Port-Louis - From the top of the ramparts to the small sea of Gâvres

The Tour Carée was part of the urban enclosure, built from 1649 to 1653, connecting it to the Citadel on one side and the village of Driasker on the other. It was pierced by a drawbridge postern, the Porte de la Pointe, which allowed exchanges between the city and the port. The Gate was destroyed in 1886. In 1947, the Square Tower became the Ice House of the fishing port. It now houses the Nautical Club.

On your left, on the other side of the road, you can see the old fountain called "Fontaine des Poullo" in 1636, it was rebuilt in 1749 by Pierre de Quatresols de Marolles, engineer of the Place de Port-Louis from 1733 to 1748. It is a small kiosk topped with a dome of carved granite that feeds a washhouse, covered in the nineteenth century, and now discovered.

The Citadel Martyrs’ Memorial is in memory of 69 resistance fighters who were tortured in the Citadel, then shot and buried there by the Nazis.

The Citadel of Port-Louis was built in the 16th century by the Spanish during the wars of religion (Spain supports the French Catholics, England, Protestants). The citadel was modified in the 17th century when King Louis XIII built the ramparts and decided to give Port Louis the status of royal city. In 1666, the shipping companies already established in Port-Louis transferred their shipyard to the other side of the harbour. This is where the city of the Orient will be created, which owes its name to the first ship, Le Soleil d'Orient. The current appearance of the citadel dates from this period and represents a very good example of defensive systems well before the Vauban system. The Citadel offers a unique view of the bay of Lorient and currently houses two museums. The museum of the Compagnie des Indes traces the extraordinary history of the great commercial companies of the 17th and 18th centuries. It makes it possible to discover, in the atmosphere of the African and Asian counters, the goods which seduced both Europeans as well as the slave traffic, largely fed by the ships of the company. The National Museum of the Navy presents a collection of boat models, naval weapons, and two museum spaces: one «Treasures of the Ocean», dedicated to underwater excavations and the sunken remains of merchant ships, the other a space dedicated to sea rescue.

The Grande Plage, still called Plage des Pâtis, offers a breathtaking view of the tip of Gâvres, the island of Groix and Larmor-Plage. This sandy beach welcomes its first tourists very early, the coastline experiencing a strong craze at the beginning of the 19th century related to the development of the railway. Initially reserved for the wealthiest, tourism is gradually democratized and the followers of the sea bath are more and more numerous. The first establishment of sea baths of the Grande plage was created in 1837 under the patronage of Queen Marie-Amélie, and continues to develop to offer in 1882 hot sea baths, cabins for women and men, as well as a cafe «The casino» including a café restaurant and a reception room.  The current café-restaurant is new.

Louis XIII decides to make Blavet a royal city, which will become by royal edict of July 17, 1618 the city of Port-Louis. From 1649 to 1653, a perimeter wall is built around the city on a length of 1250 meters, its height varies between 8 and 11 meters.

Built between 1750 and 1752, the Great Powder Magazine served as an ammunition depot (powder and artillery) for the nearby coastal forts. In addition, the king’s ships and privateers, unloaded their powder during their stopovers in Port-Louis.

Former convent dating from the late 17th century, it became a maritime hospital around the 1800s.  Today, there is only a portal in neoclassical style visible from the street of the Citadel, and a large house dated 1678. A reconversion of the former religious enclosure now houses the municipal campsite. The Récollets fountain and the washhouse on your left were also part of it.

Picturesque granite monument dating from the seventeenth century, it has a barrel-vaulted reservoir and feeds the old drinking trough Poullo. It takes its name from "La Grande Prée" of the Récollets convent.

At the site of this stone enclosure, there was originally a pond (loch in Breton) sea. In the 1840s, under Louis-Philippe, on this plot of 864 m2 is built a park for the storage of artillery balls. Another artillery ball park was located in the Citadel.

This tower defended the entrance to the Poterne des Prisonniers, which gave access to the coast and remained closed at night, like the other doors. It owes its name to the island opposite the gate of Lohic, the island of the Prisoners, today called the Island of the Mice.

It extends from the Prisoners' Tower to the Pradenne, outside the fortifications. In the 16th century this sector was called Ban-Gâvres, this name is currently given to the coast of Gâvres located opposite. The name «Lohic», comes from the sea pond, loch in Breton, which was inside the walls, at the location of the ball park

A hollow half-tower topped by a lookout post in the 19th century, it hosts artists in residence and exhibitions.

The first sardine presses appeared in Port-Louis in the 16th century near La Pointe. In the 19th of the plants using the new techniques of conservation settled in Lohic. Fishing began in May and ended around October. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Lohic still has 6 where 15 tons of sardines are produced. Returning fishermen bring their fish directly.

Built in 1854, this small building housed the Lohic fire, which marked the alignment of the «great pass» or west pass giving access to the bay of Lorient. The municipality bought it in the service of Lighthouses and Beacons in 2019, for the enhancement of the biodiversity of Lohic.

Located at the end of the fort of Papégaut, the small powder magazine was built in 1817, replacing an existing store in the tower of Gâvres. It is a replica of the great powder magazine, built in the years 1750-1752. Intended to receive hunting powders, the small powder magazine was decommissioned in the 1960s.

This bastion called «Papegaut» takes its name from a privilege - the right of papegaut - granted by Henry III to the bourgeois militias of Blavet to train archers to shoot in arquebuse following the defeat of Azincourt. This shooting took place every year in May. The Bastion belongs to the urban enclosure built between 1649 and 1653. At the southeastern end, it allowed to monitor the bay of Locmalo and the peninsula of Gâvres.

From the breton «prat», prairie, this green space, located on the edge of the Petite Mer de Gâvres, is what remains glacis in front of the ramparts of the East, now disappeared.

From 1653, the rue de Locmalo (in front of you) becomes the main entrance of Port-Louis. The Rue de la Grande Porte (behind you, the street that goes up in front of the Bastion du Papegaut) was built in these years, in order to connect the outside to the city center, in particular to the square and the church Saint-Pierre. It was one of the liveliest streets of Port Louis, with hotels, inns and shops that provided most of the supplies for the ships of the Compagnie des Indes.

Locmalo, a former fishing village, was redeveloped during the 19th century for sardine fishing. In 1876 the pier was extended to berth the ships, and by 1906 there were 274 boats in the harbour.  The Port Louis fish auction hall opened in 1889, when the port was at its peak. Fish were auctioned there. Keroman’s competition with Lorient led to its closure in 1927. Restored after a fire in 1943, the former Criée now houses the Salle des Fêtes.

The small sea of Gâvres is a space rich in plant and animal species. It is a land of birds. Every winter, thousands of them come here to refuel before returning to their nesting sites. More than 50 species of birds can be observed between October and March, coming from Northern Europe to seek food and rest. Every year more than 3,000 Brent Geese, small black and white geese, come to graze on the dwarf eelgrass beds. Everyone has a role to play in preserving this natural area: walk your dog on a leash and pick up after it, avoiding getting too close to birds on foot or during sporting activities such as kayaking or kite surfing, etc. Stay on the paths and respect the parking areas.

This important reservoir of natural habitats that makes up the landscape of the marsh, a lagoon immersed at high tide, is home to nearly 470 plant species, including 2 particularly protected: the Asphodel of Arrondeau and the fern of the marshes. Crossing the dike, you will observe a mosaic of environments adapted to salt and humidity, such as herbaria, the important reed bed or the salicornaie. The samphire is a small halophyte plant (that is to say adapted to the salty environment) edible with a very salty taste and can be prepared like green beans.

It is a deep-water harbour between Nantes and Brest, enlarged by the estuary of two coastal rivers, the Scorff and the Blavet. Protected natural site, sheltered from the prevailing winds and storms by the island of Groix, the harbor of Lorient has been very frequented since antiquity by French and foreign navigators who released there in bad weather. Then, with the installation of the East India Company in 1666, the harbor of Lorient, opens to the great currents of maritime traffic and trade with the Indies.

The marsh plays a central role in welcoming waterbirds in the bay of Lorient. Some come to reproduce and spend the rest of the year further south, especially in Africa. Among these species are the aquatic phragmite or the white spoonbill. Others, on the other hand, nest in northern Europe and come here to spend the winter or make a simple stopover, en route to Africa.

Steeped in history and an exceptional natural space, the site is frequented by herons, musical thrushes and egrets, some of which are nestled in the pines of the park.  The castle of Kerzo, residence of pleasure, is built around 1878 on the point of Kerzo by Henri Guiheneuc, mayor of Port-Louis, on an old abandoned fort dating from the end of the 18th century. Of the castle, partly destroyed during the war of 1939, there remain only two turrets, visible from the avenue of the castle of Kerzo. On the site, were discovered redoubts (fortifications) and a stele. In 2020, the current owner ceded part of the property to the municipality, to allow walkers to bypass it and follow the coast along the coastal path you take.

Built at the end of 2008 as part of the expansion of the port, the pier closes the Driasker cove and protects the port of La Pointe. It is a popular place for walkers, with a superb view of the port, the city and the citadel at the end.

In 1795, during the Revolution, the municipality acquired land in Kerzo, by the sea, to develop and transfer the cemeteries of the chapel Saint Pierre and the church Notre-Dame. The cemetery was expanded in 1864. It housed the War Memorial, inaugurated in 1922 and restored in 2018. As funerals were carried out mainly on foot, a dike was built in 1906 to directly connect the cemetery to the Notre-Dame church. Among the personalities who left their mark on the history of Port-Louis were two former aedile priests: Jean-Baptiste, known as Henry Guiheneuc, doctor and ceramist artist, former mayor of Port-Louis from 1867 to 1875. In 1869, he bought an old shipowner’s house from the time of the Compagnie des Indes, Ty Huella, currently the Town Hall of Port-Louis. He built around 1878 on the tip of Kerzo the castle of Kerzo, residence of pleasure, on an old abandoned fort dating from the end of the 18th century. The promenade along the harbor at Kerzo currently bears his name. Louis Paubert, shipwright and former mayor of Port-Louis for 42 years, from 1881 to 1923. During his tenure he built important school buildings, such as the girls' public school in 1883, he opened new public roads and created promenades and plantations, he helped establish the Port-Louis-Hennebont-Baud railway line (the tourist office is currently located in the old station), it has contributed to the construction of the Casino de la Grande Plage or the expansion of the Port of Locmalo. The driveway planted with lime trees along the top of the rampart and the rue de la Pointe is currently named after the one who is at the origin of this development, promenade Louis Paubert. To discover the other «Personalities of the cemetery of Port-Louis»: Chroniques Port-Louisiennes published in 2019 by the Centre d'Animation Historique du Pays de Port-Louis.

The Driasker, which in Breton means the village from below, was once the district of calfats and shipwrights. The cove was very protected from offshore swells and winds. Activity was intense there from the Middle Ages. In the 19th century, the tuna boats of Groix Island spent the winter there. Today, the space is dedicated to boating.

The dike we use was built in 1906-1907 to facilitate access to the cemetery opposite, on the point of Kerzo. In the past, the bay of Driasker sank on a marshy area. It was from 1968 that the first improvements were installed: football field, houses or workshops.

Long called Driasker gate, it connected the city to the Driasker district. Originally it was vaulted and its arch supported a small hanging garden. In 1907, it was replaced by a small bridge of red color, from where it takes its name.

There used to be only one path along the strike. From the Porte de la Pointe to the Porte du Driasker or Porte Rouge, the urban enclosure, built from 1649 to 1653, was constituted by the walls of the riverside houses, blind in their lower part. Houses overlooking the sea were included in the fortification. They opened on the street of La Pointe, on the ground floor, and communicated with the sea by the cellars. Rue de la Pointe was mainly occupied by merchants and artisans. In the 18th century, it became the street of taverns and hotels. Today during the summer season, there are bars and restaurants at the foot of the ramparts, on the boulevard of the Compagnie des Indes.

It was in 1618 that Louis XIII, appreciating the strategic importance of this square, decided to fortify it, to develop the port and to give it the name of Port-Louis. A mole (or dike) will be built on the site of the current mole. The great period of the port of Pointe is that of the Compagnie des Indes. Many ships, sometimes up to 200, from various countries, anchor in the harbor with their exotic cargoes as well as their emissaries from embassies of distant countries such as Siam or China. The boats sail in all directions to serve these deep-sea vessels that cannot dock. In the 19th century, at the time of sardine fishing, the old hold was restored and extended. After the sardine crisis of the beginning of the 20th century, the port of La Pointe became a tuna port arming dundees (there were up to 80) then turned to offshore fishing or coastal trawling. It faced competition from the new port of Keroman in Lorient, built in 1927.