Île aux Moines

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A five-minute crossing from Port-Blanc is enough to change worlds: the Île aux Moines, the largest island in the Gulf of Morbihan, unrolls 7 km of flower-filled lanes, sea-captains' houses, quiet beaches and dolmens beneath the mimosas. Nicknamed 'the pearl of the gulf', it is best savoured on foot or by bike in an almost Mediterranean mildness.

The pearl of the Gulf

The Île aux Moines is the largest of the forty-odd islands in the Gulf of Morbihan, the almost land-locked inland sea south of Vannes: seven kilometres long in the shape of a cross, and never more than a few hundred metres from the next shore. The crossing from Port-Blanc takes five minutes. Around 600 people live here all year, many more in summer.

The Gulf is a microclimate — the water warms quickly in the shallow basin and the island grows mimosa, camellias, palms and fig trees. The old quarter of Le Bourg, lanes of whitewashed fishermen's cottages and flowered granite walls, is what earns it the nickname of pearl of the Gulf. The Bois d'Amour and the Pointe de Brouel are the classic walks.

The island is also one of the great prehistoric sites of Brittany: the Kergonan cromlech, a semicircle of standing stones about 100 metres across, is among the largest in France, and the Penhap dolmen stands at the southern tip. Around the island the Gulf's tidal currents are among the strongest in Europe.

April to October

Spring is the best moment: the mimosa and camellias are out from February, the island is quiet and the Gulf is at its most luminous. July and August bring day-trippers from Vannes and the boats are full; September keeps the warmth without the crowds. The Semaine du Golfe, a large gathering of traditional sailing boats, fills the Gulf in the week of Ascension every other year.

Five minutes from Port-Blanc

The passenger boat leaves Port-Blanc, in the commune of Baden, roughly every half hour from early morning to late evening, all year, and takes five minutes; in summer there are also cruises from Vannes and Locmariaquer that stop at the island. Car parks at Port-Blanc fill by mid-morning on summer days. No formality: this is France.

Bikes can be hired at the landing and are the way to reach the southern tip, eight kilometres away; the northern half is an easy walk. A few hotels, guesthouses and rentals, and a cluster of restaurants around the port and the village — book in summer. Oysters from the Gulf, which are farmed a few hundred metres offshore.

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