Port of Saint-Goustan

Saint-Goustan is the old port of Auray, at the head of a tidal inlet (ria) of the River Auray. In the Middle Ages it grew thanks to the dues paid by passing ships; in the 16th and 17th centuries the wine and grain trade made it, according to the tourist board, the third most important port in Brittany. A stone bridge is documented from the 13th century and took its present form in 1752. Many of the half-timbered houses with jettied upper floors date from the 15th and 16th centuries and also line the Place Saint-Sauveur.

On 3 December 1776 Benjamin Franklin came ashore here when he set out to ask Louis XVI for military aid. Today the harbour is a marina and a stopping point for excursion boats on the Gulf of Morbihan. From the terrace of the Rampes du Loch you look out over the quays; steep cobbled lanes lead between the upper town and the port, so comfortable shoes are advisable. Allow one to two hours.