Quiberon: La Cote Sauvage

Quiberon, Bretagne, France

Companions: Granny and Daphne

Approaching the site of a former casino on our walk to Quiberon's center.

Quiberon is on an island located at the far west tip of a peninsula jutting into the Atlantic Ocean in the Bretagne region of France. The area is known as “la cote sauvage,” the wild coast and the description is apt.

Quiberon in relation to Paris

Quiberon: La Cote Sauvage

This is not a place you are likely to find on many lists of places to see, and that is fantastic because that means it will remain idyllic awaiting my return.

Arriving, we felt like we were stepping into a novel that began, “It was a dark and stormy night.” This sense was only intensified by the location of our hotel (Hotel and Spa Sofitel Thalassa) on the most far western tip of this island punctuating a peninsula reaching out into the ocean. We had violent water surrounding us on three sides.

If you love storms (I do), it was paradise.

Our approach to the hotel involved piloting our vehicle down tiny, winding alleys with spots not wide enough for cars to pass.  We saw so many interesting little corners to explore that we immediately decided we wouldn't travel farther than our feet would carry us on during our adventures the following day.

Immediately after checking in, Daphne dragged me down to the spa.  It has a whole variety of whirlpools, Roman baths, saunas, Hammans, and two large salt water pools, one with a variety of exercise obstacles in it, all overlooking the ocean. Given our sojourn in Quiberon followed a week of exploring Paris (the first for Granny and Daphne), it was a pleasure to commit to nothingness for an evening.

Having completely turned our muscles and minds to jelly, we dressed to dine in the The Market, one of the hotel’s 4 restaurants. Upon entering, we were met with the sight of about thirty feet of iced marble slabs full of seafood to choose from on our way to our table.  There was an entire sting ray on display, and I completely regret not asking how one goes about preparing and serving a whole sting ray!

The drama of Quiberon’s setting demanded a leisurely approach to our visit so that we could simply appreciate our surroundings.

The morning brought bright skies and comfortable winds, so we set out from the hotel on foot, exploring tide pools at low tide and crossing the beach on our way to the center of Quiberon. 

A walk upon the rocky shore towards Quiberon's beach.

Throughout the day, I didn’t encounter a single other English speaker (despite our relative proximity to the Channel), or any language other than French for that matter, but Quiberon is clearly a French tourist town.  It has a bike path along the beach that reminds me of the strand in Los Angeles’ South Bay; light houses, little inns, and stores that remind me of Mackinac Island at the tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula; and sea food that evokes Cape Cod.

Once we reached the center of the beach area we found the most amazing restaurant with incredible crepes and ice cream.  Given how long we had dallied cutting across the beach, those offerings seemed like entirely acceptable choices to break our fast.

Following our sugary lunch, we rented bikes and promptly became completely lost.  When we finally found our way again, we played Frogger in the street as we made our way back to the beach.  We stopped anywhere that caught our attention - which resulted in Granny and I getting fish pedicures.  We stuck our feet in large tanks full of Garra Rufa fish, which promptly attacked all of the dead skin on our feet and left them feeling soft and smooth.  It felt like I would imagine sticking my feet in a bowl of Vernors would feel. (My apologies to those poor souls who were raised on sub-premium ginger ale and can’t appreciate the reference to Vernors, which is far more effervescent than other brands.)

After returning our bikes, we decided to return to our lunch restaurant for dinner.  We ordered the mussels, as it was abundantly clear that when in Quiberon, one must have mussels, and a chocolate orange crepe.  Why can't I eat like this every day?

Incredibly fresh mussels in Quiberon.

Our walk back to the hotel allowed us to experience tide coming in on the beach. Having enjoyed the serenity of the spa, Daphne and I returned for a time. After enjoying the spa's serenity, Daphne took herself off sleep with the window open to the sound of the waves while Granny and I closed out the night with champagne, listening to a piano player, in the hotel bar next to the wild coast.