A visit to La Roche-Bernard: big bridges alongside the little people

If you’re travelling along the south coast of Brittany, you might have passed over a bridge between Vannes and Nantes and glimpsed a pretty collection of houses and boats far below.

This is La Roche-Bernard, a historic village with an attractive marina and only 750 residents, although its natural charms and convenient location just off the motorway draw thousands of visitors every year.

Look for the little people

As you explore the cobbled streets lined with shops, cafés and restaurants, look up at the facades and you’ll notice tiny pottery figures perched on windowsills and cubbyholes.

Local legend has it that a meteorite struck the village in 1456 and the resulting gases caused genetic transformations, so that the only survivors were these tiny folk, whose statues you can still see today.

In truth, these are Les Bihans, created by Belgian sculptor Michel Vranckx, who has had a holiday home here for 50 years and has placed more than 35 of these ‘little people’ in various spots around the streets, adding another dimension to the village’s delights.

Picturesque port

La Roche-Bernard developed on the banks of the Vilaine estuary, which is wide enough here to have a coastal feel. Head down towards the water and you’ll find a pleasant riverside walk, as well as pavement cafés that enjoy views over the bobbing boats, everything from modern pleasure cruisers to traditional masted sailboats.

The village was once the outer harbour for Redon and Rennes, so a variety of goods including wine, cereal, salt and timber passed through this port, either on schooners or flat-bottomed barges.

You can take a trip on the water yourself either on Les Vedettes Jaunes or aboard the Morwenna, a beautifully maintained 1968 wooden sailboat.

A tale of many bridges

In days gone by, locals had to cross the river using a flat-bottomed barge that carried people and cattle alike. It seems that in the early 1800s, the Préfet du Morbihan had a meeting with the mayor of La Roche-Bernard and left on the little ferry at 10pm, only reaching the other side at 4am, an experience that made him prioritise building a bridge here. 

The first suspension bridge, dating from 1839, was replaced by a metallic Eiffel-style arch bridge designed for cars, pedestrians and even a railway. It was this bridge that was targeted by German forces, who placed mines there, but in a curious twist of fate, they only exploded when struck by lightning during a storm in 1944.

After that, the locals returned to the old ferry system for four years, then from 1948 to 1960 used a floating footbridge that came from the Arromanches D-Day landings, which is still remembered as being terrifically noisy.

In 1960, another bridge was constructed. It is over 406 metres long and still carries up to 40,000 vehicles a day in the height of summer, but it could not keep up with modern demands. Finally, to ease the traffic, Le Pont du Morbihan was built in 1996, just 600 metres from its sister bridge. It carries the dual carriageway that connects Nantes to Brest, as well as a pedestrian crossing (passerelle) running underneath, with incredible views of the water below.

A perfect place to pause

This is a small village where you can enjoy a riverside stroll, the feeling of getting slightly lost among ancient cobbled streets, browsing vintage shops and artists’ studios, or sitting in the sunshine on a terrace to people-watch and gaze at the light glinting off the water. 

Whether you’re en route elsewhere or coming for a day trip, La Roche-Bernard is well worth a visit.