Bréhat (, ; ) is an island and commune located near Paimpol, a mile off the northern coast of Brittany. Administratively, it is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in northwestern France.
Bréhat is actually an archipelago composed of two main islands, separated only at high tide, and many smaller ones. It is famous for its pink granite rocks, very mild micro-climate and Mediterranean vegetation, due to the warm Gulf Stream coming from across the Atlantic.
Many day-trippers come to Bréhat every day by the ferry service (les Vedettes de Bréhat) which sails from Pointe de l'Arcouest, to the north of Paimpol, taking about 10 minutes. They come to visit the main tourist attractions, the Paon and Rosedo lighthouses, the St-Michel chapel, the Guerzido beach, the Birlot [fr] water-mill and the Verrerie of Bréhat. In June 2023 the local municipality imposed a limit on the numbers of summer tourists, citing "overtourism".
Other than tractors, the sightseeing road train, and a few essential professional vehicles, there are no motor vehicles on Bréhat.Official website of tourism in Brittany
Climate Bréhat features a temperate oceanic climate with mild winters, dry summers and lower precipitation levels than continental Brittany as a result of the effects of the Gulf Stream, favoring a wide diversity of plants and flowers such as mimosas, hortensias, ceanothus, echiums and agapanthus. It is one of the few places in Brittany and its surroundings where palm trees and other Mediterranean plants can grow naturally due to the scarcity of frosts throughout the year.
Population
Inhabitants of Île-de-Bréhat are called Bréhatins in French.
Sights Héaux de Bréhat Lighthouse Rosedo Lighthouse Chapelle Saint Michel Paon Lighthouse Chapelle Keranroux Verrerie of Brehat
People linked to Île-de-Bréhat Pierre-Marie Le Bozec- Naval officer who lived and died here André César Vermare (1869–1949), renowned sculptor who resided and died in the island Marc Chagall (1887–1985), painted La fenêtre sur l'Ile de Bréhat, 1924, kept at Vereinigung Zürcher Kunstfreunde. Goudji (born 1941), the Georgian-born French sculptor and goldsmith, frequently resides in Bréhat; in 2008 he offered an item and participated in an auction to restore local religious monuments Marie-José Chombart de Lauwe, resistance fighter.
See also Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department Paimpol–Bréhat tidal farm
References
External links
Mairie de Bréhat (Island town home) Vedettes de Bréhat (ferry boat company) Tourism in Brehat