Riantec - Guidel

Departure from Ty Ru in Riantec, parking available on the roadside.

V45 cycle route signage

(S) From the D781, take Rue de l'Isle aux Pins and continue to a cross street.

(1) Turn right and follow the road to Pont de Kerner.

(2) In front of the church, turn left onto Rue des Écoles and stay on this road until you reach the crossroads after passing the cove.

(3) Turn left and continue straight ahead at the roundabouts until you reach a fork after the third one.

(4) Keep left and continue along Rue de la Résistance, which joins Locmalo.

(5) Stay on the main road, ignoring any turnings. Follow the ramparts to the citadel and Rue des Bains.

(6) Turn right, then right again in front of the port. Follow Boulevard de la Compagnie des Indes.

(7) Turn left onto Rue du Driasker, then left again to cross Avenue Marcel Charrier, heading towards Rue de la Digue.

(8) At the end, continue straight ahead along Avenue du Château. At the second bend in the road, turn left and walk along the water on your left along Rue Jean-Baptiste Guiheneuc.

(9) At the end, turn left onto Avenue de Kerbel, then straight ahead at the roundabout. Stay on the road until you reach the next one.

(10) Turn left and at the roundabout, take the second exit and follow the road until the second crossroads after the Foyer Résidence de Glouahec.

(11) Turn right onto Rue Pierre Brossolette, then opposite, onto Rue du Port, to go down to Sainte-Catherine.

(12) At the harbour, turn right and follow the water all the way to the end of Promenade Rallier du Baty.

(13) Take the street on the left, continue along the seafront and go up Rue du Rivage.

(14) At the end, follow the street to the right, Rue de la Douane, then turn left onto Rue de Pen Mané. Turn right in front of the car park and you will come to a crossroads.

(15) Turn left onto Rue Roger Trémaré and walk down to the Pen Mané pier.

(16) To continue the route, take an Izilo water bus, which will take you to Quai des Indes in Lorient.

(17) Follow the quays on the left and cross the bridge.

(18) At the exit, turn left, then right at the corner of the last building. At the roundabout, take the second exit and you will soon arrive at the next, larger roundabout.

(19) Take the first exit (Boulevard de la République) and ignore the streets on the right.

(20) At the end, turn left, then turn left again to take the bridge.

(21) Head towards La Base (^2nd exit on the right) and turn right down Rue du Chalutier de la Tanche.

(22) Go around the ship repair yard on the right, leaving the buildings on your left, and continue to the fishing port quays.

(23) Turn right and cross the median strip. Take the footbridge at the corner of bunker K1, then walk along the quays to the children's playground.

(24) Join the road, turn left at the roundabout and go straight ahead at the next two roundabouts.

(25) Stay on the cycle path on the left and cross the bridge towards Larmor.

(26) At the end of the bridge, follow the gentle path along the water for 2 km to the port of Kernevel.

(27) Continue straight ahead on the cycle path, turn left at the roundabout and continue for about 50 metres.

(28) Turn right onto Rue du Soleil to reach the seafront promenade. Ignore the streets on the right until you reach Place de la Nourriguel.

(29) Turn left, then immediately right onto Rue des Œillets. Turn left at the next fork and join Boulevard des Dunes.

(30) Turn right, then left and cross the car park. Stay on the street on the left to return to the seafront and the promenade.

(31) Follow the cycle path on the right to reach the village of Larmor.

(32) Continue straight ahead onto Place Notre-Dame, then turn left in front of the town hall. At the corner of the church, go down Rue de Beg Tal Men (one-way street).

(33) Turn left onto Avenue du Général de Gaulle, then right towards the Casino. Continue through the ocean park and turn left onto Rue du Fort. Pass Locqueltas Beach and continue straight ahead on Rue du Fort, then turn right onto Rue de Bellevue until you reach the crossroads.

(34) Turn left and ignore the streets on the right. Then turn left three times to stay on Rue de Kerguelen, then turn left and immediately right onto Rue de Belgique. Follow the main street (Rue de la Marne then Rue de Reims).

(35) Take the small path to the roundabout. Turn left, then left again at the crossroads and continue straight ahead. Take the path after the barrier and follow it towards Kerguélen.

(36) Continue straight ahead along the path that passes behind the water sports centre. Follow Chemin du Zornic and turn left at the car park.

(37) Turn right and follow the main road as it turns right. Continue along Rue Rorh Mez until you reach the roundabout.

(38) Follow the cycle path on the left and take the first path that turns left. Walk up the street.

(39) At the intersection, take the second exit on the left (Grande Route, Rue de l'Anse du Stole), towards Lomener. Follow it straight ahead at the roundabout.

(40) After the Parking du Stole car park, turn left onto Rue du Grazu.

(41) At Place de Lomener, turn left, then right onto Rue de Beg Tal Men. Follow the road along the coast.

(42) At the end, continue straight ahead on the footpath/cycle path to reach the end of the road (Chemin des Viviers). Continue straight ahead until you reach a crossroads.

(43) Stay on the left-hand road, then turn left down the street that leads to Plage du Perello.

(44) Continue left into the cul-de-sac. Please note that this is a pedestrian zone. You will find the road at the end of the beach.

(45) Continue straight ahead, turn right at the intersection, then left onto Chemin du Repp. Continue straight ahead until you reach the greenway.

(46) Continue straight ahead on the greenway and at the end, turn right, still on the greenway towards Kerroc'h.

(47) Continue straight ahead to the port and car park, then follow the path. Ignore the streets on either side.

(48) Turn left onto the road to join the greenway that runs along the coast. Stay on this path until you reach Guidel port.

(49) Keep left to reach Guidel port. Please note that this is a pedestrian area in front of the shops. Reach Guidel port (E).

Route marked by cycle route signs with the inscription V45. For more information on the V45 (from Roscoff to St-Nazaire), visit the France Vélo Tourisme website.

• 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.
• 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.
• The Locmalo fish market: a former fishing village, it 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.
• 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 city 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 Port de la Pointe: the heyday of the Port de la Pointe was during the era of the East India Company. Numerous ships, sometimes up to 200, from various countries, anchored in the harbour. After the sardine crisis at the beginning of^{the 20th} century, the Port de 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 de Keroman in Lorient, built in 1927.
• Kerzo Castle: built around 1878 on the Kerzo headland by Henri Guiheneuc, mayor of Port-Louis, on the site of a disused fort dating from the late^18th century. Only two turrets remain of the castle, which was partially destroyed during the 1939 war.
• Commune of Locmiquélic: in Breton, Locmikaelig, comes from the words loch (hermitage) and Mikaelig (Michel). It was long part of the commune of Riantec, became a parish in 1907 and a commune in 1919.
• 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 bought by Raymond Rallier du Baty in 1925. In 1834, a ferry service was set up between Ste-Catherine and the Perrière district of Lorient.
• The quay and the Peristyle promenade: home to the Compagnie des Indes warehouses used to store goods brought back from India. The site is now home to the Maison de l'Agglomération de Lorient, designed by architect Jean de Giacinto.
• 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.
• Avenue de la Perrière: a former road leading to a stone quarry since 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 fishing port: inaugurated in 1927, the tidal port with two basins stands in the Keroman cove, joined by a ship repair platform and an ice house since its foundation.
• 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 Ter ponds: the Ter stream, which 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 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 complemented the citadel of Port-Louis built on the left bank of the harbour.
• Loqueltas Fort: occupied by the army since the^18th century. A fort flanked by two bastions, defending the landward entrance to the enclosure, 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 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 during the 1960s with marble and household waste, was rehabilitated in 2006 to limit flooding and increase the capacity for water birds.
• The port of Lomener: Maps showing the evolution of the landscape, particularly the staff maps from the period 1820-1860, attest to the ancient settlement grouped around the port of Lomener in the form of a fishing village. It was from the^18th and especially the^19th century that Ploemeur's maritime activity developed. This was the era of sardine fishing and the rise of canneries.
• The anti-landing wall: from 1942 onwards, the Germans began construction of the "Atlantic Wall". At Le 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 Kaolin Quarry: kaolin extraction and processing began in 1904. Kaolin is used in the manufacture of porcelain and ceramics, but also in the paper, medicine and cosmetics industries.
• 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, can be reached on foot at low tide. The current buildings were rebuilt in^{the 19th} century.
• Fort du Loch: built in 1756 to protect Lorient from English invasions. Today it occasionally hosts exhibitions.
• The Loch ponds: the Loch ponds Regional Nature Reserve covers an area of 125 hectares.
• 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.

You can continue along the V45 in the commune of Clohars-Carnoët by taking the ferry across the Laïta (in season only). More information about the crossing is available online. To return to your starting point, you can download the route "The V45 cycle route from Guidel to Riantec".