Ok this is another of my glorious updates/revisions in my blog. Just having a blast going back to these wonderful memories of always. It is nice happy and sad as I know now my dear late wife Martine is not with us physically anymore. This was one of her favorite areas of our Morbihan. It was a rainy day in the Presqu’île de Rhuys peninsula, but no need to stay home with the place pack with tourists and the beaches restos loaded and of course traffic is well heavy with top black colored rating. We cut across the coastal roads and avoided the traffic so again we went out to one of our favorite places, the Port du Crouesty, part I !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
Arzon is a town located at the end of the presqu’île de Rhuys ( Rhuys peninsula), it is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Morbihan, south by the bay of Quiberon, western part of Mor Braz (the big sea by the Breton just before going out into the Atlantic ocean) , and to the east by the town of Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys. It has two seaside resorts of very different characters:
Port-Navalo, dating from the early 20C (see post) , and Le Crouesty,(see posts) modern seaside resort, in constant development since the 1970s and until today, built around the largest marina on the Brittany coast. The port du Crouesty is a marina created in 1973 on the site of a swampy area located at the entrance of the Gulf of Morbihan on the territory of the town of Arzon. Today the marina, which has been expanded recently, can accommodate 1,500 pleasure boats on pontoons making it the largest marina in Bretagne.
We like the peninsula because they have a laidback beach/ocean ambiance, nice natural settings, historical sometimes, and nice seafood restos/bars to just relax and see the world. This is the case for the Presqu’île de Rhuys and it’s star spot the Port du Crouesty. We went out on our fast motorway/expressway the N165 direction Nantes and got off the exit for Sarzeau following the signs always for it until past it you see Port du Crouesty. We finally arrive at our final destination in Port du Crouesty harbor marina, gorgeous area we have been here several times since arriving in the region and my boys enjoyed the tandem bicycle rides on the beaches! This is a huge marina with several sections, a wonderful lighthouse, great harbormaster and restaurant Le Cargo, carrousel rides for the kiddies, bike rentals (Abbis), boating rides, cruises, you name it On the water. It is surrounded by a long line of restaurants and shops all wonderful ::) we love to shop here and especially eat!!! There is a nice Notre Dame du Crouesty Chapel at the tip (it was here in 565 that it was found the intact body of Saint Gildas) , and from the marina promenade you can walk to the wonderful Miramar La Cigale thalassa spa.
We have eaten on several restaurants here ,all good. The last one this lunch was at the Crous’ty Pains bakery,at the place d’Artimon, one of the newest addition to the harbor marina area. The experience was great, big tuna sandwich, nice gourmet caramel filled and glaze cake, big bottle(50 cl) of orangina and a large coffee for 9,40€, good deal, excellent service, good well done for others had all kinds of sandwiches and cakes and it was all good. The merchant’s union has info on the resto here: http://www.ucaarzon.fr/crousty-pain.html
The Port du Crouesty is very well sheltered and accessible at all hours, the Crouesty marina is equipped with 1,432 afloat berths on pontoons, including around 100 for passing boats of up to 18 meters. The port of Le Crouesty has a visitor area for your stopovers with 130 places available. Please note, the maximum draft is 1.80 m. As I walk by it , the area brings lots of wonderful moments with my dear late wife Martine, she loved to come here
You will see the nice Maison du Port or harbor house done for all kinds of events and activities with a nice seafaring architecture, and the Capitainerie or harbormaster building with the Le Cargo resto next to it and on top. You will see plenty of seafaring facades of homes and apartment building that gives it a nice quant old look and pleasant for walks at any time. Again the rain was on and off but another nice outing in the Morbihan Breton, here water is not for discussion; we go out. Another wonderful spot in my Breton lands and you are all welcome to try it.
This is where used boats are exhibited every year during the Mille Sabords Nautical Show and where the greatest skippers have made a name for themselves. The next wonderful event hopefully will be Oct 29 to Nov 1 2020. The official Mille Sabords Nautical Show: https://www.lemillesabords.com/le-mille-sabords
The Port of Crouesty is a partner of major nautical events, from the very sporty Spi Ouest France to the very colorful Semaine du Golfe. The official Semaine du Golfe (see 2027) : https://www.semainedugolfe.com/
Its a boaters paradise, with wonderful beaches, great monument such as the petit mont megaliths stones, nice Abbis velo tandem bikes rides,which my boys really enjoyed pedaling from Crouesty to Navalo! The official Abbis or Le Golf en Velo: https://www.legolfenvelo.com/
And the petit train or little train rides here is nice to ride amongst the boats and go into Arzon and into the hill where the stone Petit Mont is located, nice indeed. The official Petit Train d’Arzon: https://www.henritrip.fr/touristic-sites/171568
The commercial center of Port Crouesty is full of shops and restos, including the wonderful ice cream place L’Iceberg which taken over by the other chain we love too elsewhere and now here L’Igloo right in the esplanade. Many family memories here making the line for our huge ice cream cones! Their Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/igloocrouesty/
We did get boat rides especially nice and historical such as the Betelgeuse sail boat ride, the first sail boat to go around the world, and now no longer there but in my beloved Le Port marina area of Vannes! See the history, figures and photos of this magnificent boat here on the naval fluvial heritage on the Betegeuse; https://www.patrimoine-maritime-fluvial.org/navires/betelgeuse/
The Miramar Crouesty Thalasso and Spa (now its call the Miramar La Cigale) is a wonderful oasis of tranquility and well being, that we just went for information as we like them, and thanks to a special price from my job we tried well my wife did. The official Miramar la Cigale thalasso and spa: https://miramar-lacigale.com/en
Then for breton goodies, come to my favorite store all over this area for that, La Trinitaine, it has an outlet at port du Crouesty ,Le Crouesty, 1 Place des Huniers : https://www.latrinitaine.com/
The Gulf of Morbihan tourist office on the port du Crouesty: https://www.golfedumorbihan.bzh/explorer-vannes/decouvrir-vannes/golfe-morbihan/presquile-rhuys/arzon/port-crouesty/
The Morbihan dept 56 tourist office on the port du Crouesty: https://morbihan.com/offres/port-de-plaisance-du-crouesty-arzon-fr-4407822/
The passeport escales on harbors site info on Port du Crouesty: https://port-du-crouesty.com/
The city of Arzon on the port du Crouesty: https://www.arzon.fr/port-du-crouesty-compagnie-des-ports-du-morbihan/
There you go folks, enjoy the rest of your weekend wherever you are, and do visit the Presqu’île de Rhuys and its star the Port du Crouesty, part I !!! And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 