LES GLENAN’S CHARACTER AND LOCATION
There’s a touch of the South Seas to this miniature archipelago off southwest Brittany. Les Glénan’s islands are easily reached from Concarneau or Bénodet. Thanks to the extraordinarily white sands and clear waters, the archipelago looks wonderfully exotic in the sunshine.
The Ile aux Moutons acts as an outpost to the main group of islands, its lighthouse standing out from afar. The handful of isles that make up Les Glénan proper form something of a circle around a lagoon-like patch of protected waters known as La Chambre, The Room, where yachts can moorin safety.
It’s not easy to get a room on Les Glénan, though. The islands are virtually uninhabited, except for the people looking after the technical installations, and a few residences that are occupied in summer – there’s no drinking water to hand on Les Glénan, and little provision of electricity.
Getting here and around the island
Seasonal connections from Fouesnant (Beg-Meil), Bénodet, Port-La-Forêt, Concarneau, Loctudy and Quimper.
Vedettes de l’Odet
Tél. 0 825 800 801 (numéro Indigo)
www.vedettes-odet.com
Vedettes Glenn
Tél. 02 98 97 10 31
www.vedettes-glenn.fr
On les Glénan, we only get around by foot ! The tour of the island of Saint Nicolas is approximately 2 km.
Accommodation
-
No hotels
-
No campsite
-
Camping in the wild is forbidden.
You’ll find restaurants on the island of Saint Nicolas. Best reserve in advance.
For sailors
Several possibilities of anchorages.
Tel. 02 98 94 97 30 or 02 98 51 62 62
Contact e-mail : georges.lequillec@ville-fouesnant.fr
Day-trippers are only allowed to disembark on one island, St-Nicolas.It’s fringed with glorious white beaches. Walking around the little place, you’ll note the extraordinary concentration of seashells. This fact helps explain why the strands are so blindingly bright – the shells decompose to leave fine white sand.
The land behind is home to a rare, white-flowering plant, the narcissus of Les Glénan. It blooms through springtime, when there are special nature outings to spot it. The picking of flowers anywhere on the archipelago is strictly forbidden. You can sample local shellfish though, at the couple of simple restaurants here.
The archipelago is renowned for its sailing school, the Ecole de Voile des Glénans (with an ‘s’). It was set up after the war by an exceptionally dedicated, pioneering couple, and has become one of the most highly regarded such schools in the world. It has spread its net wider than the Glénan archipelago, but this is still one of its main bases. Look out for some courses in English. The archipelago also has a well-knowndiving school. While bigger ships are warned away from Les Glénan (all too many have been wrecked on the reefs surrounding the archipelago), the place is great for learning and appreciating these sports.
So, your main choice with Les Glénan is either to sign up for an intensive course in sailing or diving, or to come and relax for a day, enjoying the atmosphere of glorious farniente. You may, though, spot a few donkeys hard at work, keeping the grass trim, helping that rare narcissus to flourish.
BRITISH CONNECTIONS WITH LES GLENAN
British corsairs were a scourge on the seas around France through the Ancien Régime. One of the Glénan islands, l’Ile Cigogne (Stork Island), is occupied by a fort built in the mid-18th century, in good part to stop such corsairs using the lagoon as a safe haven in which to drop anchor.
To document
Visit the gallery
Download documentation
