The tip of the Presqu'île de Locmariaquer is only a few hundred metres away from Port Navalo and the Presqu'île de Rhuys. This peninsula has a micro-climate of its own – warm enough for pomegranates, figs, bougainvillea and the only Breton vineyards. Oysters are cultivated on the muddy gulf shores, but the currents of the gulf make this no place for swimming. The ocean beaches are the ones to head for: east from St-Gildas-de-Rhuys is the most enticing and least crowded stretch, with glittering gold- and silver-coloured rocks. For details on the whole peninsula, call in at the information centre just off the main road as you come into Sarzeau (daily: mid-June to mid-Sept 9am–8pm; mid-Sept to mid-June Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 1.30–6pm, Sun 2–6pm; tel 02.97.26.45.26, www.rhuys.com).Near SARZEAU, the impressive fourteenth-century Château de Suscinio is a completely moated castle that was once a hunting lodge of the dukes of Brittany, set in marshland at the edge of a tiny village and holding a sagging but still vivid mosaic floor. You can take a precarious stroll around its high ramparts (April & May daily 10am–noon & 2–7pm; June–Sept daily 10am–7pm; Oct–March daily except Tues 10am–noon & 2–5pm; €5). At the beautifully positioned little Hôtel Bar du Port in ST-JACQUES, 6km south, (tel 02.97.41.93.51; €40–55), all seven rooms have balconies that look out across the port to the gulf. Closer to the tip of the peninsula, clearly visible north of the main road, stands the Tumulus de Thumiac, from the top of which Julius Cæsar is said to have watched the sea battle in which the Romans defeated the Veneti. Further on, PORT NAVALO has little more character than larger ARZON which precedes it, but there's a cute little beach tucked into the headland, and the Hôtel de la Plage, 21 av de Gaulle (tel 02.97.53.75.92; under €30; closed mid-Sept to March), offers some cosy little rooms above its busy bar. Vedettes Thalassa (tel 02.97.53.70.25) runs ferries to the islands and across the gulf from the jetty nearby.
Pages in section ‘Presqu'île de Rhuys’: Gulf tours.
Alternate spellings:: France, Presqu'île de Rhuys, Presqu'île de Rhuys, Presqu'ile de Rhuys
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