Sables-d'Or-les-Pins visitor guide

Visit Sables-d'Or-les-Pins, France

Sables-d'Or-les-Pins is a beach destination on the coast in the north of Brittany, at the east end of the Bay of Saint-Brieuc and in the Cotes-d'Armor department. It is partly within Fréhel and partley within Plurien.

Explore Sables-d'Or-les-Pins

France This Way review: the town of Sables-d'Or-les-Pins is really very small, and more of a beach with houses than a holiday destination, but it is a very nice beach...

It is slightly hard to recommend Sables-d'Or-les-Pins as a destination because there is very little here except the beach, but if you take the time to explore you will also discover a significant number of villas from the "Années folles", the name given to the important period in the 1920s, between the world wars and a time of prosperity and cultural change.

The beach in Sables-d'Or-les-Pins is very large, sandy, and picturesque, in part because of the lack of development and partly because of the views to headlands at either end of the beach and the view to Cap-Fréhel beyond the north end of the beach. There are large rock areas on he beach, small islands in the sea, and behind the beach there are sand dunes covered in grass instead of apartments!

The tourist information for Sables-d'Or-les-Pins claims the beach is one of the most beautiful in Brittany. There are a lot to choose from and many we haven't seen so I am not going to judge them but it is a very nice beach!

Unusually for a seaside resort, the shops and cafes are not directly by the beach but there are several small restaurants in the town, such as a creperie on the Allée des Bungalows and others along the D34, the main road that crosses the centre of the town as well as a casino near the beach.

The western edge of the town, quite separate from the beach area, is against an estuary that is largely an area of salt flats and marshes which can be explored on foot and accessed from Rue du Lac. This is quite an interesting contrast to most of the coast along this part of Brittany and merits a look as you are passing - there is also a view across the marshes from the belvedere at the west end of the Allée du Parc.

There is an 18 hole golf course in Sables-d'Or-les-Pins, and various other leisure activities including horse-riding are available nearby as well as windsurfing and beach activities, and the GR34 long-distance footpath crosses the town.

Attractions nearby

The location of Sables-d'Or-les-Pins is ideal for exploring both Cap-Fréhel to the north-east and Cap d'Erquy to the south-west: the coast known as the Côte de Penthièvre.

Both of these scenic clifftop attractions have beautiful coastal views, are within easy reach, and among the highlights of a visit...in fact one of the main advantages of the town is that you can spend the afternoon on the beach here after exploring Cap-Fréhel in the morning!

If you travel south-west from here you reach Erquy, a small resort, and then Le Val-André, a larger resort where we would choose to stay when exploring this part of the Brttany coast.

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