The Pointe du Croisic

On the south coast of the Pointe du Croisic, on the D45, park at the junction with Rue de Brocéliande, opposite the small beach of Baie des Sables Menus.

Please note ! This circuit is not signposted.

(S/E) Cross the D45 to join the coastal path and, facing the ocean, turn left, heading east. Follow the winding path between the road and the rocks. Pass behind a house. Further on, find the Parc de Penn Avel on your left.

(1) Enter the park for a short loop, a Mediterranean interlude, then exit and return to the coastal path. Head south-east along Port Lin beach. You will then come to the Baie du Crucifix and its small beach. The path comes out opposite the cross at a crossroads between Avenue Henri Becquerel, Rue Verdi and Avenue du Crucifix.

(2) Turn left onto Avenue du Crucifix. Continue to the end of the street to find the Chapelle du Crucifix on your right. Turn left onto Rue Emmanuel Provost and continue to the traffic circle.

(3) Turn right onto Boulevard Général Leclerc, arriving opposite the station. Cross Rue du Traict, then Rue des Poilus, and follow the latter to the left for a few meters before forking off to the right, below Mont Esprit. Paths on the left take you up to the Mont Esprit spiral lookout, where you can enjoy views over the Traict du Croisic and the Presqu'île de Guérande.

(4) Return to the path and head north, soon reaching the port. Turn left onto the street and follow the harbour on your right. You've reached the city center. Continue along the harbor, either as close as possible to the water, or on the other side of the road along the stores, restaurants and art galleries.

(5) At the end of the harbor, continue along the coast along Mont Lénigo. Keep your left to climb to the top of this small hillock, then descend on the other side and follow Allée Jacques Guilleux to the lifeguards' hangar and the Tréhic jetty.

(6) Weather permitting, walk back and forth along the jetty to the lighthouse. Then continue straight ahead to the street and turn right. Shortly afterwards, pass to the north of the Océarium, then cross the Saint-Goustan district to get back to the Côte Sauvage and the coastal path.

(7) Continue along the coastal path, as close as possible to the rocks. The path turns south to reach the tip of the Pointe du Croisic.

(8) Back on the south coast, continue along the path, pass the Fort de la Pointe, then continue eastward along the coastal path to the Rue de Brocéliande crossroads (S/E).

Yellow markings all along the route, and GR^®34 "Tour de Bretagne" white and red markings on the coastal path.

Because it's very difficult to find parking spaces near the town or port of Le Croisic in summer, and even in winter when the weather's fine, I've decided to start this tour from the south coast. It's easy to park in one of the many spaces along the road if the small parking lot is full.

Please note : Le Croisic, at the very end of the Presqu'île Guérandaise, is only served by an extremely busy road in summer. Avoid leaving the town between 5 and 7 p.m., or you'll spend more time in traffic than on the trail.

No particular difficulties for this circuit. Be careful, however, as the trail runs along the ocean and can be dangerous in strong gales.

(1) Penn Avel Park. Created by the Levesque-Panneton family as a seaside resort on former moorland at the end of the 19th century. It houses two villas and numerous outbuildings on a 9-hectare site. It now belongs to the Conservatoire du Littoral. It's a pleasant place to take a stroll amidst Mediterranean vegetation.

(4) Le Mont Esprit. This artificial hillock is made up of the ballast that trading ships abandoned in favor of salt on this former marshland. The mound rises to 26 meters and was laid out as a public garden between 1814 and 1816.

Between (4) and (5) The port and the town. The port city of Le Croisic dates back to the 17th century. Today, it's the leading port for pink shrimp, known here as the "bouquet du Croisic". The port geography was shaped by the salt trade : ships arrived loaded with stones and left this ballast on site to load the salt.
The port of Le Croisic flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries. Shipowners were involved in the salt trade, cod fishing and shipbuilding. Many fine residences date from this period.

Between (5) and (6). Mont Lénigo and the Tréhic jetty. Like Mont Esprit, Mont Lénigo is an artificial mound made of stone deposits. From the lookout at the summit, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the harbour entrance and the Pen Bron peninsula.

Between (8) and (E) Fort de la Pointe. Also known as Fort de l'Océan, this granite fort has weathered the storms of the sea for four centuries.
The Côte Sauvage lives up to its name. Lined with imposing brown rocks, it boasts a few small beaches that can't withstand the strong tides. Storms on this coast are impressive and dangerous.

Also worth seeing: Océarium, restaurants and boutiques in the village, painting galleries.