The French name for a peninsula is presqu’île. It literally means “almost island” and this is a very accurate description of the Quiberon Peninsula – almost an island with just a tiny sliver of land connecting it to the rest of Brittany in the warmest most sheltered part of Celtic France.
The soft-focus sandy coastline along here has been the scene of important battles in the past. The Irish connection is in the attempted attack on Brittany by the British in 1795. Using Quiberon as a base, they were repelled by forces under General Louis Lazare Hoche, who was later to have a (failed) go at the English in Bantry Bay in the company of Wolfe Tone.
The small town of 5,000 inhabitants swells to tens of thousands in the summer as people on holiday in France come from the four corners of the country, from Ireland and elsewhere to sample a hint of island life.
There is a large number of regular markets here for such a small place. The largest takes place at Place du Varquez every Saturday morning, selling fresh food, regional specialities and clothing. Every morning, there is a fish market here, selling fresh produce from the sea that almost surrounds them.
During the summer (i.e. from the 15th of June to the 15th of September), there is a small market every Wednesday morning at Port Haliguen, while a daily night-time market takes place from 8pm onwards from the 9th of July until the 28th of August on Boulevard Chanard along the beach front of the Grande Plage.
Meanwhile, in the smaller settlement of St Pierre de Quiberon at the northern end of the peninsula, there’s a market in the town centre every Thursday morning.
For location of Quiberon markets and other markets in France, see the Tootlafrance.ie growing market map below…
View Tootlafrance Market Guide in a larger map