Plage de Trestraou

Plage de Trestraou is the main beach of Perros-Guirec and the starting point for one of the most remarkable coastal walks in France. The Côte de Granit Rose (Pink Granite Coast) begins here — a stretch of approximately 10km of coastal path (the Sentier des Douaniers or Customs Officers' Path, part of the GR34) from Ploumanac'h to Trégastel through a landscape of rose-pink boulders of fantastical shape, sculpted by millions of years of tidal erosion into forms that have acquired names — the Tortoise, the Witch, Napoleon's Hat, the Rabbit — and that attract photographers, painters, and walkers from across Europe.

The pink colour of the granite is produced by the exceptionally high concentration of potassium feldspar minerals — rare at this scale globally, and found elsewhere only in limited coastal outcrops in Sardinia and China. The entire Côte de Granit Rose is protected as a Site naturel classé (classified natural site), ensuring the boulders and coastline cannot be built upon or altered. The largest individual boulders reach 10 metres in height and their surfaces, polished by the sea, take on warm salmon-to-rose tones in raking morning or evening light that make the landscape read almost surreally beautiful in photographs.

The beach itself is north-facing and Atlantic-exposed, receiving consistent wave swell that makes it one of the better surf and bodyboard beaches of northern Brittany. The water is cold by southern French standards — typically 15–18°C in summer — but eminently acceptable for active water sports and for those who enjoy the bracing quality of Atlantic immersion. Lifeguards supervise the beach through summer and surf instruction is available. The town of Perros-Guirec provides excellent crêperies, seafood brasseries, and accommodation ranging from simple chambre d'hôtes to comfortable resort hotels.