A Couple’s Guide to Perros Guirec: A Hidden Gem

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Looking for a dreamy retreat in France? This couple’s guide to Perros Guirec in Brittany is truly a slice of heaven. Perros Guirec is a small seaside resort town in Bretagne, located in northwestern France. The town is fairly small but full of charm and natural beauty. It’s famous for its Pink Granite Coastline.

When To Visit:

The weather is similar to Normandy so it’s really unpredictable with short rain showers that come and go throughout the day. Weather can generally control your travel plans, but not in Bretagne. Just pack layers and know that it will be changing throughout the day.

Bretagne (Brittany) can be quite windy and chilly so I would recommend going in the summer. We visited during August and it wasn’t too crowded. You may be able to get better rates on the rooms in July or September when there aren’t as many French people on holiday.

Where To Stay: A Couple’s Guide to Perros Guirec

Budget: Le Ranolien Campground would be an awesome place to stay if you are staying in town longer, traveling with kids, or just creating a more budget friendly trip.

Mid-Range: Hotel Ker Mor is a 3 star hotel located in the best location of Perros-Guirec. This hotel has direct access to the beach and it’s also highly rated for its cleanliness.

Treat Yourself: L’Agapa Hotel is a 5 star boutique hotel with panoramic views of the ocean. It has a nice spa complete with a fitness center, an indoor pool and a hot tub. It’s a short 10-15 minute walk to the Trestraou Beach. We walked it each day but the walk does include a lot of stairs. You could also drive down the hill to the beach if the stairs are a challenge for you. The hotel also offers rental bikes as an option.

We loved being able to open the windows to take in the brisk salty air and views.

Don’t forget your travel insurance! We recommend World Nomads. Make sure to have coverage that includes medical expenses, trip cancellations, and coverage for your belongings from theft or damage. If needed, you may also want to include car rental insurance as well.

Activities in Perros Guirec:

1. Explore The Coastal Path of the Pink Granite Rocks

We spent the first day visiting The Pink Granite Rocks or Cote de Granite Rose. It’s about a 10 minute drive from the L’Agapa Hotel. These huge granite rocks are fun to climb around and offer plenty of specular views of the ocean.

The trails go through the towns where there are plenty of opportunities to stop at restaurants, cafes, and souvenir shops. You will walk by the Phare de Ploumanc’h, an active lighthouse, that was rebuilt in 1946. The original one was built in 1860, but destroyed in 1944 by the German troops.

Parking was free and masks were required on certain parts of the trail. We recommend getting there early to avoid the crowds. You will want to park near the Le Ranolien Campground.

We spent about three hours on the trails and we were slowly walking with only a pit stop for coffee. Hopefully that will help you to know how much time you want to spend here.

Visiting the Saint Guirec Beach on The Coastal Path

As you continue along the trail of The Coastal Path of the Pink Granite Rocks, you will come to Saint Guirec Beach. You may want to bring a bag with a towel and a swimsuit. There are several places to swim and rent kayaks or paddle-boards along the trails. The kayaks were 15€ per hour and the paddle boards were 12€ per hour. The kayak rentals are at Plage de Saint Guirec, the Saint Guirec Beach. Make sure to find The Oratory of Saint Guirec while here. There’s a tradition of married women praying to the Saint for their husband’s safety if they were at sea. Also young women would come to the Saint to pray in hopes of finding a husband. They would put a pin in the statue’s nose to acquire the blessing of a marriage within one year. You can visit the Chapelle Saint-Guirec, which is right across from the statue of Saint Guirec.

2.Visit The Trestraou Beach

The Trestraou Beach (Plage de Trestaou) is the closest one from the recommended hotel. There is a large casino, beachwear shops, cafes, hotels, and restaurants. It’s also the largest beach so if you arrive early, you can have the beach to yourself. The beach was also extremely clean. It was an interesting beach because it had soft sand and little pebbles like the coast of Normandy. There were littles stacks of sand everywhere and I had no idea what they were, but someone told me that they were castings from sand worms! Eek! I was definitely avoiding them as I walked the beach because I wasn’t sure if they were formed by a critter that would bite me! Now I know that they are harmless and apparently common in the UK as well.

There aren’t beach chairs available to rent here so you may want to just take some of your own. We have lightweight beach chairs that have straps that we carried with us each day. I’ll provide the link to the chairs here: Easy to Carry Beach Chairs

3. Perros Guirec Surf School

You can rent bikes and paddle boards at the beach. If you are interested learning how to surf, windsurf, or kite-surf : find Ponant Surf School.

Trestraou Beach also had a mini-golf location and a few tennis courts if you are more active while at the beach.

They also have these colorful cabins that you can rent if you want to have a place to leave your things or to change clothing.

4. View the Castle Costaeres

This castle is made entirely of pink granite and slate. You can admire it from the outside but can only access it when the tide is low.

5. Boat Tours

There are several boat tours available from Perros Guirec. The Armor Navigation Tour takes you around the different islands. I believe there are 7 different islands. The website is in French so hopefully your French is better than mine. The tours are known for spotting puffins and seals.

We didn’t take a boat tour this trip, so it’s on the bucket list for the next visit.

Perros Guirec Charm

I really adored Perros-Guirec’s charm and character. A lot of the buildings, homes, and churches were made of stone and I couldn’t resist taking photos while walking the trails from the beach to the hotel each day.

Perros Guirec Restaurants:

I highly recommend going to the local market and picking up your own foods for breakfast and lunch. You will be hiking, relaxing on the beach, or enjoying the sea activities so it’s easy to pack a small bag of snacks. There is a fresh market close to the Pink Granite Coast where you can pick up fresh fruits and veggies for your adventures. It’s called Atelier Fermier and located at 127 Boulevard de la Corniche in Perros Guirec. The local cider is a specialty of the region so look for it or try while you’re out exploring.

P.S. You may want to buy some of their local exfoliating salt scrubs! They make fantastic souvenirs.

Restaurants:

1.Le Ker Bleu was one of our favorite restaurants while visiting Perros-Guirec. There are a handful of nice restaurants that are walking distance from the recommended hotels. Crepes, mussels, frites, and seafood are the local dishes. Also they are famous for their creamy salty butter.

2.Restaurant Le Belouga is a fine dining restaurant located in the recommended hotel. You will definitely need to RSVP here. We were staying at the hotel and couldn’t get in for the first few nights. It ended up being the perfect place to end the trip so maybe save the best for last!

A bientôt!

I hope that you have enjoyed this couple’s guide to Perros Guirec. It truly is a gem of Bretagne France. If you are planning a trip here or have more information to add, let me know in the comments below.

If you have more time to explore France, you may also be interested in reading one of our blogposts about Normandy or Paris.

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