The coastal path in Brétignolles

The sound of waves crashing on the beaches, the smell of salt air and invigorating sea breezes: this is what you can expect on this hike, which follows the coastline as closely as possible.

Details

11607
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 9.83 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 2h 50 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 9 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 9 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 20 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 5 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Departure from the town hall car park.

(S/E) Follow signs for Parée Plage along Avenue de la Plage.

(1) Opposite the mini golf course, turn right onto Rue des Morinières and continue straight ahead.

(2) After the entrance to La Motine campsite, leave the road (before it starts to climb) and take the path on the left that enters Parc des Morinières. At the following crossroads, continue straight ahead until you reach a water hole, which you should go around on the right. Cross the pedestrian crossing between the two roundabouts towards the Morinières pond.

(3) Walk around the pond, keeping the shore on your left (counterclockwise). Join Rue de la Martinière and walk up the pedestrian path on the right. At the end of Rue de la Martinière, take the path opposite.

(4) Return to the road and continue straight ahead on Avenue de la Garenne de la Chalonnière, taking the footpath on your right. Continue straight ahead, following this avenue.

(5) When you reach La Sauzaie, follow the footpath on the left along the cliff top to discover the Brétignolles coastline. Pass through the esplanade with its wooden walkway.

(6) Continue along the promenade overlooking the Sauzaie surf spot. Keep following this promenade.

(7) At Allée Sainte-Véronique, on your right, you will see the Rocher Sainte-Véronique.
Continue along the coast (along Avenue de la Corniche) to reach the Parée neighbourhood

(8). After crossing this neighbourhood, one of the oldest seaside resorts in the town, continue along the coastline, following Avenue de l'Océan until you reach a roundabout near a hotel restaurant.
Continue along the coast for 700 m until you reach the Marais Girard car park.

(9) Opposite the Oasis crêperie, turn right onto Rue du Marais Girard and continue until you reach the farm of the same name. Continue on the pavement to the right (Rue de la Source).

(10) Turn left onto the first road (signposted as a dead end) Rue des Prairies, which continues as a path.

At the end of the path, turn left to reach a roundabout. Take the first road on the right to reach the U hypermarket car park. Turn left to reach Avenue de Verdun and follow it to the right.

After passing the town hall, head to the car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 14 m - Town hall car park
  2. 1 : km 0.54 - alt. 14 m - Minigolf
  3. 2 : km 0.77 - alt. 9 m - Entrance to the Parc des Morinières
  4. 3 : km 1.41 - alt. 11 m - Etang des Morinières
  5. 4 : km 3.05 - alt. 19 m - Le Châtelier
  6. 5 : km 4.11 - alt. 8 m - La Sauzaie and its boat slipway
  7. 6 : km 4.6 - alt. 10 m - Esplanade of the Sauzaie surf spot
  8. 7 : km 5.59 - alt. 10 m - Rocher Sainte-Véronique
  9. 8 : km 6.54 - alt. 6 m - La Parée and its cafés
  10. 9 : km 8.14 - alt. 9 m - Crêperie l'Oasis
  11. 10 : km 8.42 - alt. 9 m - Impasse
  12. S/E : km 9.83 - alt. 14 m - Town hall car park

Worth a visit

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 32 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.7 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.6 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
Tannier
Tannier

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 18, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★☆☆ Average
Very busy route : No

A well-described hike, particularly enjoyable along the coast, not too busy on this winter's day, with numerous benches for picnicking facing the sea. It remains a fairly urban hike, not very wild, quite close to the road along the coastal path. But the view of the sea and the rocks is magnificent.

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sachot54
sachot54

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 11, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Easy and simple for everyone, but be careful with parking during high season, otherwise you can find spaces in the adjacent streets. Avoid the lake tour, as it is muddy and not interesting. Nice walk along the ocean. Food available along the route, shaded areas but mainly in full sun, so bring a hat. Timing was good.

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marcheur marsien
marcheur marsien

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

an easy walk that takes you through the town and along the seafront. No difficulty, with the option to sit by the sea and enjoy the waves. The only downside is the parking, which is in a blue zone throughout the town, limiting the length of your walk. We went on a market day in April and found it difficult to find a space

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Braud
Braud

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 15, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Hi
Everything's great

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Sport:6985
Sport:6985
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 07, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Nice hike, but I would have preferred to walk more along the coastline. That's just my personal opinion. 😏

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CC63
CC63

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 24, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Given the weather on the day of the hike, with rain and strong winds, we decided to stick mainly to the coast. For us, coming from Auvergne, it was very interesting to see the sea at high tide with huge waves crashing against the rocks along the coast.

For all the trails, it's a shame that we only had to answer "yes" or "no" to the question "was the trail very busy?", because as we're not from the area and given the bad weather on that day, we would have liked to be able to answer "I don't know". This is because there were people on the part of the trail along the coast, but for the rest of the trail and all the other hikes we did, there was often no one else around.

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nineuil
nineuil

A beautiful, easy and enjoyable hike that we often do. The explanations are clear and provide good guidance

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nineuil
nineuil

A very beautiful hike along the coast. We do it from time to time

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daniel.goral
daniel.goral

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

nice route, but at point 9 the explanations are a bit confusing; an IGN map would be better

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nineuil
nineuil

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 03, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A wonderful discovery

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AIRBUS2016a
AIRBUS2016a

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 20, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

Pleasant walk in the park and around the pond and the coastal area

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laborderie
laborderie

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 29, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

Very pleasant for exploring Bretignolles and its coastline. Passes through a very pleasant park. Not too busy at this time of year.

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hera
hera

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : May 08, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

Unmarked walk but very well described, impossible to get lost
No difficulty but very busy when the weather is nice because the stretch near the sea is a popular place for locals to take a stroll after lunch
Quite nice despite everything

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brossed
brossed

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 14, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

A lovely family walk with an easy route and beautiful views.

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brunet Laurent
brunet Laurent

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 10, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello,
A beautiful, pleasant hike passing through a park and a small pond, then along the coast with beautiful views and a refreshing sea breeze. The route with the app worked well for us.
Allow around two hours.

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