Ploumanac "h
I don’t even know how to exactly name the place I want to introduce you to. Probably the most accurate name for it is the Pink Granite Coast. This is a picturesque tourist area, equipped with paths for those eager to get in touch with nature and amazing views.
Brittany has an obscene amount of granite. Gray. And in this place, granite, somewhat pink, is especially magical at sunset and sunrise. 30 km of the coast of absolutely pink stones turned out due to the increased concentration of feldspar in them. Such places, with pink granite blocks, on the globe only three: in Brittany, in Corsica and in China. Well, it's far to China, to Corsica - not in the near future, but I'm already here, in France
Pink Granite Coast
Granite in the surrounding quarries has been mined for over 10 thousand years! A cross was installed from this granite on the grave of Charles de Gaulle, the streets of Paris were paved., Not all, of course ... They say that even the Germans once exported it, planned to use it for the construction of the Reich, and after the war, Brittany granite came to ... the USSR, where pink the stone was used for cladding Stalinist skyscrapers.
Somewhere on the trail of customs officers.
On the Russian-speaking Internet, for some reason, the Pink Granite Coast is associated with Perrault-Guirc, which I would not call correct, because The Pink Granite Coast covers several coastal towns, including the already mentioned Perros-Gierec, Ploumanac'h and further Tregastel. Right from the beach in Perros-Guirec, the so-called "Trail of Customs" (sentier des douaniers) begins, about 4 km long, along which you can walk to the town of Ploumanac "h.
This "trail", built on it, was once used by customs officers to fight smugglers. So, all further information will be collected from French sites, so I apologize for the liberties ...
The trail runs along the coast, about 5 km long, not difficult to walk (but sneakers are required), and very impressive. By the way, this natural corner is occupied by the Conservatoire du Littoral, which has been serving, restoring and protecting it for 20 years.
On the trail
By the way, the transcription of Perrault-Guirk in Russian is an extremely thankless task. I have not come across so many options! Around Plunamak, as it turned out, the most concentrated scenic spots of this natural miracle! 
Plumanac on the horizon. Low tide - the water is gone. Actually, I'm standing at the bottom of the sea right now.
These are such cute houses
The muzzle is red and impudent. One piece.
What is the coastline famous for? Delicate pink boulders that appeared about 6 million years ago, when granite layers formed from cooled magma at a depth of 6 meters. Erosion, an ice age with all the ensuing consequences, a rise in sea level - the stones were rising, splitting, forming absolutely bizarre shapes. Climbing and lying on them is an amazing pleasure.
Plumanak is famous for its beautiful city beach, thalassotherapy center, casino on the Trestrau beach. The small village of Plumanac and its chapel are nestled in the depths of a well-protected bay with wonderful coastline landscapes
Opposite the beach on the island is an extravagant pink granite castle built at the beginning of the 19th century. Polish engineer. From the village - the kingdom of restaurants and souvenir stalls - the customs officer's path runs along the coast. From every point on this route, recently completely tidied up for the convenience of tourists, there is a magnificent view of the city of Perros-Guirec and the winding coastline- a jumble of bizarre pink granite rocks.
Lie down, sit down, just take a picture ...
Boulders appeared here about 6 million years ago, when granite layers formed from cooled magma at a depth of 6 m. After erosion and demolition of the layers of the earth above them and the rise in sea level after the ice age, the pressure on the lower layers of granite was reduced, which led to the cracking of the stone and the formation of bizarre shapes. 
Well, a wide variety of poses and angles
The inhabitants of Brittany were Christianized by the Welsh saints, who crossed the English Channel, according to legend, on ... a stone! Hmmm, Brittany is a land of legends, so imagine how a trough of stone floats on the water with the Ciel monks! Just three wise men in one basin ...
Thus, according to legend, they landed on the beach at Saint-Guirec in Plumanash. 
On the beach from white sand a small building of granite, built in the 12th century, rises. The location of the chapel with the statue of St. Girek is very interesting, since at high tide only the upper part remains and one gets the impression that he floats, like the stone on which the saint arrived in Brittany could float.
And girls of marriageable age from the village came and stuck needles in the saint's nose. There was a legend that if the needle remained in place, then the girl would get married in the next year.
And don't say you don't like it!
And further important advice before I forgot. In Plunamak - it is compulsory to spend the night! Be sure to get up before sunrise and walk along the trail in different directions all alone and take pictures of the still sleepy sun on ruddy ancient boulders. During the day - a completely different lighting and sensations. It's chilly outside
The sun's rays have not yet reached here ...
The same lighthouse in the morning
I'm going the other way. Very often people are limited only to a walk along the trail of customs officers between Plumanac and Perrault-Guirc. However, if you go behind the casino in Plumanac and follow the path (it is marked) to the local "city" cape, it looks no less magical.
It's such beauty right in Plumanac
And this too
I descend from the mountain to the port. The boats are sleeping
Morning in Plumanac ... Well, it's time to go to the village
Chapel dedicated to the saint
city beach ... especially hardened ones are already swimming. the water heats up very quickly
And in Plunamak, opposite the beach on the island, there is an extravagant castle made of pink granite, built at the beginning of the 19th century. Polish engineer
The castle is on the horizon ...
The trails along the route are superbly equipped. I can lie a little, but they spent about 2 million euros on their equipment and they collect more for further development... And the signs with inscriptions like: we have specially built paths for you, do not go beyond them, do not trample the grass, it will die from this ...
Somewhere on the trail of customs officers. See the tourist fence?
Everything is flowering. Spring smoothly turns into bright summer
There are also pine trees
Both the beaches and the locals are digging in the gardens ...
To be honest, Plumanak is one of the wonderful places where you can rest well. When the water leaves, people pour out onto the beach, children are especially happy at low tide
Oratorium St. Guirec tide
And the rest is cheap. In the evening, the town has traditionally died out. I found dinner only in the port in a traditional pancake house. It turned out to be the cheapest for the trip - for only 20 euro - cider, mussels, potatoes. By the way, I really liked the tradition in France to always put clean water on the table. Whatever you order, there will be water!
Brittany is generally wonderful. I would love to come back. And maybe I'll come back ... many more times
I don’t even know how to exactly name the place where we are entering. Probably the most accurate name for it is the Pink Granite Coast. This is a picturesque tourist area, equipped with paths for those eager to get in touch with nature and amazing views.
Brittany has an obscene amount of granite. Gray. And in this place, granite, somewhat pink, especially magical at sunset and sunrise.
30 km of the coast of absolutely pink stones turned out due to the increased concentration of feldspar in them. There are only three such places, with pink granite boulders, on the globe: in Brittany, Corsica and China. Well, it's far to China, to Corsica - not in the near future, but we are already here, in France.
| Pink Granite Coast |
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| Somewhere on the trail of customs officers. Kamynchiki |
On the Russian-speaking Internet, for some reason, the Pink Granite Coast is associated with Perrault-Guirc, which I would not call correct, because The Pink Granite Coast covers several coastal towns, including the already mentioned Perros-Gierec, Ploumanac'h and further Tregastel. Right from the beach of Perros-Guirec, the so-called "Trail of Customs" (sentier des douaniers) begins, about 4 km long, along which you can walk to the town of Ploumanac "h, then you can also go, but we did not go.
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| On the trail |
By the way, the transcription of Perrault-Guirk in Russian is an extremely thankless task. I have not come across so many options! Therefore, I write as I like best. My big surprise was when in this Perrault-Guirca I could not find any hotels that somehow suited me, and Google Map and IGA in the navigator reacted absolutely indifferently to this, as it seemed to me, famous name.
As a result, I spat and booked the De l "Europe hotel in Plunamak, responding to the correct price and the phrase in the description“ the hotel is at the beginning of the famous customs officers' path. ”And it was right! Natural miracle! Therefore, I recommend - be guided by Plumanac, preparing your trip.
Very few views of Plumanac until we went out for a walk. Should you know where to stay during your trip?
That building in the background is our hotel.
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| These are such cute houses |
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| And you can compare your similarity |
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| Well, a wide variety of poses and angles |
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| And don't say you don't like it! |
And one more important tip, before I forget. In Plunamak - it is compulsory to spend the night! Be sure to get up before sunrise and walk along the trail in different directions all alone and take pictures of the still sleepy sun on ruddy ancient boulders. During the day - a completely different lighting and sensations. It's chilly outside
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| Rate the difference in light. In the afternoon everything is wrong |
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| The same lighthouse in the morning |
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| And this too |
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| I descend from the mountain to the port. The boats are sleeping |
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| Okay, it's time for breakfast. |
Here is a map to understand the question.
| Taken here: http://www.holidaym.ru |
Perros-Guirec (Perros-Guirc) is a small town. The old name of the city is Penroz. It comes from the Breton words "Penn" (cape, extremity) and "Roz" (hill, descent to the sea). Later, the name was added "Gireg" (Breton version of the word "Guirec") - the name of a monk who arrived with his companions from Wales to convert the Bretons living on the coast to the "true" faith.
Monks led by Saint Girek in the sixth century landed on one of the islands of the coastal archipelago and founded a church there. Then they moved somewhere on the continent. Until the fifteenth century, the monks continued to live on the island named in their honor - the Island of the Monks, but since life there was difficult and full of hardships, Pope Nicholas V allowed them to finally move to the continent, but ordered them to destroy to the ground all their buildings on the island.
In 1740, the military settled on the island. The fort was built by Simon Garango, a student of Vauben. The garrison, constantly on duty there, was supposed to repel pirate attacks and catch smugglers.
From Perros Gierc, you can definitely go by boat to the Sept-Iles archipelago-reserve, about 20 thousand birds live here, including cute puffins, and if you're lucky, you can see fur seals, there is a small colony of them here. Atlantic, though.
In the middle of the customs officers' trail (I hope its name does not need to be deciphered?) There is a lighthouse - it was built in 1860, destroyed during the Second World War, and then restored. Further along the trail - the shelter of customs officers of the 17th century.
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| A coast of pink granite in the afternoon. Lighthouse on the horizon |
There is another interesting place - a 14th century tidal mill. between Plumanash and Tregastel, but I never got there.
In Tregastel itself, in pink granite caves, there is an aquarium representing the life of the sea that surrounds Brittany, as well as megaliths. This is also what I am telling, "for future use." We weren't there.
And in Plunamak, opposite the beach on the island, there is an extravagant castle made of pink granite, built at the beginning of the 19th century. Polish engineer
The trails along the route are superbly equipped. I can lie a little, but they spent about 2 million euros on their equipment, and they collect more for further development. And the signs with inscriptions like: we have specially built paths for you, do not go beyond them, do not trample the grass, it will die from this ...
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| Somewhere on the trail of customs officers. See the tourist fence? |
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| The house seems like a toy |
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| Everything is flowering. Spring! |
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| There are also pine trees |
To be honest, Plumanak is one of the wonderful places where you can rest well. When the water leaves, people pour out onto the beach, children are especially happy
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| Throwing pebbles ... |
And the rest is cheap. In the evening, the town has traditionally died out. Dinner was found only in the port in a traditional pancake house. It turned out to be the cheapest for the trip - only 20 euros for cider, mussels, potatoes. By the way, I really liked the tradition in France to always put clean water on the table. Whatever you order, there will be water!
I want to contribute to this wonderful community and tell you about the town of Perros-Guirec on the coast of the English Channel.
Perros-Guirec is a resort town of about 8000 local residents... In its vicinity is one of the most famous sights of Brittany - the Pink Granite Coast.
Where is: Province of Brittany, department of Côtes-d "Armor.
How to get there:
By plane from Paris (Orly airport) to Lannion. It is advisable to rent a car in Lannion right at the airport (Avis or Hertz), without a car it is not easy there, public transport in Perros-Guirec it seems not at all. The second option is to take a taxi to Perros.
By Auto: Motorway A 11 Paris - Rennes, then road N12 Rennes-Guingamp, then road D767 Guingamp-Lannion, then road D788 Lannion-Perros.
You can and by train before Lannion. Then take the bus to Perros (not tested). Again, I recommend finding a rental car in Lannion.
Where to stay: I recommend choosing a hotel in Perros-Guirec near the main beach (Plage De Trestraou). All the most interesting is concentrated around the beach, it will be difficult to walk to the beach from afar, because the town is quite hilly. For example, you can stay at the Mercure chain hotel. Or you can choose a small (for several rooms) family-run hotel (usually two stars), here the service and furnishings will be simpler, but more authentic and cheaper. Room prices depend on the season.
Name: The old name of the city is Penroz. It comes from the Breton words "Penn" (cape, extremity) and "Roz" (hill, descent to the sea). Later, the name was added "Gireg" (Breton version of the word "Guirec") - the name of a monk who arrived with his comrades from Wales in order to convert the Bretons living on the coast to the true faith.
And the most interesting thing is what to do:
The main attraction of this area is Pink Granite Coast.
Pink granite is not always natural, but only in the rays of the rising or setting sun, and even then, rather red-pink. But not even the color, but the size and shape of the granite blocks are impressive. The trail along this very coast begins on the left (when looking at the English Channel) from the Trestraou beach. The trail is long - 2-3 hours of walking with rest and photography, all the most interesting starts from about half the way. I advise you to take at least water with you, or you can have something to eat.
The destination is the neighboring town of Ploumanac'h. Plumanac has a very Beautiful places in the area of Plage de Saint-Guirec, not far from the beach, there are several wonderful restaurants, in one of which (alas, I don’t remember the name), mussels are chic. The menu offers boiled mussels in at least 20 different dressings. By the way, you can stay here, and not in Perros-Guirec, the main beauty of pink granite (for example, a lighthouse) is closer, and there are enough hotels.
The sunset in these places is amazing, but in the dark I do not recommend returning to Perros by the same path. 
Next attraction archipelago of islands Sept-Iles.
Excursions there go from Trestraou beach, on the left side of the beach there is a ticket office, where you can find out the schedule and buy tickets. I recommend taking a long (2.5 hours, 19 euros) excursion with a landing on one of the islands and a stop at Plumanac Bay.
Since 1912, the Sept-Iles group of islands has been protected natural area, hunting for birds was completely prohibited on the archipelago. In 1976, the territory of the archipelago was assigned to nature reserves... In total, more than 20,000 pairs of birds live on the islands. The largest cormorant colony can be seen on Rouzic Island - 17,000 pairs. A dozen seals have also settled in the reserve, but given their small number, it is very difficult to see them. Today, the Seven Islands is the largest bird sanctuary in France. 
Landing: 
Island Rouzic was chosen by a colony of cormorants (the white part of the island is they): 
Practically manual: 
There are only twelve seals here. Here is one of them: 
In 1740, the military settled on one of the islands. They built a fort, where the garrison was constantly on duty, which was supposed to repel pirate attacks and catch smugglers. A lighthouse was built in 1834. 
Island with a lighthouse and a fort the only island where disembarkation is allowed: 
Remains of the fort: 
On the way back, when entering the Plumanac bay, a wonderful view of the castle (Château de Costaérès) opens. At the end of the 19th century, it was built by the Polish mathematician engineer and inventor Bruno Abakanowicz. 
Well, the third attraction is the local cuisine.- oysters (huitres), mussels (moules) and other seafood can be found here in any restaurant. It is interesting to try an assortment of seafood - it includes crab, lobster, oysters, several types of sea snails, maybe I forgot something else. It is also worth trying buckwheat pancakes (galettes) with various fillings, washed down with cider, of course. I already mentioned mussels above. The restaurants in the port area seemed more authentic to me, in those that near the beach you can feel a slight tourist orientation.
And here, in fact, is Plage De Trestraou itself: 
An interesting church in the center of Perros-Guirec: 
This concludes my photo story. I hope it inspires someone to visit the wonderful town of Perros-Guirec :)
P.S. In preparation I came across http://www.svk-pooh.nm.ru/pg.html and borrowed a couple of paragraphs on http://www.svk-pooh.nm.ru/rosegranit.html. I recommend reading the rest.
We have been in Brittany for the third day, and have not yet seen the sea. But everything is going according to plan and we are gradually getting closer to it. Rennes, Dinan, Moncontour, Saint-Brieuc - all these wonderful beautiful cities are located off the coast. Saint-Brieuc, however, is located not far from the sea, but there it was more interesting for us to see the old part of the city, half-timbered houses, so we decided not to go to the sea. So, early in the morning we got up, had breakfast, made sandwiches, took the bus. Our bus most the path goes almost along the coast and you can get off in several interesting places... The Pink Granite Coast is a stretch of the English Channel that is approximately 10 km or more in length. It is called so by the color of the granite rocks and boulders on the shore - brown with a pink tint. It's beautiful everywhere.
Where to get off? In Perros-Guirec, in Plumanach or Tregastel? We wanted to get off at one stop, walk a part of the coast on foot and take the return bus at another. Easy to say! And which direction to choose? Whether to take into account the cardinal points (sunrise, sunset, sun position)? Ebb and flow? Common sense and the weather forecast told us that we must go from Plumanakh to the west, first see the most beautiful rocks and then walk to Renot Island. But for some reason I wanted to go east, so that the sea remained to the left. I do not know why. And we started from a town called Tregastel. Near Tregastel we were interested in Île Renote, which is actually a peninsula, but is called an island. :) Looking ahead, I will say that I am still not sure what we did right. Perhaps we should have gone the other way. But the choice has been made.
Our approximate route
In the morning the weather was wonderful. Bright sun, blue sky, incredibly deep sea and brownish-pink boulders scattered all over the coast. We didn’t want to rush anywhere, we didn’t hurry, walked along the coast, enjoyed every moment, the sun, the beach, the sound of the waves, the smell of the sea, bright colors, and even a strong wind (la petite brise bretonne!) Did not bother us.
The houses seem small against the background of boulders.
Below is the same stone as in the previous photo, but on the other side.
In the distance there is a lighthouse, to which we should arrive in a couple of hours.
Palette:)
It looks like we lost our way and we had to make our way under such stones.
The island went around the perimeter and again we go out into the city.
The tide has begun. And the weather began to deteriorate. And the landscape temporarily became boring. But there is no other way, we must go forward.
The afternoon weather reminded us that we are in Brittany. The sky became gloomy, clouds were hanging, the sea took on a steel shade. Only the rocks remained the same. Well, maybe their color has become more saturated.
It started to rain. We are shooting the most popular, commonplace view, but we can't go without it.
A little tired, overflowing with impressions, we go to the bus stop. We liked the place very much. But it seemed a little noisy. Even in the off-season there were many tourists. And I thought it was good that we were not staying here, but in a quiet estate.
Brittany, Pink Granite Coast, Islands and Birds May 22nd, 2011
In France, they like to call their coasts beautifully. Everyone, of course, has heard Cote d'azur, but besides it there is also the Emerald Coast, Alabaster, Silver, Purple ... And the Pink Granite Coast, where we were a month ago, on Easter weekend. The first time we were going there back in 2006 during our big trip in France, but then plans had to be changed due to the weather. And it just so happened that we got to this unusual coast only five years later.
This coast is called so for the pink color of granite boulders, which are strewn with about 30 km of the coast. The pink color of granite is due to the increased concentration of feldspar in it. There are only three such places - with pink granite boulders - on the globe: in Brittany, in Corsica and in China. It was terribly interesting to look at such an unusual phenomenon with my own eyes and check if the granite is really pink or if it's all photoshop. I report - it's all true! Granite is actually pink and it's amazingly beautiful :)
We decided not to "gallop across Europe" and spend two nights on the Pink Granite Coast. It turned out very cool. And we had a rest and managed to see a lot of interesting things. We lived in the city of Perros-Gierec. Directly from the city, from the beach, the so-called "Trail of Customs" (sentier des douaniers) begins, about 4 km long, along which you can walk to the town of Ploumanac "h, looking at all the beauty along the way.
Before the walk, we had breakfast with the famous Breton buckwheat pancakes and cider. Pancakes were not photographed, but drinks - yes. It is in such low ceramic cups in Brittany (and in Normandy too, and in some places in Paris) they bring apple cider. Breton cider and Breton buckwheat pancakes are great :)
We walked across the beach ...
And immediately the trail began. With gorgeous views opening from it :)
Despite the end of April, the weather was completely summer. The temperature was 25 degrees, the air was filled with floral aromas, bumblebees were buzzing, the sun was shining ... Most for the weekend!
And almost immediately the shore with pink boulders became visible. And the truth is pink - the photos on the Internet did not lie! :)
Not only the color of rocks and stones is unusual, but also their shape. You walk along the path and constantly see something unusual - either a face, an animal, or an object. Curiously, of the most popular boulders mentioned on the Internet and in tourist brochures, even those that have names - Napoleon's cocked hat, inverted clog, turtle - we did not see everything. But they themselves saw many interesting figures and were still surprised why it was not written about them anywhere :) This one, for example, is not the head of a giant bird? By the way, according to the width of the path passing by the stone, you can roughly estimate its dimensions - huge! It was necessary to put a person in this frame for contrast, but I thought about it only at home when I looked at the photographs.
And here - an inverted bottle on the edge of the table.
The water is pure and clear. They could have taken a swim, but they did not dare - the water was already very cold.
We managed to pass only two-thirds of the path, when suddenly the fog began to thicken.
And very, very quickly it became so thick and dense that when we got to Plumanach, one of the most popular "postcard" views with a lighthouse looked ... like this :)
If we had only one opportunity to look at this coast, we would be upset. But we left only the next day, so we decided not to swear at the weather, but to try to return here in the evening at sunset, hoping that the fog would clear up. In the meantime, we sat down in another cafe to refresh ourselves.
There is one popular type of dessert in France - café gourmand. If you order it, they will bring you a cup of espresso and 2-3 small desserts. It is very convenient when you seem to want a dessert, but a dessert of the usual size does not fit into you. The Breton version of café gourmand looks much more impressive ... Coffee in a huge cup, desserts are also enough for two. All three are traditional Breton. The rectangular casserole is called "headlight" and contains prunes. Very tasty. I forgot the names of the other two desserts, I liked them less - too much butter and sugar :)
The second outing in Plumany (fortunately, it's quite simple - there are about 4 km between the towns and there are buses) we took in the evening of the same day. As we expected, the fog cleared away and the setting sun beautifully illuminated the pink-orange stones. These boulders look even more beautiful at sunset.
We even saw this one - a whole huge head with an aquiline nose
We sat on the stones, enjoying the peace and quiet. There was not a soul around, so my feelings were very similar to those when we first appeared in Portugal on the Cape of Cabo da Roca, in the evening and also completely alone ...
We made this classic shot :)
We waited for the sun to set in the ocean, and went to dine on the freshest sea creatures.
In the afternoon, when we were walking, we learned that from Perros-Guirec, where we lived, ships leave for excursions around the archipelago of seven islands, on which there are a lot of different birds. My husband, when he hears something about birds, becomes not himself and immediately wants to go there :) However, this excursion also attracted me, because advertising brochures eloquently promised that among other birds we can see the most beautiful puffins, which are practically a symbol of this Breton city. Even in the hotel where we lived, each floor had the name of one of the local birds, and ours was just a "dead end" - all hung with photographs of these cute birds. Of course, I wanted to see them and photograph them myself! :) Despite the fact that there are not so many puffins on the islands, the organizers of the excursions promised that we would see them. Therefore, we unanimously decided to go on an excursion and the next day we got up early, early to be in the port at 9.
The first ones we saw were the northern gannets.
If we wanted to see the gannets most of all, we would definitely not be disappointed, because there are a LOT of them there :)
We also saw cormorants.
I was not immediately able to remember the name of these birds (especially since we heard them in French), I processed this photo and asked my husband if he remembered the name of the bird. "Black cloak!" - answered the husband :)
Happiness is looking in one direction :)
"But what about the dead ends?" - you ask. We also saw dead ends. In the amount of as many as three and within about a minute :)) No, I even managed to photograph them, but I felt clearly dissatisfied :)
During the excursion, we were dropped off for half an hour on one of the seven islands. At the top there was a fort, you could climb to it and walk around. I again hoped for dead ends, but there were no dead ends again :) But there were these birds with funny name that in Russian, that in French. In French (if translated literally) - oyster magpie, in Russian - mutant hybrid
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