The guide
Our ideas for a stay on the coast, from the most obvious to the least well known. Everything is within 30 minutes of our two holiday cottages.
The classic walk on the Pink Granite Coast: a stretch of the GR34 coastal path that hugs the sea among the rocks, from Trestraou beach in Perros-Guirec to the harbour at Ploumanac’h. Allow around 1 hour 30 minutes each way if you stop for photos. Set off early in the morning or late in the day: the light is more beautiful and there are fewer people around.
The Mean Ruz lighthouse, built from pink granite, is the symbol of the coast. Right next to it, the Saint-Guirec oratory sits on the beach, with its feet in the water at high tide.
Off the coast of Perros-Guirec, one of France’s oldest nature reserves is home to the country’s only gannet colony, puffins in spring, and grey seals. Boats leave from Trestraou harbour station, generally from April to September; you can land on Île-aux-Moines.
Less well known than Ploumanac’h, the Renote peninsula has equally spectacular granite boulders and white sand coves. The walk around it is easy enough for the whole family.
This castle on its own little island, opposite Tourony beach, is privately owned and not open to visitors, but you can admire it from the coast, or get a closer look by kayak.
Guided kayak trips from Trestraou, or hire your own and explore the Ploumanac’h cove independently: the coast looks completely different from the sea.
The Perros-Guirec watersports centre offers courses, outings and aqua hiking sessions, walking in the water in a small group.
At low tide, the rock pools are full of crabs and shrimp. The biggest tides, around the spring and autumn equinoxes, uncover the most shoreline. Stick to the minimum catch sizes and put the rocks back as you found them.
The coast’s marine life, in a building tucked beneath the rocks near Coz-Pors beach.
The Cité des Télécoms and the Brittany Planetarium, both built around the huge white radome: enough to fill half a day, for all ages.
Linked to the mainland by a bridge, Île Grande, in Pleumeur-Bodou, is a wilder spot, with an LPO (bird protection league) centre devoted to seabirds.
Heated seawater pools facing the beach, perfect for a rainy morning.
About twenty minutes away: its half-timbered houses, its quaysides, and the church of Brélévenez with its stairway.
The episcopal town of the Trégor, with its cathedral and cloister, about thirty minutes away.
Free, no booking required, and different every evening. The rocks along the customs officers’ path and at Trégastel take on their brightest colour in the last hour of daylight.
Perros-Guirec · 3-star rated
A two-bedroom house and a separate studio set around an enclosed garden, on the Perros-Guirec coast road. Jacuzzi facing the bay, with Trestrignel beach a 5-minute walk away.
Trégastel · 3-star rated · Clévacances-rated
A renovated three-bedroom house in the heart of Trégastel village, facing the Ploumanac'h lighthouse and Costaérès castle. Jacuzzi all year round, with the beach less than 100m away.
