Les Aiguilles de Port Coton | Belle-Île-en-Mer Tourist Office

Nature - île photogénique Océan - Profiter de l'Océan, Belle île En Mer, île De Bretagne, Bretagne Sud, Au Large Du Golfe Du Morbihan

Les Aiguilles de Port Coton Impressive, IMPOSING

As early as 1886, Claude Monet’s masterpieces revealed the striking beauty of these jagged rocks.
The Aiguilles de Port Coton (Coton Port Needles) earn their name from the foam regularly whipped up in heavy seas forming large, foamy cotton-like flakes which fly on the wind every season and especially on stormy days!

Getting there

Diabolical and superb

Randonner -autour de l'île, Océan - Profiter de l'Océan, Nature - île photogénique, Belle île en mer, île de Bretagne, Bretagne sud, au large du Golfe du Morbihan

A wild landscape…

A visit to this headland reveals a winding coastline, with islets and rocks of all shapes and sizes, including the Aiguilles de Port Coton.

Their name comes from the whipped foam which, in heavy weather, forms large cotton-like flakes.

…forever immortalised by Claude Monet

The painter Claude Monet, who lived in Kervilahouen, just a stone’s throw away, revealed the beauty of these jagged rocks in a few famous paintings. He was originally supposed to stay just two weeks on the island, fascinated by the beauty of the landscapes, he will stay two months. As an impressionist, he worked outdoors, facing the ocean, enduring the assaults of wind and sea. He created 39 paintings of the wild coast, focusing on three main sites: Port Coton (the pyramids and the Lion rock), Port Domois, and the Port de Goulphar.

Grand Phare and its fog horn

Not far from the “Aiguilles”, the small white building perched on the cliff housed Belle-île’s foghorn. Operated from Grand Phare, (lit. Great Lighthouse) through an electrical connection and an underground compressed air pipeline a metre deep, it warned sailors, in bad weather, of the proximity of the cliffs. In 1935, two walls were added to the structure to extend the reach of the sound. These walls have since disappeared. A series of bunkers, remnants of the Atlantic Wall, still stand nearby, well preserved despite eight decades exposed to the harshest of elements.

A rare ecosystem

The site is home to a rare and protected ecosystem. The low moors of wandering heath are a unique plant association in Europe: the wandering heath (ciliated and ashy) mix with the maritime gorse heather whose yellow flowers smell release a light coconut-like fragrance. It is a very rare environment and Belle-Île contains roughly 80% of Europe’s remaining areas of this ecosystem. The Needles of Port Coton are as such, a Sensitive Natural Area (ENS).

Why you'll love the Aiguilles de Port-Coton

For its impressive sunsets!

A magnificent spot at all times

The watchful presence of Grand Phare

A starting point for stunning hikes

The Aiguilles de Port CotonA Sensitive Natural Area

The term “Sensitive Natural Area” (abbreviated to ENS in french) refers to natural sites that host significant ecological (fauna, flora, geology) and landscape value. These are often fragile or threatened sites that benefit from legal protection and require constant conservation efforts.

The Morbihan region is home to a mosaic of interconnected natural environments, including the dunes of Erdeven, the Trémelin forest, and the salt marsh of Kervilhen. Belle-Île has no fewer than two SNAs, both located in the commune of Bangor: the Pointe du Talut and the Aiguilles de Port Coton.

To help protect this exceptional and unique site that is the Aiguilles de Port Coton, please stick to the marked or established paths and… leave only footprints!

It’s sinister, diabolical but superb and I don’t think I’ll find anything like it anywhere else!