Best Anchorages in Brittany

The Golfe du Morbihan ('Little Sea' in Breton) is one of the most extraordinary sailing destinations in France — a near-landlocked inland sea covering 120km², containing over 40 islands and islets, countless oyster beds, and some of the most dramatic prehistoric monuments in Europe (Carnac megaliths, 4,000 years old).

Belle-Île-en-Mer (Beautiful Island of the Sea) is the largest of the Breton islands and one of the most spectacular — granite cliffs on the W (Côte Sauvage), sandy beaches on the E, and the famous Aiguilles de Port-Coton stacks that Monet painted repeatedly.

Île de Groix is a car-free island 8nm off Lorient with distinctive geology (the island has unique blueschist metamorphic rocks — the only exposure in France) and excellent sailing.

The Rade de Brest is one of the world's great natural anchorages — a vast landlocked sea covering 180km², entered through the narrow Goulet de Brest (1nm wide).

Anse des Blancs Sablons at the NW tip of Finistère is one of Brittany's most dramatic and beautiful anchorages — a long white sand beach with views across to the Île de Sein and (in clear conditions) Ouessant.

Baie de Douarnenez is one of the finest natural anchorages in S Brittany — a large, well-sheltered bay with excellent holding and the characterful town of Douarnenez behind.

The Anse du Goviro on the E coast of the Presqu'île de Quiberon is one of the most pleasant sandy anchorages in S Brittany — a wide sandy beach with good holding, moderate Breton crowds, and the dramatic tidal landscape of the Quiberon Peninsula.

The Îles de Glénan are a ring of small islands 12nm S of Concarneau, creating a near-enclosed lagoon with extraordinary white sand and turquoise water — often described as the closest thing to the Caribbean in France.