Le Val-André visitor guide

Visit Le Val-André, France

Le Val-André is a seaside resort on the coast of northern Brittany, in the Cotes-d'Armor department and north-east of Saint-Brieuc.

Explore Le Val-André

France This Way review: we found the resort of Le Val-André to be a lively destination with a very impressive sandy beach and a picturesque port nearby at Dahouet, ideal for a family beach holiday

The town here is actually called Pléneuf-Val-André (remember for your GPS!), with Pléneuf the main town centre and about two kilometres from the coast, and Val-André the resort area of the town. Here we focus more on the coast and Val-André, along with the port at Dahouet, these being the main attractions for visitors.

There are several car parks in Val-André although it is true that parking can still be a bit of a challenge, especially if you try to park in the main car park in the centre of the town.

The centre of Val-André is around the Place General de Gaulle and the tourist office is also here, on the road between the square and the beach. The layout of the town is easy to understand: there is a long sandy beach, a long road of shops and cafes behind the beach, and lots of small roads connecting the two.

The beach, called the Plage de Pléneuf, is very large and sandy, and attractive because there is a rocky promontory at the north end of the beach: the Pointe de Pléneuf. From the end of the promontory there is a nice view across the beach and sea and further beyond the promontory there is another long sandy beach, the Plage des Vallées.

The Promenade de la Digue, the walk along the protective wall next to the beach, has a lot of 19th century villas overlooking the sea that provide a pleasant backdrop to th beach, and the promenade is one of the highlights of your visit, either day time or evening.

The road with all the shops and cafes has a good choice of cafes, ice cream kiosks and shops although not surprisingly apart from a small supermarket these are almost all 'holiday' related.

The small island you can see at the end of the promontory, the Ilot de Verdolet, is now a nature reserve for birds. You can only walk to the island at low tide and when there is a big difference between high tide and low tide - you need to leave about two hours before low tide and return 30 minutes after low tide.

Port de Dahouet

If you walk south beyond the end of the beach you reach another promontory, and a footpath that leads to the Port de Dahouet (you can also drive here if you prefer but it is an easy walk). At the end of the promontory you reach the Oratory of Notre-Dame de la Garde, with very lovely views across the coast.

The port at Dahouet is a traditional fishing port although it is now mostly leisure craft that you will see here. There are traditional stone cottages along the side of the port, as well as a cafe.

Attractions nearby

To the east of Le Val-André (behind the Plage des Vallées) there is an 18 hole golf course. Other leisure activities available include windsurfing, paragliding, swimming and horse-riding. You can follow the coast path in both drections from Le Val-André: the GR34 long distance footpath follows the coast here so you can walk as far as you want!

Another resort a few kilometres from here is Erquy, which is smaller than Le Val-André.

To the south you can explore the town of Saint-Brieuc, the largest town in the area and with several historic monuments of interest.

You can find more travel ideas in the Cotes-d'Armor guide and the Brittany guide.