In the footsteps of Proust in Beg Meil

Park near the Saint-Guénolé Chapel in Beg Meil, which is part of the municipality of Fouesnant.

(S/E) Turn right onto Rue Chemin de Kervastard and follow it to the right until you reach Rue des Glénan, where the Hôtel de la Plage once stood – the hotel where Proust stayed during the summer of 1895. Turn right, go round a roundabout and you’ll come to a fork in the road.

(1) Head down to the left to reach the cove, from where there is a view of Pointe de Bel-Meil. Retrace your steps and turn left at the first street near the Agrocampus site, formerly the Hôtel Fermon, a holiday resort for Proust and his musician companion. Pass a cul-de-sac on the left and arrive at a fork in the road.

(2) Turn left into the dead-end street and continue on to the seafront.

(3) Turn right and follow the coastal path which runs alongside Liorz Vraw Cove and Plage des Oiseaux.
Continue along the path that has been re-routed between private properties, passing the large fallen menhir which was toppled by the Germans during the last war for fear that it might serve as a landmark. Try to spot the old stone boundary markers engraved with a ship’s anchor – these marked the military land belonging to the navy – and head for the semaphore station, easily recognisable by its red and white pylon.

(4) Continue along the coastal path overlooking Plage des Dunes until you reach the access point to the beach at the car park.

(5) Turn right onto Rue Chemin Creux, heading due north, and continue to the junction you passed on the way out.

(2) Carry on straight ahead, then turn left up Rue de la Cale – the same road you took on the way there – and you’ll reach Route des Dunes.

(1) Turn left, follow this road until the first road on the right, go round Saint-Guénolé Church and head back to the car park (S/E).

Route suggested by the Fouesnant Tourist Office.

Information on Proust’s stay in Fouesnant.
Former Hôtel Fermont
Beg-Meil.
Saint-Guénolé Church.