Route d'art et d'histoire de Lorient

Parking available near the Hôtel Gabriel. Access by bus and water bus. Check online.

(S/E) Starting sign at the Gabriel Gate, on the left-hand side. Go through the gate and walk past the Hôtel Gabriel, then turn right. On the way down, don’t miss the Tour de la Découverte, which features a time ball unique in France (on the left and right).

(1) Walk down the Rampe des Fours à Chaux and head straight towards the Scorff. At the quay, turn right and continue straight on along the Promenade du Péristyle and the Quai des Indes. Continue to the Palais des Congrès.

(2) Turn left along the Quai Gustave Mansion, then left again to follow the Quai de Rohan, then the Boulevard Adolphe Pierre and the Quai Éric Tabarly to the Estacade.

(3) After enjoying the view, retrace your steps straight along Quai de Rohan and turn right onto Quai Gustave Mansion.

(2) Turn left after the Palais des Congrès. Walk along Parc Jules Ferry to the end, onto Avenue du Faouëdic.

(4) Continue left, then cross Avenue Anatole France, and turn right onto Rue Jean Le Coutaller near Les Halles.

(5) Turn right before the swimming pool, then cross Place de l’Hôtel de Ville to the right, walking alongside the town hall building. At the end, turn left, then immediately right to cross at the roundabout.

(6) Continue straight on along Avenue du Faouëdic and Rue du Couëdic. Take the third street on the left (Rue Vauban), then turn right onto Boulevard du Maréchal Joffre. Turn right onto Rue de Clisson.

(7) Continue straight on to Place Alsace Lorraine. Follow the square and turn right to pass in front of the church. Turn right into the cobbled lane between the two car parks.

(8) Turn left twice (Rue de l’Assemblée Nationale, Rue de Liège), then right (Rue de la Patrie). Then turn left into Rue du Port (pedestrian street), and follow it to Place Polig Monjarret.

(9) Cross the square, turn right after the Taverne, then head straight back to your starting point. (S/E)

This route is included in the Morbihan Departmental Plan for Walking and Hiking Routes and is accredited by the French Hiking Federation. You can follow the yellow markings. There is an information board with a map and details of heritage sites at the start.

-This route is organised by Lorient Agglomération
-Hôtel Gabriel: former auction house of the Compagnie des Indes (1740).
-Tour de la Découverte and mills (17th–18th centuries).
-Navy underground water reservoir (1875), 3,000 m³.
-House of the printer for the Compagnie des Indes (18th century).
-Quay of the former goods warehouses (18th century): military site (19th–20th centuries), Maison de l’Agglomération (2014, architect Jean de Giacinto)
-Mansion houses of merchants (c. 1760).
-Floating dock (1870) and lift bridge
-Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Art Deco façade (1931).
-Merville Market Halls (1964) and Dupuy de Lôme High School (post-1945).
-Grand Théâtre (2003)
-Town Hall (1960).
-Place Alsace Lorraine: formerly Place Royale (18th century).
-Notre-Dame de Victoire Church (1955).
-Civil defence shelter (1941).
-Haussmann-style building (late 19th century).
-La Banane: curved block of flats (1953).