Sainte-Marine sailor shelter - CombritSainte-Marine sailor shelter - Combrit
©Sainte-Marine sailor shelter - Combrit |A. Lamoureux

Top 8 visits

To help you organise your stay, here’s a selection of 8 not-to-be-missed heritage visits in the Bigouden region!

Eckmühl lighthouse and old lighthouse in Penmarc'h

The Eckmühl lighthouse can be visited day or night, from April to the end of the All Saints’ holiday, depending on weather conditions. Guided tours are also available.

From up here, there’s a breathtaking view of the old Penmarc’h lighthouse, now a museum.

The semaphore can also be seen in this line towards the open sea. This complex dominates one of the busiest and most dangerous shipping lanes on the French coast.

Sailor's shelter in Sainte-Marine

L’Abri du Marin is a museum that bears witness to the life of sailors at the beginning of the last century. It also presents the work of Jacques de Thézac, its founder, who devoted his life to fishermen. Built in 1910 in the port of Sainte-Marine, it is listed in the Inventaire Supplémentaire des Monuments Historiques and was restored in 2007.

Temporary exhibitions on maritime themes create a link between past and present. Period photographs and objects tell the story of the daily lives of the people who lived in the ports of Brittany.

Museum of the Alexis Le Gall canning factory in Loctudy

The Conserverie Alexis Le Gall is witness to an extraordinary Breton history: the adventure of canned fish! This industry was born in Southern Brittany in the 19th century.

Founded in 1901 by the industrialist Jean-Marie Vallière des Filières, the only cannery in Loctudy enjoyed its golden age under the management of Alexis Le Gall, the son of a family of canners originally from Douarnenez. He made the Loctudy factory his main family business from 1919 to 1954.

Guided tours of the Museum can be booked by telephone or e-mail.

The castle with its Bigouden museum in Pont-l'Abbé

The dungeon of the Barons du Pont castle houses the Bigouden Museum. Here you can discover the secrets of Bigouden clothing and the Bigouden headdress.

The castle was built in the 13th and 14th centuries by the Barons du Pont as a fortress. In 1675, during the “Bonnets rouges” revolt, peasants protesting against new taxes devastated the castle and set it on fire. During the Revolution, it was also used as a prison.

The castle is currently being renovated. The Bigouden museum is currently closed until June 2026.

Kérazan Manor

Kérazan Manor was built in the 16th century and partially rebuilt in the 17th. It is one of the oldest seigneuries in the Bigouden region. It was bequeathed to the Institut de France in 1928 by Joseph-Georges Astor.
A true testament to the art of living in Brittany in the 19th century, the manor house can be visited through its reception rooms, smoking room, library and billiard room.

It houses a large collection of Breton-inspired paintings. There are also some exceptional Quimper earthenware pieces, including Alfred Beau’s cello, the only one of its kind in the world.

Hénaff Museum

Enter a place steeped in history and discover all the secrets of the Hénaff canning factory.

You’ll find out all about the brand, its founder Jean Hénaff and his descendants, who have carried on the tradition and reinvented successful recipes!

The museum is located in the founder’s old farmhouse in Pouldreuzic. On display are documents, tools, films, photos and testimonials that have been carefully preserved since 1907.

Calvary of Tronoën and its chapel

The calvary at Tronoën is considered to be the oldest of the seven monumental calvaries in Brittany and was built in the 15th century. Around its base, several scenes depict 30 stages in the life of Christ.

The chapel, nicknamed the “cathedral of the dunes” and built in the 15th century, is dedicated to Notre-Dame de Tronoën, traditionally invoked by the families of sailors lost at sea.

There is a large statuary inside, representing Notre-Dame des sept douleurs (Our Lady of Seven Sorrows), which evokes the painful moments in the Virgin’ s life , and Notre-Dame de Tronoën, who holds an open book, a symbol of teaching.

Ruins of Languidou

The chapel is believed to have been built in the 13th century and restored in the late 14th/early 15th century.

It was destroyed during the French Revolution and its stones were used to build a guardhouse. Now in ruins, it nonetheless retains its charm and, above all, its splendid rose at the chevet, a veritable lace of stone.

The chapel is one of the best examples of the Pont-Croix architectural style.