Sarah Bernard's house

The picture is taken from the roof of the house of the actress Sarah Bernard (1844 - 1923). She loved Belle-Ile very much and had this house built as well as another one a little further to receive her family and friends. The visit of this house is not free.
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La pointe des Poulains

The Pointe des Poulains is linked to Belle-Ile by a sandy beach called tombolo. This passage can be submerged in case of strong tides.
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The rocks of the Pointe des Poulains

Magnificent spectacle of the sea submerging the rocks in a bubbling of foam - To see in any season.
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The Poulains lighthouse

The lighthouse is of course automatic, you can go inside to see a small exhibition. We can read there that the temperature on Belle-Ile is 3 to 4 degrees higher than on the continent and that it rains less than in some cities of the south of France!
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The coast of Belle-Ile-en-Mer

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