Museums and culture

The Vauban Citadel of Belle Ile en Mer (Le Palais)

Overlooking the port of Palais, the Vauban Citadel symbolizes 1000 years of history in Belle Ile en Mer. Founded in the Middle Ages, built by the Gondi and Nicolas Fouquet, remodeled by Vauban from 1683, it deploys today, after 40 years of restoration, its 10 hectares of bastions, curtains, casemates, Powder, arsenal ... in the middle of a landscaped park and in an exceptional panorama.

The various collections of the historic museum, in the casemates of the Citadel, bring to life the great hours of Belle Ile but also the daily life of the Bellilois of the past and the memory of the generations of artists who found inspiration there, just like Claude Monet or Sarah Bernhard.
A walk in its ditches or through its entirely landscaped place body allows to imagine the military activity of a strategic place of the kingdom while discovering the exceptional panorama of Belle Ile en Mer.

Frequent exhibitions, concerts, theatrical performances, come to animate each year these prestigious defensive walls now devoted to Belle Ile culture and relaxation.

Rates: Free visit: Adult: € 8 / From 12 to 16 years old: € 3.50 / - 12 years old: free
Guided tour: Adults: 8 € / From 12 to 16 years: 5 € / - 12 years: free.

Telephone: 02 97 31 84 17
Website: http://www.citadellevauban.com
 

The House of Nature in Belle Ile en Mer (Le Palais)

The "House of Nature" Belle Ile en Mer offers many activities to discover the Bellilois environment.
Naturalistic and discovering outings, approach various themes: remarkable dunes plants, birds of the littoral, fauna and flora of Belle Ile en Mer.

Outings on Belle Ile specially designed for children are scheduled during the school holidays as well as awareness activities for sustainable development.

The "House of Nature" of Belle Ile en Mer also offers activities focused on the island tale and imaginary.

Telephone: 02 97 31 40 15
Website: http://www.belle-ile-nature.com/
 

The fort of Sarah Bernhard in Belle Ile en mer (Sauzon)

Belle Ile en Mer, welcomed during her vacations, the great French tragedian Sarah Bernhardt.
In love with men and traveling, the actress had acquired in 1894 the Fort of the Pointe des Poulains, located at the extreme north of Belle Ile. The Fort, after being abandoned, has been restored and visits are now organized to plunge the visitor back into Sarah Bernhardt world in Belle Ile.

Built in 1846, the Fort of the Pointe des Poulains in Belle-Ile-en-Mer was purchased by the actress in 1894. Sarah Bernhardt will stay there every summer for 30 years. When she went to Belle-Ile-en-Mer for the first time, she succumbed to the charms of the place and the panorama of this island, which led her to offer herself this old military fort in the middle of the heather.

"I like to come every year to this picturesque island, to taste all the charm of its wild and grandiose beauty. I draw under its invigorating and relaxing sky new artistic forces". Sarah Bernhardt.

Since April 2007 in Belle Ile you can also visit the "Villa of the Five Parts of the World" which plunges you back into the past: in the villa, the exhibition traces the life and work of the famous tragedian Sarah Bernhardt, and the interior of the fort has been refitted.

The Sarah Bernhardt Museum at Belle Ile en Mer is open to the public from April 1 to September 30, every day from 10:30 am to 5:30 pm.
Rates: from € 2 to € 4

Telephone: 02 97 31 61 29