La Baule – Presqu'île de Guérande

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La Presqu’île de Guérande (Guérande Peninsula) is an Atlantic destination located in the North-West of France, between the Loire estuary and the mouth of the Vilaine. It encompasses about 20 towns split up into two departments: Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique. This area is often called Guérande Peninsula, partly because of Guérande, a scenic town that triggers off images of a medieval town and the salt marshes.

Geography

Location

Characterized by the diversity of its landscapes, La Baule – Presqu’île de Guérande is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean at the West and the South, by the mouth of the Vilaine at the North, and by the Brière marshland at the East. This area is partly covered by the Brière Nature Park, created in 1970.

Towns

La Baule – Presqu’île de Guérande is made up of these main towns and cities:

Towns located in Loire-Atlantique

Towns located in Morbihan

Adjacent cities

Traditions and points of interest

This region is known for the presence of three elements: salt, the Brière and the sea.

Salt

Famous all over the world, and especially in Japan, Guérande’s fleur de sel is the product which is emblematic of Atlantic destination La Baule – Guérande Peninsula. Down through the centuries, the harvest and the trade of salt have sculpted not just the landscape but also the architecture of the saltworkers’villages, the ports and the areas of fortification. Currently, Guérande Peninsula contains about 2,000 hectares of salt marshes, divided into two salt basins:

the Batz-Guérande basin, straddling the districts of Batz-sur-Mer, Guérande, La Turballe, Le Croisic and Le Pouliguen.
the Mès basin in the district of Saint-Molf, Assérac and Mesquer.

The Brière

The Brière gets its nickname of “Pays noir” (Black Country) from peat, formerly one of its main resources, which results from the decomposition of mosses and plant matter. Light and porous, it used to be a highly sought-after fuel. Clods of peat were cut when the level was at its lowest in mid-July. These were then formed into briquettes and left to dry on mounds in the marshes. The most beautiful aspects of this huge expanse of canals and wetlands, with its natural setting of freshwater marshland, the reeds providing the ideal nesting habitat for many species of birds, and its architectural heritage are best appreciated in a barge, a slender, flat-bottomed craft steered using a pole. The points of interest are:

The Brière Nature Park
The specific habitat: the thatched cottages (about 3,000), especially those in the village of Kerhinet, in Saint-Lyphard
Tours by barge, horse-drawn carriage, or by walking
Birdwatching

The sea

The bay du Pouliguen is one of the star attractions of the area. One of France’s leading large seaside resorts, this bay is also sometimes considered as the most beautiful European beach. The main beach is split between three cities: La Baule, Pornichet and Le Pouliguen.
Beaches of Batz-sur-Mer, La Turballe, Mesquer and Pénestin
The fishing ports of Le Croisic and La Turballe

Other points of interest

The medieval centre of Guérande (and its city walls)
Le Croisic, Piriac-sur-Mer, La Roche-Bernard: labelled as Petites Cités de Caractère
La Baule and its villas

Gastronomy

Guérande’s fleur de sel
Salicornia and seafood
Salted caramel candy
Creperies, and other traditional food
Saveurs d’octobre (October flavours), a food festival each year in October

References

Most of them are linked with the agglomeration community of Cap Atlantique.
PÉAN, Stéphane (December 24, 2006). "La Bretagne à la mode au Japon".
49,000 hectares (about 121 082 acres)
"Parc naturel régional de Brière | Une autre vie s'invente ici". www.parc-naturel-briere.com.
"La Baule plus belle plage d'Europe - la côte d'Amour vous accueille". www.presquile-infos.fr. Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.