A tour of Sainte-Anne-d’Auray

Start from the car park at Sainte-Anne d’Auray Town Hall.

(S/E) Head east and follow Rue de Vannes towards Vannes and Mériadec. Before the roundabout, turn right towards Petit Quenneven. At the end of the road, you’ll arrive at the Domaine du Cheval Blanc.

(1) Turn right onto Rue du Marc’h Gwenn. At the end, turn right and then left onto a path not shown on the map. This path turns left, runs alongside a woodland and leads to Chemin du Boterff. Follow this path to the left and turn right to reach a roundabout straight away.

(2) Go round the roundabout on the right, cross Rue du Docteur Brianceau and continue along a hard-surfaced path. After about forty metres, turn right onto another hard-surfaced path. At the end, you’ll rejoin Rue du Docteur Brianceau; first turn left then right to follow Rue Yves Nicolazic.

At the end (town hall on the right), cross Rue de Vannes at the pedestrian crossing on the left and follow it to the left towards the sanctuary. Walk alongside the imposing stone wall with its photo exhibition and, after about 150 m, turn right into the sanctuary.

(3) Turn left at the foot of the basilica. Then cross the forecourt diagonally to the right.

(4) Then walk past the area dedicated to the Memorial to the Bretons who died for France during the First World War, on your right.

(5) At the end, turn right, go round the back of the memorial and head towards the sailors’ memorial. Turn right, then left, then right again to walk alongside the secondary school. Cross the Jean-Paul II grounds and you’ll arrive back at the foot of the basilica.

Turn left to walk round the cloister (see opening times in the practical information section) and exit on the other side.

(3) Leave the grounds, rejoin Rue de Vannes and follow it to the left. Go round the roundabout on the right and continue along Rue de Vannes until you reach the town hall (S/E).

The path running alongside the Cheval Blanc housing estate, after (1), is narrow and not suitable for people with reduced mobility. However, it is possible to bypass it by walking through the Cheval Blanc housing estate and heading directly to the roundabout (2).

Within the sanctuary, the Cloister can be accessed during the following opening hours: every day from 10.00 am to 12.00 pm and from 2.00 pm to 6.00 pm. If the Cloister is closed during your visit, you can walk round the Basilica to reach Rue de Vannes directly.

Toilets are available near the Collège/Lycée Sainte-Anne.

The Sanctuary of Sainte-Anne-d’Auray is one of the most prestigious in Brittany, having been honoured by a visit from Pope John Paul II in September 1996. It remains the first stop on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Brittany and the second in France after Lourdes.
These include the cloister (1638–1641, the sanctuary’s oldest listed building), the memorial (1922–1932), and the Scala Sancta (1962, connecting two wings of a former chapel).

Yves Nicolazic’s house is a thatched cottage which burnt down in 1902 and was subsequently restored in 1907. It was here that the visionary of Sainte-Anne, Yves Nicolazic, lived with his wife Guillemette Le Roux and their children. The barn adjoining the house was the site of the significant apparitions during the winter of 1624–1625. This barn, which burnt down on 9 March 1625, stood on the site of the current statue in the garden.
It is open to visitors from April to October, every day from 9.30 am to 6 pm.