Where is Tréhiguier?
Tréhiguier is a small fishing port that sits on the River Vilaine in Southern Brittany. You will find it between the barrage at Arzal and Pénestin. La Roche Bernard is about 8 miles upriver from Tréhiguier and is therefore an easy journey.
Whilst Tréhiguier may not be the prettiest fishing village in the area (and who’s to say what is?), I thought I would try to promote some discussion on the subject. The area of Brittany and Western Loire is very important for the French fishing industry. It certainly deserves a bit of a plug.
What does it offer?
There is a small poissonnerie at the port, selling local landed fish and shellfish, alongside the usual bar and café. Tréhiguier is a great place to sail, cycle and walk. It is located on a beautiful stretch of river by the estuary, as the Vilaine meets the Ocean at Pénestin. Despite being a very peaceful village, it is not far from the main La Roche Bernard – Pénestin road. It also features areas for picnics by the river.
Most people miss this. I guess the same also applies to most small fishing villages. Tourists are generally intent on getting to the beach as quickly as possible, which is a real shame. There are beautiful places like Tréhiguier all over France still waiting to be discovered, even decades after the initial English tourist invasion! If you’re in the area on a Sunday morning, why not visit the excellent market at Pénestin? It is only a couple of miles away (see other local French market details).
Over to you
If you want to put forward the case for your own favourite fishing village in this area of France, please add a comment below.
We’ll try to add any images you have to support your choice. Therefore, if you have photos, please let us know and we’ll arrange to post them for you.
Did you know… that the UK now lands more fish by weight than France does? The British overtook France as recently as 2004. Is this just a smoke-and-mirrors statistic? Is it representing a real shift both in fishing practices and local eating habits? What are your thoughts on the matter? Please let us have your comments…
Does Le Croisic count as a fishing village? If so, I think that this Pays de la Loire (not Brittany as many travel guides suggest) town near La Baule and Gu
Hello Chums. My sort-of-so-far tentative vote for the prettiest village in Pays de la Loire would be Armaille, a bit up the road from where we are now billeted in the Valley of the Kings between Angers and Rennes. The reason for my tentativity is that we have only so far done the first leg of the proposed route for the new book, which will cover the stretch of the Loire from the estuary to Orleans. It was a very interesting voyage from the walled and turreted medieval town of Guerande (nowhere near as over-the-top as Carcassonne or vulgar as Mont St Michel) along the wild coast past Le Croisic and taking in the tiny port near Pornichet where Mr. Hulot’s holiday was shot by the great Jacques Tatti in 1953 – and they have a street named after the ficinal character just to prove it. To be honest I did not rate Le Croisic much, as it seemed to have more flash restaurants than fishing boats to supply them, and lots of people with only one arm and leg on show. When I looked in an estate agent’s window and saw the cost of a flat overlooking the sea, I realised why. The reason I am nominating Armaille as my so-far prettiest village in the area is because it is so simple and genuine and pretty, and as a result of the hard work of the locals. It sits on a bend in a minor road with a little bridge and a spanking ancient riverside lavoir, with a rowing boat overflowing with flowers nearby. I think it works because of the effortless simplicity and combination of artifice and nature. Doubtless I shall change my choice as we progress along the river, if for no other reason that one is so spoiled for choice in the lovely part of a stunning and so varied country.
Hi Martin
Nice post !
Having owned a very popular food pub in Pembrokeshire, and you can’t get much closer to the sea than that, I can understand why the UK lands so much fish. It exports it ! Most of the country has lost its fish eating island origins. Crabs and lobsters landed at the local quay could not be bought unless it had passed through the correct wholesale channels and little was available as most of it was snapped up and shipped to Spain. Scottish Lochs produce mountains on langoustine but where are they on sale in the UK ? They’re all here in France. The UK might land greater catches but the fish dishes are her in Brittany for all to enjoy.
I recall a client saying that many years ago he and his then business partner used to operate a lobster / langoustine export business in Scotland, and that most of the exported seafood went straight to Brittany to be sold as ‘Breton’ seafood.
I was recently speaking to the fishmonger in a large French supermarket in Nice who noticed me looking at his map of Europe behind the counter. Asking him where most of his fish came from. “From here”, he said, his finger tracing the outline of the UK. “Not much comes from French waters these days”.
I would Like to visite some fish en shrimp markets in france in January 2015.
This because I do export of Shrimp to france and Spain.
Were are the best places for me to visit ?
Thank you