MESQUER / BRETAGNE

The heart of oyster farming...

Kercabellec, a beaching port, has known an important development thanks to the production of salt. The salt industry developed in Mesquer over the centuries to reach its peak in the 19th century.

Used mainly for preserving fish and meat, salt was shipped to the port of Kercabellec and exported to the whole Atlantic coast.

It was around 1880, in response to the drying up of the natural banks, that oyster farming really developed.

The bay of Kercabellec, which is suitable for both flat and table cultivation, has numerous refining basins.

Nowadays, 6 Mesquéra farms exist, mainly cultivating hollow oysters.

From the spat to the plate, 18 months to 3 years are necessary (initially at sea for the period of fattening then in oyster beds for maturing) to give them this so particular and famous taste of the ''oysters of Mesquer''.

A nice walk through the salt marshes...

Between the salt marshes and the ocean, between fresh and salt water, this route is ideal for observing the landscapes and the birds.

This circuit first winds along the channel between the salt ponds and plunges you into a world of water and silence where the birdlife lives and delights you.

Then, you leave the salt marshes to cross the undulating bocage which leads you to the ocean. Once you reach the customs house, you will see the sea, the beach and the rocks towards the Pointe de Merquel.

A combination of the smell of salt and iodine!

4h15 of walking over 16.5 km through marshes and bocage before reaching the ocean...

Accessibility: coastal path and paths along the salt marshes reserved for pedestrians. Beware, there is a section that is impassable at high tide.

Cradled by nearly 4000 years of history, Piriac sur Mer, an authentic seaside resort, has managed to preserve and enhance a rich and tumultuous past of legends, battles and conquests.

With a homogeneous and high quality architectural heritage, Piriac sur Mer was awarded the label "Petite Cité de Caractère" in May 2002.

The village centre is home to beautiful granite houses, some of which are over 300 years old and have withstood the ravages of time.

The port is an essential place to go for a walk and is a real hub of interest for sea and water sports enthusiasts: sailing school, sea kayaking, old rigging, diving, sea bass fishing guide, aquatic centre, fishing on foot, etc.

For those who love walking, a coastal path with many viewpoints leads to the Pointe du Castelli.

For yachting lovers...

Piriac can be proud to have had its own harbour since the 18th century, with the construction of the first pier in 1758.

Proudly protected by the village church, it has evolved over the years and can currently accommodate 780 boats on pontoons and around 20 boats on the beach.

A fishing wharf gathers about fifteen professionals. The major characteristic of the port is the access to its wet dock through a tilting door which opens and closes at the rhythm of the tides when the water level reaches 2.40 metres at its lowest.

The port is an essential place to go for a walk and is a real hub of interest for sea and water sports enthusiasts: sailing school, sea kayaking, old rigging, diving, sea bass fishing guide, aquatic centre, fishing on foot, etc.

The fifth largest fishing port in France...

La Turballe has built its reputation on its daily fishing and the quality of its products, and can be proud to have one of the most advanced tidal centres in terms of sanitary equipment.

Its flotilla is made up of around 70 units and the fishing activity mobilises 300 professionals (fishmongers, ship mechanics, auction employees, etc.).

Sardines and anchovies are fished from spring to autumn when the regulations allow it. Outside these periods, sea bass, hake, sea bream, etc. are caught.

The tidal centre (auction) has been completely renovated. It has a 1000m² hall, 12 tidal workshops, each with its own cold room, a sorting and weighing room...

Last survivor of the windmills...

The Kerbroué mill :

Formerly called "Moulin de Maincrom" (the curved stone), from the name of the plot where it was built in the 18th century, it was modernised in 1893: raised by one floor and provided with a second pair of millstones, equipped with the Berton system as well as an orientation reel (butterfly).

The last survivor in the region, it worked until the end of 1960. At that time it was still in the middle of pastures and cereal fields.

In 2004, bought by the municipality of La Turballe, it was restored and then entrusted to the association "Au gré des Vents" which manages the Turballais heritage.

A visit is necessary to discover the mechanism that allows the grain to be crushed to extract the flour. On 4 levels, the force of the wings, 52m² of sail, drives the spinning wheel, the lantern, the big iron, which, in their turn, by various gears will make turn the sorter, the current grinding stone, the blutterie, to obtain the fine flower and the gruel...

Duration of the visit 45 minutes.

The miller's house :

Once a place for storing grain or flour, this place is now the memory of former daily objects.Generous donors have helped to build up a collection of daily objects to bring back to life the days when the donkey went back and forth between the farm and the mill... and the wings turned in the wind...

You will admire : Headdresses and clothes, embossing and ironing irons, laces, heaters, clogs...

From La Turballe, visit the islands of Morbihan, jewels of nature and calm... iodized memories guaranteed!

Belle île en mer, Houat, Hoëdic have some nice surprises in store for you...

Belle-île-en-Mer, "The well-named" owes its name to the beauty and diversity of its landscapes. Belle Ile is the largest of the Breton islands (20 km long and 9 km wide).

It offers two distinct types of coastline: the "inland" coastline, particularly hilly and lined with large beaches, and the "wild" rocky and steep coastline.

Enjoy the white sandy beaches and paths of the wild coast at Houat.

The island is 5 km long and 1 km wide. You can stroll through the village among the pretty white houses with flowers or on the wild coast path (on foot only), but also enjoy the white sandy beaches or discover the interior of the island by bike. And don't forget to visit the hatching house to discover the microscopic marine world - tel: 02 97 52 38 38

Nicknamed "the duckling", Hoëdic is the smallest of the three islands: 2.5 km long and 800 m wide. Let yourself be guided by the wind, you will discover its Vauban fort, its pastel church, its fountain where women used to come to fetch drinking water.

You will enjoy the sunshine in its beautiful coves and its peaceful atmosphere.

This island can only be visited on foot.

An exceptional and preserved site...

The Guérande Peninsula, a territory with preserved riches: large natural spaces, traditional architecture, typical villages and people with a wide range of skills.

Marked by the diversity of its landscapes, the Peninsula is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South, the Vilaine Estuary to the North, and the Grande Brière marshes to the East.

The territory of the Presqu'île partly overlaps with the territory of the Brière Regional Nature Park, created in 1970 (8 communes of the Presqu'île are members of the Brière Regional Nature Park: Assérac, Guérande, Herbignac, La Baule, Saint-Lyphard, Saint-Molf, Pornichet, Saint-André-des-eaux).

The second largest marsh in France...

Just a stone's throw from La Baule and the salt marshes of Guérande, and only a few kilometres from Nantes in the south of Bretagne, the Brière never ceases to amaze visitors.

It is on board of a barge, a black and tapered flat-bottomed boat steered with a pole, that this vast expanse of canals and wet meadows reveals its most beautiful faces...

Whether it is its exceptional environment, its freshwater marshes dotted with reedbeds, where numerous species of birds nest, or its architectural heritage, symbolised by the typical thatched roofs that cover the traditional houses.

The territory of the Brière Regional Nature Park contains almost 60% of the thatched cottages in France. The flowery hamlet of Kerhinet is home to these restored traditional houses.