Perros-Guirec: history, church, town centre and beaches

Perros-Guirec is the seaside resort of the Pink Granite Coast, about 21 minutes (14.4 km) from your cottages in Lannion according to a route planner.

A seaside resort born between two centuries

The commune split from the parish of Pleumeur-Bodou in the 12th century and elected its first municipal council in January 1790. Until the end of the 19th century, people lived mainly from farming and gathering seaweed. Artists and writers then made the place’s reputation (Maurice Denis, Anatole Le Braz, Charles Le Goffic, Joseph Conrad, Ernest Renan). The first hotel at Trestraou dates from 1886, the first seafront villa from 1892, and the railway arrived in 1906.

The coastal road opened in 1918 behind the seafront districts: activity moved from the harbour to the town centre, where the post office (1931), the town hall (1932), shops and hotels followed. Perros-Guirec has been a seaside resort since the end of the 19th century, and became a true holiday town between the wars.

Saint-Jacques church and the town centre

Saint-Jacques church, built on a hill, was begun at the end of the 11th century and dedicated to Saint James, patron saint of the pilgrims to Compostela. Its 14th-century tower is built of Île-Grande granite, its 17th-century spire of La Clarté-Ploumanac’h granite. The 12th-century south porch bears an octopus frieze, described as unique in Romanesque art. Inside: a 17th-century altarpiece with eighteen statuettes, a Way of the Cross from 1952 and an organ from 1997.

The historic centre is small and easily explored on foot: fine houses, some in pink granite, a few shops and restaurants.

Markets

According to the tourist office guide (2022 edition): Wednesday morning at the marina, Friday morning in the town centre, Sunday morning at La Clarté, Tuesday evening at Trestraou in summer, Tuesday morning at Ploumanac’h harbour from April to September. Check the days with the tourist office.

Beaches and the customs officers’ path

Three large fine-sand beaches (Saint-Guirec, Trestrignel, Trestraou), Maurice Denis’s Villa Silencio facing Trestrignel beach, and the customs officers’ path (8 km round trip, about 2 h 30). Trips to the Sept-Îles leave from the Trestraou ferry terminal.

Casino and spas at Trestraou

The Grand Hôtel de Perros-Guirec (4-star hotel, Trestraou beach) houses on the first floor a casino with about a hundred slot machines and the restaurant Le Joker, as well as a spa with a view of the Sept-Îles, hammam, sauna and jacuzzi. The Roz Marine Thalasso Resort (4-star hotel, facing Trestraou beach, open all year in 2026) offers thalassotherapy treatments: marine circuit, Celtic circuit, seawater pools, marine spa. Ask the establishments about access conditions: Roz Marine Thalasso.

Going further

See also the Pink Granite Coast, our guide to how many days to spend in the Trégor and the website of the Lannion and Pink Granite Coast tourist office. Check availability for our cottages.