Ile aux Moines France: a glorious day trip in Brittany
Île-aux-Moines is the largest of 42 islands in the Gulf of Morbihan in southern Brittany. While the Gulf of Morbihan feels like a hidden corner of Brittany, Île-aux-Moines manages to reduce the pace of life to a speed even slower than that of the sleepy Morbihan mainland.
Île-aux-Moines is a popular day trip with walkers and cyclists who ply the paths across the island. This popularity does not detract from the isle’s beauty or its tranquility. The place has a lazy summer feel to it – there’s not much to see (some megalithic sites, a few churches, pretty houses) and not a great deal to do (eat, cycle, walk, swim in the sea).
It dawned on me during our visit to Île-aux-Moines (moine means monk in French) that monks have landed themselves some pretty decent digs over the centuries. Île-aux-Moines is up there with Bellapais Abbey in Northern Cyprus for its incredible location.
Looking for more French holiday ideas? Check out my article about visiting France with kids.
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How to get to Île-aux-Moines
Île-aux-Moines Ferry
Although it’s close enough to swim to (I wouldn’t try it though – the currents swirling around look pretty strong), there’s a regular ferry which plies the narrow stretch of water between Port Blanc and Île-aux-Moines, taking all of five minutes.
The ferry (in the summer of 2023) cost €20 for our family of four. The boats go back and forth regularly throughout the day, stopping at about 6pm. I would love to have missed the last one back to the mainland.
Travel from Paris to Île-aux-Moines
There are frequent buses from the regional capital Vannes, 15 kilometres away (another beautiful place) to the little ferry dock at Port Blanc. And you can travel directly to Vannes from Paris in 2.5 hours.
Cycling
We spent a day exploring Île-aux-Moines by bike. The island is just seven kilometres by three kilometres so it’s not a very demanding day out. There are four colour coded routes to follow on foot or by bike across the island ranging from 1.5 to 18 kilometres.
Aside from a few slight inclines, the island is pretty flat. If you’re visiting Île-aux-Moines with little children, there are plenty of bikes to hire with a trailer attachment to pop two little children in and lots of kids bikes too.
Along with a few bars, there are several bike hire shops at the port. We visited on a busy day in August and there was plenty of availability. From there, the road climbs slightly into the island’s village centre. The village square and its surrounding lanes contain a handful of restaurants and bars along with a couple of shops, including a bakery. Public toilets are also available in the square.
Exploring
There’s a useful map to pick up on arrival at the island (head for the tourist kiosk at the dock) which details the lanes and walking paths (bikes aren’t permitted on the narrower coastal paths) along with toilet and beach locations.
Note, once you leave the main village centre, there are no shops or cafes so bring plenty of water if you’re picnicking on a hot day. Nothing is very far away though – it’s only a 20 minute cycle from one end of the island to the other. However, it’s not the kind of island to rush across.
We came across a rather entrepreneurial young boy who was sitting at a crossroad at the far end of the island with a jug, selling cups of water to thirsty passers by.
Once you leave the dock and village behind, the roads become quieter with visitors disappearing along the many pathways. There aren’t any dedicated cycle lanes – bikes outnumber motor vehicles by about 50 to one.
Locals generally transport things on bike trailers or hand carts. There are a few mopeds pulling carts and we passed a couple of cars and vans but otherwise everyone is on two wheels or walking.
As with much of the coastline in the Gulf of Morbihan, the little beaches on Île-aux-Moines are rather dependent on the tides. At high tide, there’s a narrow strip of sand and at low tide it can be rather squelchy mud (our kids loved this).
We picked quite a hot day for our visit to the island. The heat made our stops for a swim particularly rewarding. Each beach had just a handful of visitors. The water was cool, clear and refreshing.
Île-aux-Moines is the kind of place which makes you wistful for a seaside second home. Unlike some French isles – such as Île de Ré – this Breton island isn’t polished and perfect. Some of the houses are quite shabby – but in a rather charming way.
Other properties seem to be returning to the land, ivy climbing all over them, fig trees encroaching from the hedgerow across the lawn. There are a few houses which have clearly had the recent hand of an architect involved and look rather glamorous. The houses in the village centre are particularly photogenic – squashed together, their gardens brimming with summer flowers.
In between little hamlets, the land is a mix of pine, oak, and open bracken-covered heathland. Hedgerows are dense with varied plant life – hawthorn, chestnut, fig, wild rocket, gorse.
As with much of southern Brittany, Île-aux-Moines is littered with megalithic stones. At Kergonan, there’s a horseshoe formation of these millennia-old rocks while near the southern tip of the island we discovered the Pen Hap dolmen – a burial chamber – sitting atop a slight hill overlooking the sea.
Despite much research, archaeologists cannot decide the reasons behind the standing stones. After reading various theories on offer at the visitor centre in nearby Carnac, we quite like the suggestion that the stones simply fell from the sky.
Paths wend their way along the island’s coastline with glimpses of the most wonderful houses here and there. In places, it’s so quiet I felt like I was disturbing the peace by calling to my son to slow down on his bike.
We were really reluctant to return our bikes at the end of the day. There are several bars at the dock serving crepes so you can look wistfully at the seaside scene and plan your retirement while waiting for the ferry back to the mainland.
Where to eat on Île-aux-Moines
There are restaurants and cafes in the village square along with a very good bakery – ideal for stocking up on provisions if you’re having a picnic.
Can you stay on Île-aux-Moines?
Yes you can. And I’m already planning my return trip. Île-aux-Moines is great for a day trip but I would love to spend a few nights there – it must be lovely to explore once the day trippers have departed.
There are limited things to do on Île-aux-Moines with kids – it’s good for sailing, paddle boarding and kayaking but there’s not a great deal going on. It’s the kind of place where long lunches and even longer dinners should be enjoyed , while gazing at the coastline.
Find somewhere to stay on Île-aux-Moines
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Looking for more information on family holidays to France? Check out these articles:
Places to stop at in France to break the journey
Brittany and the Gulf of Morbihan
Review: Yelloh Village Camping Les Grands Pins