Anchorage

Le Palais

Shelter: W, SW, S
Seabed: sand
Anchoring: Forbidden

Visitor mooring buoy field in the roadstead off Le Palais, the main port of Belle-Île-en-Mer, Morbihan, south Brittany.

Water
Mooring buoys
Visitor buoys

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach from the east between Pointe de Taillefer and Pointe de Ramonette. The buoy field lies north of the citadel, outside the commercial ferry track. Strong tidal streams set across the bay. VHF channel 9 for the harbour master. Watch for the Quiberon-Le Palais ferries, which have priority in the entrance.

Practical

Buoy mooring with water supply on pontoon ashore. Sand bottom. Shelter from W, SW and S. Exposed to N and NE winds, which send swell into the bay. Port du Palais lies 0.1 NM SW and provides full facilities if a berth is available. Sauzon is 3.1 NM NW.

Ashore

The Citadelle Vauban, refortified by Vauban from 1683, dominates the harbour and houses a museum on Belle-Île history. The covered market on quai Bonnelle opens every morning in season. A coastal path circles the island for about 85 km along cliffs and beaches including the Aiguilles de Port-Coton.

History

Belle-Île was sold by the Fouquet family to the French crown in 1718 and served as a strategic naval base. It was briefly occupied by the British between 1761 and 1763 during the Seven Years War before being returned to France under the Treaty of Paris.

Story

Claude Monet stayed at Kervilahouen in 1886 and painted 39 canvases of the Côte Sauvage on the western side of the island, including several views of the Aiguilles de Port-Coton.