Belle-Ile-en-Mer

Belle-Ile is about eighty-four square kilometres, the largest Breton island, and it divides like Quiberon into a sheltered eastern side and a wild western one. Vauban rebuilt the citadel at Le Palais, which held prisoners into the twentieth century and is now partly a museum and hotel. The Aiguilles de Port-Coton, a line of rock needles off the western shore, were painted by Monet during a stay in 1886 that produced around forty canvases; the Grotte de l'Apothicairerie is a sea cave nearby. Sarah Bernhardt bought a fort on the island and spent summers there for thirty years.

What you actually see

• The Aiguilles de Port-Coton - rock needles Monet painted in 1886.
• The Vauban citadel - the fortress above Le Palais harbour.
• The Cote Sauvage - the exposed western coast of cliffs and caves.
• Sarah Bernhardt's fort - the actress's summer house on the island.

When to go

May to September; ferries run year-round but reduce in winter and cancel in rough weather. August is very busy and vehicle space on ferries books out well ahead.

Honest expectations

Taking a car across requires booking far in advance and is expensive; many visitors hire bicycles or scooters instead. Ferries cancel in bad weather. Accommodation in August is scarce and costly.

Nearby

Quiberon lies northeast; Houat and Hoedic are east.