Saint-Quay-Portrieux travel guide

Visit Saint-Quay-Portrieux (Brittany, France)

The resort of Saint-Quay-Portrieux is on the north Brittany coast, in the Cotes-d'Armor department between Paimpol and Saint-Brieuc.

Explore Saint-Quay-Portrieux

France This Way review: even if the town of Saint-Quay-Portrieux is not the most interesting in Brittany, the coast here certainly merits to be explored and the beaches and swimming pool in the town are attractive

Saint-Quay-Portrieux is a sprawling town with six kilometres of coast, that includes the original fishing village, a port area and areas of beaches

There are two distinct parts to the centre: the main beach is near the Saint-Quay-Portrieux tourist office, in the north part of the town, and another beach and a smaller centre of activity is in the southern part of the town. Your GPS will probably take you to the wrong part, so use the address of the tourist office - Rue Jeanne d'Arc - if you are coming by car!

The coast is very varied with lots of rocky sections as well as several different beaches, and the most popular beach is here in the centre, called the Plage du Casino. This beach is large, sandy, has a cliff behind it to provide shelter, and is very popular with families.

If you find the waves are a bit too much there is also a large sea water pool next to the Plage du Casino. This is the emblem of the town: it was built in 1929 by excavating a section of rock on the coast and includes a diving area and is refilled with each high tide.

Just along the coast from the Plage du Casino, there is a quieter beach in a natural cove called the Grève Noire and further beaches can be found in Portrieux centre to the south (near the port).

There is not a significant historic centre in Saint-Quay-Portrieux but there are several imposing belle-epoque villas in the town and overlooking the coast. Of course, there is also a selection of cafes and shops catering to visitors.

The Plage de la Comtesse, between the Plage du Casino and the Plage de Portreux, is a beach which has a nice view of the Île de la Comtesse and is near Port d'Armor, with the extra attraction that at low tide you can walk out and explore the Île de la Comtesse. The island was once owned by a rich family (the Rimmel family, who invented mascara) who established an ornamental garden here, but all that remains today is some ruins of the buildings that were in the garden.

Just south of here is the main port, the Port d'Armor, a large port with more than 1000 places for pleasure boats, although it is a rather functional port rather than a tourist attraction. The second port, the Port du Pontrieux is on the southern edge of the main port, and is only for small boats and provides a picturesque backdrop to the small beach.

Attractions nearby

Although this part of the Cotes-d'Armor is not the most visited coast in Brittany, there are several small resorts to visit and various coastal walks that you can do while you are here. At the north-east limit of Saint-Quay-Portrieux, the Pointe de la Semaphore is the best place here for lovely views along the coast in both directions.

The town of Saint-Brieuc is about 20 kilometres south of Saint-Quay-Portrieux and has a pleasant historical centre to explore, and a similar distance to the north you can visit Paimpol and the lovely Beauport abbey.

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