Charming Islands Off The French Coast

The newest issue of Conde Nast Travler magazine highlights the many charming islands off of the coast of France.

I have visted two of them ( Ile de Re and Belle-Ile)  and found them charming, BUT, you need to spend at least 3 to 4 days to really enjoy them ( it should be a vacation just in its sefl) and I find that most visitors to France (unless they have been to France many times) do not have the time to spend within their vacarion period for that kind of stay.

Brittany Day 2 - Morbihan Bay and the Quiberon Peninsula

Of all the areas of Brittany that attract visitors, the beautiful and wild Peninsula of Quiberon (Presqu’ile de Quiberon) justifiably draws the greatest number. The peninsula is 9 miles long and is linked to the mainland by a sandbar.
Exposed to the rigors of the sea are the magnificent cliffs of the Cote Sauvage (Wild Coast) with its caves and chasms and on the wonderful stormy days (they are the best here!), the windswept sea is an impressive site.

Quiberon was once a busy sardine port (there are still 3 factories left) is now a resort area, with a ferry that connects to the resort island of Belle-Ile.

La Belle Iloise is one of the remaining canneries; they offer a wide range of sardine and tuna products, especially their Vintage sardines that are akin to fine vintage wines found in France. The factory offers 1 tour a day (in French only) but you’ll get the gist of what they are talking about with movies shown along the way and overlooking the canning process. At the end is a store with various types of products to buy!

In the summer (although it runs all year long) you can visit Belle Ile (meaning beautiful island – its an unspoiled environment with lush valleys, its beaches and well-kept villages attracts French holiday makers including several French presidents),either for the day with hiking or cycling or staying over night at one of the charming hotels found here.

Belle Ile

                                                        St Cado
One of my favorite finds at the beginning of the peninsula is the little islet, of St Cado, a speck on the water dotted with perhaps twenty white-painted houses. From the mainland, you walk across a spindly little bridge to reach the island itself. Its main feature is a twelfth-century chapel that stands on the site of a Romanesque predecessor built by St Cado around the sixth century.