Well as I am on ferry marine terminals ,let me finish with this one, shall we! We love my beautiful Morbihan and it shows…! One of the highlights is the many islands in the Gulf of Morbihan and into the Atlantic Ocean on wonderful cruise ferry boats. I told you one, let me tell you another one in the Gare Maritime of Quiberon, this one in the bay of Quiberon!!
There are about 50 islands and islets in the Gulf of Morbihan (between 48 and 60 to be precise according to François de Beaulieu in his Dictionary of the Gulf of Morbihan). And on these islands, only 24 are inhabited, but very few per year! From the gare maritime de Quiberon you can cruise to the islands of Arz, Houat, Hoëdic, and the biggest Belle-ïle ,Here you will land at Le Palais, the small capital of Belle ïle which is serve year around. We are close to home about 45 minutes by car on a lovely peninsula with the sea on both sides, Heaven on earth! A must to see! I have written several posts on Quiberon but never enough me think. Well ,we are lucky to be not far from a world still unnoticed as it is the Gulf of Morbihan and the Peninsula of Quiberon. Here you have a wonderful Gare Maritime or marine station for ferry passengers for trips into the outlyng islands even in the Atlantic ocean! Let me tell you a bit more on it;hope you enjoy it as I.
The current gare maritime was built in 1972, at a time when traffic with the islands (Belle-Île, Houat and Hoedic) was much less important, The marine ferry terminal is located in Port-Maria neighborhood, Now there is construction going on for a new gare maritime, this new marine station will be built next to the current building which will remain in function until the end of the work. It will then be demolished at the end of 2022. At the start of 2023, Quiberon should have a brand new 1,500 m2 ferry terminal. The future ferry terminal is designed like a large shade supported by thin concrete poles . The building, with its fully glazed hall, disappears in favor of its maritime environment. The project brings together the passenger station and the freight hangar under a single cover. On the passenger side, the space is divided into two ; the reception hall and an area with offices and staff rooms. The freight hangar also has two parts with storage of goods; offices and technical rooms.
From April to October Compulsory parking in paid and guarded car parks with free shuttle to the ferry terminal. Outside this period, parking for the islands is carried out in the Butoir and Resistance car parks, located in the marine station area, free but without a shuttle ,about 13 minutes on foot, nice. The Parking des Îles (Semaphore) is open from April 2 to Sunday November 7, 2021. Shuttles take you free of charge to the ferry terminal every 10 to 20 minutes (5-minute journey). On your return, take the shuttle back for free by presenting your ticket. The parking des Îles or Islands car park also remains open off-season from November to the end of March, free of charge but without a shuttle. The connection is made by the BreizhGo line bus, the ‘Saint-Julien’ stop of which is located on avenue du Général de Gaulle, not far from the car park.
Both above reservation on the bay of quiberon tourist office webpage : https://www.baiedequiberon.bzh/a-voir-a-faire/prenez-le-large-vers-les-iles-du-morbihan/iles-et-croisieres/parking-des-iles
The Parking de Kerné ,64, village of Kerné , Reservations recommended. Free shuttles to both the pier for the islands. Wintering for boats, caravans, etc … Open from March 15 to November 1, 2021. Info and reservation at official webpage: https://www.parkingdekerne.com/
The city of Quiberon on the future marine terminal : https://www.ville-quiberon.fr/le-devenir-de-la-gare-maritime/
The Bay of Quiberon tourist office on where to board for the islands : https://www.baiedequiberon.co.uk/to-see-to-do/sail-away-to-the-morbihan-islands/where-to-board-for-a-cruise-or-crossing
And as talking about the main, biggest island of Belle ïle sur Mer, let me tell you a bit about this wonderful island in the Atlantic Ocean just out of the Gulf of Morbihan.
Belle-Île-en-Mer, more commonly called “Belle-Île”, is located in the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), in the south of Brittany in the department of Morbihan, 12 km south of Quiberon. A bit of old history tell us that in the center of the island, on the site of the current town of Bangor, there is a priory from all ages which takes its name from the abbey which founded it in the 7C; we do not know if it is the Abbey of Bangor in Ireland from where we know that monks like Saint Columban came to evangelize Armorica (old name for Bretagne/Brittany), or the monastery of Bangor-Fawr, founded in the Land of Wales around 545 on the Menai Strait. In the 9C, Belle-Île belonged to the counts of Cornouaille (in Armorica). The island changed guardianship again in 1029: the Count of Cornouaille Alain Canhiart entrusted the island to the Abbey of Sainte-Croix de Quimperlé (see post) which he had just founded. Domain belonging to an order under the Pope, Belle Isle was therefore legally dependent neither on the Bishopric of Vannes nor on the Duchy of Brittany but directly on the Roman Curia through a sort of island extra territoriality. Belle-Île was then erected as a marquisate in 1573.
In a more recent history, important to put it here me think we have Nicolas Fouquet (see post vaux le vicomte) was descended by his father from a family of cloth merchants in Angers, and by his mother Marie de Maupeou from the great families of Parisian parliamentarians. Through his first wife Louise Fourché (deceased in 1641), he was allied with the great families of parliamentarians of Rennes, while his second wife Madeleine de Castille was the rich heiress of a receiver general of the Clergy of France, superintendent of finances of Gaston d’Orleans. He never came to Belle-Île, but began work on fortifications, had a small jetty and a warehouse built. Fouquet was arrested on September 5, 1661 by d’Artagnan and imprisoned. The port extension project was abandoned, the marquisate was taken over by the king, who came to Nantes and had the island defended by Vauban. Fouquet continued to stay, building the Saint-Louis hospital and bringing in the nuns of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul. Fouquet’s grandson, the Marshal of Belle-Isle, still enjoyed the favors of the king who made him Marshal of France. Madeleine de Castille, Fouquet’s widow, died on December 12, 1716, and in 1718, the island was bought by the king from his grandson Louis Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Isle, then attached to the royal domain .
Some of the things to see in Belle Île and personnages who have stopped by or lived are/were: The Vauban citadel at Le Palais. The fortified urban wall of Le Palais, the only one from the 19C that has survived in its original state. The needles of Port-Coton, immortalized by the painter Claude Monet, which resemble the Sphinx, the bust of Louis XIV, the Mont Saint-Michel, according to the angles and the imagination… The port of Sauzon with the facades of its typical houses with colored shutters. The many sandy beaches, like that of Grands sables (our favorite!) which is the longest, that of Donnant with rollers for surfing. We had here the famous Cardinal de Retz , the poet Marc-Antoine de Saint-Amant who composed his Solitudes there in 1617, Gustave Flaubert, after passing through Carnac and Quiberon, came to visit Belle-Île where he surveyed the shores, fields and moors . The account of this stay is included in the work entitled Par les champs et par les grèves by Gustave Flaubert . Sarah Bernhardt owned an old fort at the Pointe des Poulains that she had built there, and had two other villas built there.
Claude Monet who immortalized the rocks named Aiguilles de Port-Coton and other peculiarities of the island in his paintings. The painter Claude Monet stayed for 74 days from September 12 to November 25, 1886. He lived in Kervilahouen, in the town of Bangor. Henri Matisse, Émile Auguste Wéry and Henri Huklenbrok stayed there in 1896.
The Belle Île tourist office: https://www.belleileenmer.co.uk/
There you go folks, another dandy marine ferry terminal , in our dearest Quiberon at the tip of the Presqu’ïle de Quiberon peninsula! We love it especially to Belle Île sur Mer!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
And remember, happy travels , good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 