If you wish to visit Île aux Moines, the “Pearl of the Gulf”, on foot, which despite its name was never endowed with either monastery or monks, this is the place to stop over. It was owned by the Abbey of Redon, hence its name.
Everything about this island is appealing with a recently redeveloped marina, Le Bois d’Amour, Grande Plage (long beach) and small creeks, megaliths, pretty houses and gardens with an attractive mix of English charm and Mediterranean species.
Even the shadows are bright here. Even the stunning silence is punctuated by a breeze and lapping water.
The island’s Sailing Festival brings together 400 vessels of all kinds, from traditional rigs to Olympic catamarans, for three days of fun and racing on the 15th August bank holiday weekend.
Port-Blanc is just 300 metres from the island, a little more with the current. This promontory on the Baden coast is a green town with a 37-km shoreline and an 18-hole golf course on the River of Auray.
These twin marinas never dry out. They are a dream stopover in the centre of the Golfe du Morbihan, with a practical location: one foot on the island, one foot on the “mainland”.