Our French lighthouse road trip had begun ten years ago with a tour of Normandy and Brittany. This year we picked up the trail in La Rochelle, enjoying the beautiful port town basking in glorious sunshine and exploring the nearby l'île de Ré and its lighthouses. You can read about that here.
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| Medieval town of Vannes, France |
The next leg of our journey would take us to the medieval town of Vannes with a string of lighthouses to tick off en route. An hours' drive away from La Rochelle was our first lighthouse, Phare du Grouin du Cou, tucked inland near La Tranche-sur-Mer, which is a very quiet town. It is sustained by one hotel that serves as a boulangerie, restaurant and coffee shop serving an 'eccentric' cappuccino.
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| Phare du Grouin du Cou, La Tranche-sur-Mer |
Our next stop was the seaside resort Les Sables-d'Olonne. We found Phare de la Potence, a square stone tower from the 1800s, set back from the seafront. As we wandered down to the esplanade, we discovered its navigational partner, the Remblai light, which forms a pair of leading lights guiding ships past the nearby sandbanks. From the long promenade you can see a Gormley-esque figure, the Statue d'Ulysse standing proud in the sea.
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| Phare de la Potence, Les Sables-d'Olonne |
Driving across town, we spotted the twin quay lights: Phare de la Jetée des Sables. The green one is known locally as 'Little Pisa' as it leans towards the open sea, a result of occupying troops attempting to blow up the pier at the end of World War II. It has subsequently been stabilised! Then came the big one on the outskirts of the town. Phare de l’Armandèche is a stunning 1968 Art Deco hexagonal lighthouse topped a red lantern. It was the last lighthouse to be built in France, and it feels like they wanted to go out in style.
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Phare de l’Armandèche,Les Sables-d'Olonne
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The next lighthouse was a little more understated in the seaside town of Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. Phare du Gabio is a tall white tower tucked into a quiet back street. It’s part of a range light system with the smaller Phare de l’Adon on the jetty. We missed the latter so another reason to come back at some point in the future.
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| Phare du Gabio, Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. |
We were now not far from our destination and our base for the next two nights. Vannes is a busy little city nestled at the mouth of the Marle and Vincin rivers. The old town is still wrapped in medieval ramparts, and the towers, gates, and bastions overlook the manicured Jardin des Remparts. Within the ancient walls the old town is a delight of narrow lanes, lined with half-timbered houses, some boasting their original facades. Within the labyrinth of wooden-framed buildings you'll find a host of interesting independent shops, the best being the Vêtements marins Mousqueton where we seriously loaded up on Breton stripes.
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| Timber Houses of Vannes |
Vannes has a pretty harbour sat on the river and whilst a working port it's also a great place to sit with a beer and watch the world go by. Café Ferdinand became our go-to for sunset drinks, and the Awen Brewery Pub, a little further up the river along the tree-lined promenade was a great spot for local craft beer.
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| Eating out in Vannes |
It was time to move on again to our final stop of Penmarch. But of course there were lighthouses to see on the way. Phare de Kerbel and Phare de Poulfanc are just a few minutes apart from each other in Riantec. Both are retired but have had very different fates. Kerbel’s been converted into a space-age, retro-futuristic apartment. The building is all yours' at 700 euros a night. A snip! In contrast, around the corner quietly sits Poulfanc, unloved and uncared for, its tower now a relic of former maritime glories.
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| Phare de Kerbel, Riantec |
You get the feeling that the Port de Doëlan is going to be something special by the spectacular decent on windy roads to the seafront. It doesn't disappoint and the small town is built around a stunning postcard-perfect marina and boasts two lighthouses, the green Phare de Doëlan aval and red Phare de Doëlan amont. The view was too good not to stop for a small cold beer and take in the sumptuous views.
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| Port de Doëlan |
We dragged ourselves away and then drove to Bénodet, a much larger seaside town than Port de Doëlan but equally beautiful in its own way. A charming promenade and lovely beaches made this place a delight to explore. The Phare Le Coq has its peculiar name adorning the lighthouse. It is named after a rooster-shaped rock that once stood nearby. It’s a little light on the seafront which is paired with the grand Feu de la Pyramide, a much more substantial tower whose white stone silhouette is visible for miles, useful for a lighthouse but also handy as it's on private land so whilst you can't get access there are plenty of opportunities to take a good photo.
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| Phare Le Coq, Bénodet |
Across the estuary is Pointe de Combrit, where the final lighthouse of the day sat in a low-walled garden overlooking a pebble beach. Another lighthouse converted into accommodation. It is a quiet and secluded spot surrounded by woods full of walking trails, and it offered lovely views back toward Bénodet. A good trio of lighthouses to end our lighthouse trail for today at least.
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| Pointe de Combrit, Bénodet |
Our next and final stop on this trip was Penmarch, a town described as being on the edge of the world, with a lighthouse fitting for that mantle.
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| Penmarch |
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