A walk around Perros-Guirec on the Côte de Granite Rose

It’s my birthday and to celebrate we’ve checked out of the van for a few days and into a sea view room at Villa Les Hydrangeas in the small seaside town of Perros-Guirec on Brittany’s Pink Granite Coast (Côte de Granit Rose). When we arrived last night we had a stroll down to the beach and I was drawn to a little rock outcrop at the end of Plage de Trestrignel called Pointe du Château so I’m heading out for a short walk to burn a few calories off prior to a five course birthday dinner. The coastal path also happens to be another section of France’s long distance trail, the GR34 Sentier des Douaniers

A gate at the rear of the hotel opens out onto a quiet road leading down to Plage de Trestrignel. As I head to the beach there are views of Île Tomé, a small, elongated and uninhabited island lying just off the coast.

The tide is out and the beach is a large expanse of flat golden sand, flanked by steep rocky headland. The coast of Brittany is strikingly similar to that of Cornwall, all beaches and coves and I’m reminded of familiar places like Porthcurno or Trevaunance Cove.

There are some interesting features around the beach including colourful changing rooms, toilets with actual names rather than symbols and a painted compass that confuses me for a minute with its ‘O’ until I realise what country I’m in.

At the end of the beach I walk along the road before joining the footpath leading to the rocks of Pointe Château. It’s impossible to visit the coastline of Northern France without being reminded of the second world war and the legacy of that conflict is everywhere, in people’s lives, politics, geography and history, but also in a changed and altered landscape.

The Atlantic Wall, a system of coastal fortifications, bunkers, gun emplacements and tank traps stretched from Norway down to France’s border with Spain, a distance of some 5,000km. It was built by Nazi Germany to guard against an allied invasion and reminders and remnants of its seemingly impregnable fortifications are everywhere along the coastline, Pointe Château, being a radar station, lookout and large gun emplacement being no exception. You can read more here if you like.

The entrance to what was the underground system of tunnels leading to the guns is now sealed up by a metal gate and nature, as always has started to reclaim what is rightfully hers, the caves now being a home to bats and protected by law.

Before heading to the top I traverse around the rock buttress following a path that has been carved out of the granite and includes step sections and protective walls. On the way I pass one of the observation/machine gun posts, set deep into the rock on the east side of the Pointe.

It’s slightly exposed and I take care not to slip on the wet surface, but the salt air on my face, the rumbling ocean below and expansive views are a refreshing tonic.

Reaching the tip of the headland I go around it to take a look at the now cemented up 75mm artillery gun emplacement before retracing my steps back to the cave entrance.

A short scramble then takes me up to the top of the Pointe du Château where apparently you can see for 50km, obviously making it the ideal lookout.

I’m not looking for invaders today though and spend some time enjoying the views out into the ocean, identifying small islands on the map and getting mesmerised by the shimmering surface of the constantly moving, restless waters.

Back at the cave entrance I’ve still got some time before dinner so I head off along the coast path, following the GR34 to Plage Porz ar Goret before leaving the path to head back to the hotel.

On the way I stumble across a nice scenic viewing platform overlooking Plage de Trestrignel which has an ‘olde worlde’ map of the view, including the islands, I could have saved myself the trouble of looking them up, and some useful information boards.

One of the boards tells me that a local slogan for Perros-Guirec is ‘Life in Pink’ which seems apt and that the sign in the middle of the platform is a Michelin road sign from the 1930’s, restored and installed at the viewpoint in 2024 to preserve local heritage.

And with my mind now full of information I walk the short distance back to the hotel hoping that the calories burned will outweigh the calories about to be consumed.

To see a map of this walk with stats, geolocated pictures and downloadable GPX of the route click ‘Learn more’ below