GR34 Southern Brittany: Gulf of Morbihan to Quiberon

Five days on the Morbihan section of the GR34, the customs officers' path created in the eighteenth century to watch for smuggling and now the most walked long-distance trail in France. The route starts at Vannes and its ramparts, reaches the Ile-aux-Moines by ferry, with its camellia-lined paths and stone circle, then Locmariaquer and its broken twenty-metre Grand Menhir, the largest monolith ever raised in Europe, Carnac and its three thousand standing stones, and finally Quiberon and its wild, swell-battered coast. The terrain is easy, but tides govern some beach crossings, so check the timetable. Island ferries run less often out of season. The GR34 is well waymarked in white and red, though detours around private property add distance.