The must-sees during your stay
A journey that demands planning!
A trip to Brittany’s largest island can’t simply be thrown together—it requires planning, anticipation, and a thoughtful approach to make the most of this incredible destination. To help you prepare for a truly memorable experience, we encourage you to reach out to the Tourist Office, where you’ll find guidance on:
The best port of departure based on your plans, a range of available activities, transportation options for your visit dates, accommodation possibilities, and times of peak traffic when it may be better to adjust your schedule. Belle-Île may be the largest, but its resources—especially water—are limited. Visiting or living on an island is a commitment to responsible tourism and a respect for these delicate, unique landscapes.
Each of the 4 communes offers accommodation, restaurants, visits and cultural or leisure activities… Discover all the practical information to organize your stopover!
The 4 seasons of the island
Blue, white, pink, spring on Belle-île
An impression of transparency, a sudden softness of the air, the polyphony of birds, the cliffs coming to life: it is spring. Suddenly, the desire is great to see again, at the end of the winter, the known places. We would like to be everywhere at once to savor this emotion, this wonder of the awakening nature of Belliloise…
Finally summer in Belle-île-en-Mer
From mid-June onwards, we feel the rise of an effervescence: everyone is busy. In the villages, people put the finishing touches to the organization of the shop windows, they hurry up for the final works, the markets become denser, the harbors and the creeks fill up with pleasure boats, numerous also in the harbor of Palais…
Fall or Indian summer in Belle-île-en-Mer
On the wild coast, as towards Port Kerlédan, at the Aiguilles de Port Coton, at Baluden, at the Pointe du Skeul, the clumps of foliage of the oval-leafed Statices take on red tones awakening the gray of the rocky plateau. Often mixed with the Statices, its umbels becoming red, the Sea Fennel also takes its autumn colors…
Belle-Île en Hiver……jours tranquil
Some people prefer to discover it in winter. They are not wrong in wanting to appreciate the island in its true appearance, stripped of all artifice. This is the best season to share the reality of island life with serenity, taking time. The beaches, coasts and almost deserted paths form larger landscapes and are all the more impressive that, on certain days, storms come to transform them into black and white…
the largest of the Ponant islands
From the Chausey Archipelago off Mont-Saint-Michel to Île d’Aix, the southernmost of the Ponant Islands, there are 15 permanently inhabited islands that form les îles du Ponant: Bréhat, Batz, Ouessant, Molène, Sein, the Glénan Islands, Groix, Houat, Hoëdic, the islands of the Gulf of Morbihan with Île-aux-Moines and Île d’Arz, and the largest, Belle-Île-en-Mer
These islands are not only beloved for their beauty but are also fragile lands—sometimes rugged, sometimes gentle, sometimes austere, sometimes joyful, sometimes near, sometimes remote. Mysterious and treasure-laden, each is unique, yet they all share the essence of being islands!
These mythical, enchanting havens are all accessible in less than an hour and a half by boat, or just a few minutes by plane. Each name promises an escape, inviting you to explore—especially in the off-season.
In autumn, these islands embody a lingering warmth even as it fades from the mainland. In winter, they offer a daily spectacle, the sea in constant motion. And in spring, they burst into bloom, filling the air with colors and scents.
If these islands fill all our senses, it’s because on an island, every path inevitably leads to the sea…
For further details :
The Ponant Islands have formed an association.
Association des Iles du Ponant – 17 rue du Danemark- 56 400 AURAY
02 97 56 52 57 – www.iles-du-ponant.com
aip@iles-du-ponant.com
The Ponant Islands: 15 islands and 15,789 inhabitants
Chausey Archipelago – Bréhat Island – Batz Island – Oessant Island – Molene Island – Sein Island – Archipel des Glénan – Ile de Groix – Ile de Houat – Ile de Hoëdic – Ile d’Arz – Ile aux Moines – Ile d’Yeu – Ile d’Aix.
The association ”Savoir-faire des îles du Ponant” gathers more than 60 island entrepreneurs present all year. These entrepreneurs create, thanks to their know-how, sustainable jobs on their islands. They contribute to maintaining a year-round life and essential services for the population.
On Belle-île-en-Mer, there are currently a dozen island professionals from all sectors of activity who are labeled “Savoir-faire des îles du Ponant”: agriculture, cookie making, soap making, arts and crafts, culture, accommodation and more… Visit “Savoir-faire des iles du Ponant” to discover islander know-how, support our activities and jobs, and contribute to keeping the islands alive!
On an island, all roads lead to the sea