Silversea Luxury Cruises A BELLE ILE

And with reason – it’s impossible to get to except by ship and even then it is pretty tortuous: the island is a six-hour car ride from Paris to the tiny port town of Quiberon, and is then followed by a 30-minute ferry ride. But it is well worth it. Pretty white fishermen’s cottages welcome you, rocky creeks with waters worthy of the Caribbean (although not the same temperature) beckon you and sailing boats rock gently in their moorings. Le Palais, the island’s main town, boasts a 16th-century citadel standing guard near the harbour. Monet painted the village of Sauzon in 1886 and Sarah Bernhart once owned a home on the island. The island’s rich history dates back as far as 6,000 BC, when it was separated from mainland France. Over the years Belle Ile has fallen prey to many invasions, primary due to inadequate defences. That all changed when Louis XIV commissioned Vauban to fortify the island and entrusted its management to the States of Brittany. After a short occupation of the island by the English (1761-1763), the island’s land was divided up among all of its inhabitants. The French Revolution would further change things, and once Belle Ile was released from the king’s domaine, the island prospered with the development of agriculture, fishing, and ship building.