Guidel - Riantec

The V45 cycle route between Guidel and Riantec (43 km). Follow the cycle route signs along the entire route.

Departure from the port of Guidel, parking available.

(S) From the slipway, follow the water on your right. Be careful of the landing area in front of the shops. Stay along the beach until you reach the road (Route de l'Atlantique).

(1) Stay on the shared pedestrian/cycle path, ignoring any turn-offs. Follow this greenway along the D152 until you reach the first road on the right at Kerroc'h.

(2) Turn right into the cul-de-sac and continue along the coast on a cycle path by the sea. Follow it and cross the car park to rejoin the greenway.

(3) Turn left and follow the path. At the road, continue straight ahead on Rue du Chemin du Repp. Follow it to Fort du Talud.

(4) Turn right, then left into the cul-de-sac. Walk along Perello beach. Caution: this is a beach access area. Walk up the street and take the first right (Chemin des Viviers). Stay on the main road and ignore any turnings.

(5) At the end, continue straight ahead on the paved path. Walk along the seafront to Lomener.

(6) Turn left, then right onto the beach after the shops. Walk up Rue du Grazu to the end.

(7) At the crossroads, turn right and follow Rue de l'Anse du Stole to the roundabout. Continue straight ahead until the bend.

(8) Continue right, then immediately left into the cul-de-sac. At the junction with the departmental road, turn right and then right again at the roundabout. Follow Rue du Rorh Mez until you reach the hairpin bend.

(9) Turn left, then left again after the car park to turn right onto Chemin du Zornic and reach the water sports centre.

(10) Go around the water sports centre by following the path on the right and continue straight on towards the woods. Ignore the first fork and continue to the next one.

(11) Stay on the path on the right. At the road, follow it and then turn right.

(12) At the roundabout, take the path on the right and follow Rue de Reims, ignoring the forks. At the end of Rue de Belgique, turn left and then immediately right onto Rue de Kerguelen, arriving at a four-way intersection.

(13) Turn right twice in succession and then a third time onto Rue Bellevue.

(14) At the end, turn left, pass in front of the beach and follow Rue du Fort to Parc de l'Océan.

(15) Turn right to enter the park. Follow the path until you reach the car park, then walk along the cemetery. In front of the Tourist Office, turn right and then immediately left to walk up Avenue de la Plage to Notre-Dame Church.

(16) Turn right and go around the church, leaving it on your left. At the roundabout near the shops, take the second street down (Boulevard de Toulhars). Continue straight along the beach, then leave it to reach a fork.

(17) Turn right and cross the car park before turning right onto Rue des Architectes. Follow this road until you reach Boulevard de la Nourriguel.

(18) Turn right onto the boulevard that runs along the beach. At the end of the promenade, turn left onto Rue du Soleil.

(19) Turn left, then right at the roundabout and follow Avenue Jules Le Guen. At the next roundabout, go straight ahead and take the cycle path. Follow it for 2 km until it moves away from the road. Keep right on the path until you reach the bridge, cross it and you will come to a roundabout.

(20) Take the first right onto the cycle path, then take the first exit at the next three roundabouts to reach the La Base neighbourhood.

(21) Turn right in front of the hangar and head towards the quays after the playground. Follow the waterfront, passing in front of the Cité de la Voile and the Keroman bunkers (K1, K2, K3). Take the footbridge at the end.

(22) Cross the median strip straight ahead, then turn left at Quai du Pourquoi-Pas.

(23) Stay on the main road that goes around the ship repair yard. At the car park, turn left onto Rue du Chalutier La Tanche. Go to the second left (on the bridge).

(24) Take the bridge, then take the first right onto Rue du Calvaire at the corner of the cemetery. Continue to Boulevard de la République.

(25) Turn right at the roundabout, take the fourth exit towards the centre of Lorient and continue to another roundabout.

(26) Turn right, then left to follow the quays to the bridge.

(27) Turn right, cross the bridge and turn right to follow the Quais des Indes and arrive at the pier.

(28) To continue the route, take an Izilo water bus, which will take you to the port of Pen Mané in Locmiquélic.

(29) Once in Locmiquélic, walk up the street and turn right after the car park onto Rue le Glouahec. Turn left onto Rue de Pen Mané, then right onto Rue de la Douane until you reach Rue du Rivage.

(30) Continue left along the street. At the car park, walk along the seafront via Promenade Rallier du Baty until you reach the port junction.

(31) Keep right towards Port de Sainte-Catherine, ignoring the streets on the left. At the end of the car park, continue along the main street (Rue du Vieux Pont) until you reach Rue Pierre Brossolette.

(32) Turn right, then left, and continue straight ahead until you reach the main road.

(33) Turn right at the roundabout, then straight ahead at the next one to reach a crossroads.

(34) Turn right and follow Rue Jean Baptiste Guiheneuc, which runs alongside the water. Turn right then left onto Avenue du Château and continue along Rue de la Digue until you reach Avenue Marcel Charrier.

(35) Turn right onto this avenue and continue along the main street to Port de la Pointe (via Boulevard de la Compagnie des Indes).

(36) Turn left onto Rue de la Brèche, then keep right onto Rue des Bains to reach Avenue du Fort de l'Aigle.

(37) Turn left, then right to follow the ramparts and the street to the end.

(38) Keep right on the main road that runs along the coast (Rue de Locmalo) and continue to the bend.

(39) Stay on the main road, which branches off to the left and then to the right, before continuing straight on along Rue de la Résistance. Continue to the roundabout.

(40) Continue straight ahead at the roundabout and follow Route de Port-Louis until you reach the second roundabout.

(41) Go straight ahead then right onto Rue de Stervins and you will arrive in the village of Riantec.

(42) At the church, turn right and take the Pont de Kerner bridge. Continue straight ahead on Rue de Kerner, then Rue de Kerpunce until you reach Rue de l'Isle aux Pins.

(43) Turn left onto Rue de l'Isle aux Pins, then right onto the departmental road. Continue on this road until you reach the village of Plouhinec (E).

The route is marked with cycle route signs bearing the inscription V45. For more information on the V45 (from Roscoff to Saint-Nazaire), visit the France Vélo Tourisme website https://www.francevelotourisme.com/itineraire/la-littorale.

To return to your starting point, you can download the route "The V45 cycle route from Riantec to Guidel".

The route continues on to Plouhinec and its neighbouring towns. For more information: https://www.francevelotourisme.com/itineraire/la-littorale

• The port of Guidel: in the 1920s, this site was covered with pastures where cows grazed. Behind it was the jetty, which had been home to the ferry connecting the two banks of the Laïta since medieval times.
• The Loch ponds: the Loch ponds Regional Nature Reserve covers an area of 125 hectares.
• Fort du Loch: built in 1756 to protect Lorient from English invasions. Today, it occasionally hosts exhibitions.
• Fort Bloqué: built in 1748 on a small island, located about a hundred metres from the shore, to defend the flourishing city of Lorient against English attacks. The fort, which is privately owned, is accessible on foot at low tide. The current buildings were rebuilt in^{the 19th} century.
• The Kaolin Quarry: kaolin extraction and processing began in 1904. Kaolin is used in the manufacture of porcelain and ceramics, but is also used in the paper, medicine and cosmetics industries.
• The anti-landing wall: in 1942, the Germans began construction of the "Atlantic Wall". In Courégant, concrete walls were built to prevent an Allied landing. Today, these remains are gradually disappearing under the effect of the tides and storms.
• The port of Lomener: Maps showing changes in the landscape, particularly military maps from the period 1820-1860, show that the old settlement was clustered around the port of Lomener in the form of a fishing village. It was from the^{18th century} onwards, and particularly in^{the 19th} century, that Ploemeur's maritime activity developed. This was the era of sardine fishing and the rise of canneries.
• The Kerguélen marshes: The lagoon was drained in 1902 for health reasons. The dune was raised with deposits of granite sand and kaolin waste. This wetland, filled in the 1960s with marble and household waste, was rehabilitated in 2006 to limit flooding and increase the capacity for water birds.
• Fort Loqueltas: occupied by the army since the^18th century. A fort flanked by two bastions, defending the entrance to the enclosure on the land side, was built there in 1758, with further modifications carried out until the end of^{the 19th century}. It was occupied by the Germans in 1939-45.
• The port of Kernevel: the port and defensive area of Kernevel was a strategic site in^{the 18th} century, as it defended Lorient and its prestigious Compagnie des Indes from an English landing. The star-shaped fort built in 1761 completed the citadel of Port-Louis built on the left bank of the harbour.
• The Ter ponds: the Ter stream now feeds the two ponds of Saint-Mathurin and Kermélo. The first was created in 1756 during the construction of the Moulin Neuf dyke. The Kermélo pond was formed in 1967 following the reconstruction of the dyke bridge destroyed by the Germans during the^Second World War.
• The former submarine base: between 1941 and 1944, the Germans built a large base to house their submarines. Part of the Atlantic Wall, it was the largest reinforced concrete military complex built by the^Third Reich outside Germany. There are visitor attractions such as the Cité de la Voile Eric Tabarly, the Flore submarine, the Underwater Museum, the K3, the international offshore racing centre and Hydrophone, the contemporary music venue.
• The fishing port: inaugurated in 1927, the tidal port with two basins stands in the Keroman cove and has been linked to a ship repair platform and an ice house since its foundation.
• Avenue de la Perrière: a former road leading to a stone quarry in the^17th century, Avenue de la Perrière became the backbone of the port area after 1945. The avenue, punctuated by red and green beacons, distributes the fishing and commercial ports in a herringbone pattern.
• The floating dock: at the beginning of^{the 19th} century, when the former port of the Compagnie des Indes closed to trade to become exclusively military, a new merchant port with a floating dock, lock and outer harbour was built in the Faouëdic riverbed.
• The quay and the Peristyle promenade: home to the Compagnie des Indes' warehouses used to store goods brought back from India. Today, the site is home to the Maison de l'agglomération de Lorient, designed by architect Jean de Giacinto.
• Sainte Catherine: a convent founded by monks in^{the 15th} century, accessible by a small bridge, which was later converted into a hospital. The estate was purchased by Raymond Rallier du Baty in 1925. In 1834, a ferry service was established between Ste-Catherine and the Perrière district of Lorient.
• Commune of Locmiquélic: in Breton, Locmikaelig, comes from the words loch (hermitage) and Mikaelig (Michel). Long part of the commune of Riantec, it was established as a parish in 1907 and a commune in 1919.
• Kerzo Castle: built around 1878 on the Kerzo headland by Henri Guiheneuc, mayor of Port-Louis, on the site of an old disused fort dating from the late 18th century. Only two turrets remain of the castle, which was partially destroyed during the 1939 war.
• The port of La Pointe: the heyday of the port of La Pointe was during the era of the French East India Company. Numerous ships, sometimes up to 200, from various countries, anchored in the harbour. After the sardine crisis of the early^20th century, the port of La Pointe became a tuna port, arming dundees (there were up to 80 of them), then turned to offshore fishing and coastal trawling. It faced competition from the new port of Keroman in Lorient, built in 1927.
• Port-Louis and its citadel: the Citadel of Port-Louis was built in^{the 16th} century by the Spanish during the conflict between Catholic Spain and Protestant England, then modified in^{the 17th} century when King Louis XIII decided to give Port-Louis the status of a royal town. In 1666, the East India Company established itself in the harbour of Port-Louis and the town of Lorient was created. The citadel's current appearance dates from this period. It now houses the East India Company Museum and the National Maritime Museum.
• The Locmalo fish market: this former fishing village was redeveloped in the^19th century for sardine fishing.
  The Port-Louis fish market opened in 1889. Competition from Keroman in Lorient led to its closure in 1927. Restored after a fire in 1943, the former fish market now houses the Salle des Fêtes.
• Petite Mer de Gâvres: this area is rich in plant and animal species. Every winter, thousands of birds come here to recharge their batteries before returning to their nesting sites.
• Sainte Radegonde Church: built in the^11th century in the Neo-Gothic style, Sainte Radegonde Church was destroyed by fire in 1917. It was rebuilt in 1927 in its current form. Its originality lies in the material used for its reconstruction: reinforced concrete.