It comes as rather a surprise to discover that Vannes is on the sea. Its harbour is a channelled inlet of the ragged-edged Golfe de Morbihan – mor bihan means "little sea" in Breton – which lets in the tides through a narrow gap between the peninsulas of Rhuys and Locmariaquer. By popular tradition the islands scattered around this enclosure used to number the days of the year, though for centuries the waters have been rising and there are now fewer than one for each week. Of these, thirty are owned by film stars and the like, while two – the Île aux Moines and Île d'Arz – have regular populations and ferry services and end up extremely crowded in summer. The rest are the best, and a boat tour around them, or at least a trip out to Gavrinis near the mouth of the gulf, is a compelling attraction. As the boats thread their way through the baffling muddle of channels, you lose track of what is island and what is mainland; and everywhere there are megalithic ruins, stone circles disappearing beneath the water and solitary menhirs on small hillocks.
Pages in section ‘Golfe de Morbihan’: Er Lannic and Gavrinis islands, Presqu'île de Rhuys.
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