Photo : Jean-Pol GRANDMONT / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
La Pointe du Raz
The Pointe du Raz is a rocky promontory in Finistère, west of Plogoff. It rises 72 metres above the Iroise Sea and forms the prow of Cap Sizun. Offshore, the very violent current of the Raz de Sein separates it from the Île de Sein, 8 kilometres to the west. Two automated lighthouses, La Vieille and Tévennec, stand on neighbouring islets, and a semaphore stands on the site.
You can also see the marble statue of Notre-Dame des Naufragés, the work of Cyprian Godebski, and, beneath the point, a sea cavity named the Hell of Plogoff. To the north, the Bay of the Departed (Baie des Trépassés) is bordered by the Pointe du Van, while the Bay of Audierne opens to the south. The European path E5, which reaches Venice, starts here.
The site was listed in 1987 and received the Grand Site de France label in 2004. It welcomes about a million visitors a year, which justified redevelopment work to protect the cliffs. The labelled perimeter was enlarged in 2019 to five communes. The weather changes quickly here, so it is best to dress warmly.
