The famous “needles” Aiguilles of Port Coton | Belle-Île-en-Mer Tourist Office

Nature - île photogénique Océan - Profiter de l'Océan, Belle île En Mer, île De Bretagne, Bretagne Sud, Au Large Du Golfe Du Morbihan

The Needles of Port-Coton The impressive

The famous paintings of Claude Monet revealed the fascinating beauty of these jagged rocks as early as 1886.
Their name comes from the foam whipped up in heavy weather forming big foamy cotton-like flakes that are admirable in every season and especially stormy days!

Getting there

Diabolical and superb

Randonner -autour de l'île, Océan - Profiter de l'Océan, Nature - île photogénique, Belle île en mer, île de Bretagne, Bretagne sud, au large du Golfe du Morbihan

A wild landscape…

The visit of this advanced point allows you to discover the sinuosity of the coast, islets and rocks of all shapes including the needles of Port Coton.

Their name comes from the whipped foam that, in heavy weather, forms large foamy flakes similar to cotton.

…immortalized forever by Claude Monet

The painter Claude Monet, who lived in Kervilahouen, just a stone’s throw away, revealed the beauty of these jagged rocks in a few famous paintings. He was originally supposed to stay just two weeks on the island, fascinated by the beauty of the landscapes, he will stay two months. As an impressionist, he worked in nature, facing the ocean, suffering the assaults of the wind and the sea. He painted 39 canvases of the wild coast with three privileged sites: Port Coton (the pyramids and the Lion Rock), Port Domois and the Port de Goulphar.

The Great Lighthouse and its fog siren

Not far from the Needles, the small white building on the cliff housed Belle-île’s fog siren. Operated from the Great Lighthouse, thanks to an electrical link and a compressed air pipe buried a meter deep, it warned navigators, in bad weather, of the proximity of the cliffs. In 1935, two walls were added to the construction to extend the range of the sound. They are now gone. Remains of the Atlantic Wall, you will also find near the Needles of Port Coton, several blockhouses still well preserved.

A rare ecosystem

The site is home to a rare and protected ecosystem. The low moors with wandering heather are a unique plant association in Europe: the wandering heather, ciliated and ashy, mix with the maritime gorse whose yellow flowers smell like coconut. It is a very rare environment and Belle-Île concentrates 80% of the European surfaces of this ecosystem. The Needles of Port Coton are as such, a Sensitive Natural Area (ENS).

Why do you love the Aiguilles de Port-Coton?

For its "impressive" sunsets!

A magnificent spot in all weathers

The benevolent presence of the Great Lighthouse

Starting point for beautiful hikes

The Needles of Port CotonSensitive Natural Area

The name “Sensitive Natural Area” (ENS) designates natural sites that are ecologically rich (fauna, flora, geology…) and landscaped. They are often fragile or threatened sites, which benefit from legal protection and which require safeguarding actions.

Morbihan has a mosaic of natural environments including the dunes of Erdeven, the forest of Trémelin or the salt marsh of Kervilhen. Belle-île, has no less than two ENS, located in the commune of Bangor: La Pointe du Talut and the Aiguilles de Port Coton.

So to help us protect this unique exceptional site that are The Needles of Port Coton, stay on the marked or already traced paths and...only pick the moment!”

It’s sinister, diabolical but superb and I don’t think I’ll find anything like it anywhere else!