Gulf of Morbihan: The Séné Marshes, Gavrinis and the Dukes' Suscinio
Brittany, France
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275
XP
+100 France
= 375 total
2 days
Gulf of Morbihan: The Séné Marshes, Gavrinis and the Dukes' Suscinio
275 + 100 XP
The Gulf of Morbihan is an inland sea scattered with islands, and at its head the Séné reserve protects 530 hectares of mudflat, salt marsh and old salt pans — the largest marshes in the region — where more than 300 bird species have been recorded and 76 of them breed. On an island in the gulf, the Gavrinis cairn has carving on 23 of its 29 upright slabs and joined the UNESCO list with the Carnac megaliths in July 2025, and on the Rhuys peninsula the dukes of Brittany kept their treasury, their archives and a pleasure house at Suscinio.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Walk the Séné reserve trails to the hides built so the birds cannot see you, and find avocets and black-winged stilts on the old salt pans in spring, spoonbills and black-tailed godwits on migration, or the December and January peak when the waterfowl crowd the mudflats at low tide
2
of 5
Take the fifteen-minute boat from the cale de Pen Lannic at Larmor-Baden to Gavrinis and go down the 13 m passage on the guided tour, counting the carved slabs — 23 of the 29 uprights are worked, with shields, crooks, axes, zigzags and spirals
3
of 5
At the Château de Suscinio find the 270 m2 tiled pavement lifted from the chapel outside the walls and displayed indoors, and pick out the bands in the nave that repeat the 23 letters of the alphabet over and over, then walk the east lodging through the ceremony hall, the duke's bedroom and his steam baths
4
of 5
Take a boat trip among the islands of the gulf from Vannes or Port-Navalo
5
of 5
Walk the ramparts of Vannes at the head of the gulf, then follow the shore path south into Séné along the old salt pans the cathedral chapter of Vannes was granted in 1720, the length of a reserve that runs 6.5 km north to south
Walk the Séné reserve trails to the hides built so the birds cannot see you, and find avocets and black-winged stilts on the old salt pans in spring, spoonbills and black-tailed godwits on migration, or the December and January peak when the waterfowl crowd the mudflats at low tide
Take the fifteen-minute boat from the cale de Pen Lannic at Larmor-Baden to Gavrinis and go down the 13 m passage on the guided tour, counting the carved slabs — 23 of the 29 uprights are worked, with shields, crooks, axes, zigzags and spirals
At the Château de Suscinio find the 270 m2 tiled pavement lifted from the chapel outside the walls and displayed indoors, and pick out the bands in the nave that repeat the 23 letters of the alphabet over and over, then walk the east lodging through the ceremony hall, the duke's bedroom and his steam baths
Take a boat trip among the islands of the gulf from Vannes or Port-Navalo
Walk the ramparts of Vannes at the head of the gulf, then follow the shore path south into Séné along the old salt pans the cathedral chapter of Vannes was granted in 1720, the length of a reserve that runs 6.5 km north to south
Before you go
Gavrinis can only be entered on a guided tour, booked ahead, with five people inside the passage grave at a time; allow about two hours from Larmor-Baden including the two fifteen-minute crossings, and expect the island to be shut outside the spring-to-autumn season. Guided walks on the Séné reserve run daily from February to August; from September to January wardens are on the trails on set days only.
Gavrinis is a mid-March to end-of-September island: the boat from Larmor-Baden does not run from October to mid-March, and even in season it is a booked guided tour with five people inside the passage at a time. The Château de Suscinio is open every day of the year but only from 14h in January, November and December outside the school holidays.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
275 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
375 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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