Plage du Donnant — Attraction in Lorient

"Plage de Donnant" is a quite extraordinary place, wild and rough and of a very particular beauty. The only place in Europe where I have ever seen such beaches was on Algarve, in Southern Portugal, but this is a different story. +++ As you can see from the attached photographs, taken with a very powerful camera, the beach is turned - outside - to the (Atlantic) Ocean. The changes in tide are very important, and it is absolutely useful to have the "calendrier des marées" available for free at the tourist office in Palais. Look, please, at the "coefficent", which is a very good sign how important the changes are. The Atlantic is not a game : On the right of the beach are "sous-courrants" (means underwater-streams) going to the open sea, only helpful for body-borders, but as a swimmer you may never return. There are warnings ! And in the main holiday period, there are - very good - sauveteurs holding police power to get out people going too far, as we have seen. Very helpful ! The waves : Wind is measured in "Beaufort", going up (max) to 12. One time, I was on a cliff (well known to me) above (right hand) of the beach, at Beaufort 8. This was, on over 20 years, the only day where the ferry service to Belle Ile was suspended for some hours. The cliff is about 40 meters high, but the "brume" was still flying beside me. : Thus : A great place, by all means. There is a photograph of the beach, by our great friend Philipp Ulliac, the local photographer, on the second Christmas Day, with some clouds in the background. - We will go back, to enjoy the incoming sea. Have your "calendrier...

Great beach, amazing spot for surfing! Beach guards are on sight in the summer. Would recommend to anyone who comes to Belle île! Warning, waves can get a little big sometimes and you need to be careful with currents! So check for waves...

The beach was nice. The sea recedes quite far during low tides. The hiking path that goes around the island connects on both sides of the beach so if you get tired of the water, you can go for a...