The Pointe du Raz scenic drive takes you to the very edge of France. Out at the Western tip of the Cap Sizun, where Brittany runs out of land, a great rocky prow rears 72 metres above the sea and the Atlantic hurls itself against the reefs of the Raz de Sein below.
This is one of the most dramatic and emotionally charged places in the country, a Grand Site de France where the weather is part of the spectacle and even a grey day feels like an event. It is the mainland’s answer to land’s end, and it is unforgettable.
Most guides send you walking the GR34 coastal path out to the point, and the walk is superb, but a car is what lets you take in the whole of the Cap Sizun in a day, from the fishing port of Audierne to the wild Baie des Trépassés and the quieter Pointe du Van.
This Pointe du Raz scenic drive links the finest of it with real drive times, parking notes, the best walks and where to eat. Car hire in the region starts from around £20 a day, and Brittany’s roads are toll-free, so the far West is yours to explore at your own pace.
The Pointe du Raz Scenic Drive at a Glance
Route: Audierne, Pointe du Raz, Baie des Trépassés, Pointe du Van, Pont-Croix
Distance: About 40 miles (65 km) around the Cap Sizun
Driving time: Around 1 hour 15 of pure driving, but allow a full day with stops and a walk
Nearest airport: Brest (BES), about 1 hour to Audierne
Best time: Late spring to early autumn for the light and longer days, though the point is dramatic in any weather
Roads: Toll-free throughout, some narrow lanes out to the headlands
Table of Contents
The Pointe du Raz Scenic Drive, Stop by Stop
1. Audierne: The Fishing Port Base
The Pointe du Raz scenic drive begins at Audierne, a working fishing port strung along the estuary of the Goyen and the natural gateway to the Cap Sizun. It is a genuinely pretty place, its quay lined with tall granite houses and seafood restaurants, and it has kept the feel of a real Breton port rather than a resort. The langoustines and lobsters landed here are famous, and the covered market and quayside stalls are the place to buy them.
Beyond the harbour, Audierne has a fine sandy beach at Sainte-Évette, and the Aquashow aquarium is a reliable hit with children. It is also the departure point for boats to the Île de Sein, the low, treeless island lying off the point, one of the most remote inhabited places in France. Park along the quay and take a stroll before setting off West, because from here the Pointe du Raz scenic drive heads out towards the edge.
2. Pointe du Raz: The Edge of France
Seven miles West of Audierne, the land narrows and then simply stops at the Pointe du Raz. From the visitor centre, a walk of about twenty minutes over the heath brings you to the point itself, where the statue of Notre-Dame-des-Naufragés, Our Lady of the Shipwrecked, looks out over the churning Raz de Sein towards the La Vieille lighthouse and the Île de Sein beyond. The drop to the sea is sheer, the wind is constant, and the sense of standing at the end of the world is total.
The name Raz comes from the same root as the English word race, meaning a strong current of water, and it is well earned: the Raz de Sein is one of the most feared stretches of water on the French coast, a churning tidal race between the point and the Île de Sein that has claimed countless ships over the centuries. The Pointe du Raz scenic drive brings you face to face with that raw power, and it is humbling.
This is a Grand Site de France, carefully protected after decades of erosion from its own popularity, so cars are kept back at the main car park and the approach is on foot. Take care near the unfenced edges, especially in wind, and wear proper shoes for the rocky paths. Give yourself time here: this is the heart of the drive, and it rewards an unhurried visit far more than a quick photograph.
3. Baie des Trépassés: The Bay of the Dead
The third stop on the Pointe du Raz scenic drive, just North of the point, is the Baie des Trépassés, the Bay of the Dead, a broad and beautiful sweep of pale sand between the Pointe du Raz and the Pointe du Van.
Its ominous name is the stuff of legend, variously said to come from the drowned sailors whose bodies the currents washed ashore, or from a mistranslation of the Breton for the nearby Bay of the Stream. Whatever the truth, the reality today is a magnificent, wild beach, popular with surfers and walkers and backed by dunes and a freshwater marsh.
It is a wonderful place to feel the raw scale of this coast, with the Atlantic rollers coming straight in off the open ocean. Swimming can be dangerous here because of the currents, so it is one for paddling, surfing with care, and long windswept walks rather than a gentle dip. There is parking behind the beach, and a hotel and café if you need a warm drink after the wind.
4. Pointe du Van: The Quieter Headland
Across the bay from the point stands its gentler, quieter twin, the Pointe du Van, the fourth stop on the Pointe du Raz scenic drive. It has none of the crowds or the visitor infrastructure of its famous neighbour, and many who make the short walk out to it prefer it for exactly that reason. The little Chapelle Saint-They perches near the tip, a simple stone sailors’ chapel that has watched over this coast for centuries, and the views back across the Baie des Trépassés to the Pointe du Raz are among the finest on the whole cape.
The walk out to the point and around the headland is gentle and well worth it, over heath and low cliffs alive with seabirds. This is the place to come for the drama of the Pointe du Raz without the numbers, and on a fine evening it is hard to beat. Park at the end of the road and follow the path to the chapel and the point.
5. Pont-Croix: The Medieval Finale
Turn inland for the last stop on the Pointe du Raz scenic drive and the mood changes completely. Pont-Croix is a beautifully preserved medieval town rising in tiers above the Goyen river, its steep cobbled lanes, the Grande Rue Chère among them, tumbling down between old granite houses. Crowning it all is the great church of Notre-Dame-de-Roscudon, whose soaring 13th-century spire was so admired that it served as the model for the cathedral at Quimper.
It is a lovely, restful place to end the Pointe du Raz scenic drive, a reminder that the Cap Sizun is not all wild coast but has a rich history inland too. Wander the old streets, look into the church, and perhaps settle in for a crêpe or a coffee before the short drive back to Audierne. From here it is only a few minutes down the valley to where you began.
Where to Eat on the Pointe du Raz Scenic Drive
The Pointe du Raz scenic drive runs through one of the great seafood corners of Brittany, and Audierne is the place to make the most of it. The port lands superb langoustines, lobster and crab, and the quayside restaurants serve them as fresh as it gets, along with the oysters and fish of the Bigouden coast. A plateau de fruits de mer here, with a glass of Muscadet and the boats bobbing in front of you, is one of the finest lunches in the region.
Out on the cape itself, options thin considerably, so Audierne or Pont-Croix are the sensible lunch stops. The café at the Baie des Trépassés and the restaurant at the Pointe du Raz visitor centre will keep hunger at bay, but they are convenience rather than destination dining. As across Brittany, look out for galettes, cider and the buttery kouign-amann, and remember that many kitchens close in the mid-afternoon, so time your meal rather than leaving it to the headlands.
When to Go and How Long to Allow
Allow a full day for the Pointe du Raz scenic drive. The driving is only around an hour and a quarter in total, but the point itself deserves a couple of hours with the walk out and back, and every other stop rewards time spent rather than rushed.
Late spring to early autumn brings the best of the light for the Pointe du Raz scenic drive and the longest days, with sunset over the Raz de Sein often the highlight of the whole visit.
July and August are busy, especially at the point, so start early or come late in the day to see it at its calmest. Spring and autumn are quieter and often beautifully clear, and even in winter, on a wild day with a big sea running, the Pointe du Raz is magnificent, arguably at its most atmospheric of all when the Atlantic is in a fury.
Making a Weekend of the Pointe du Raz Scenic Drive
The Pointe du Raz scenic drive fills a day beautifully, but the far West rewards a second. The most natural extension is a boat trip to the Île de Sein, the extraordinary low island lying off the point, barely above the waves, treeless and car-free, with a proud wartime history as the island whose entire male population sailed to join the Free French in 1940. Boats run from Audierne and it makes a memorable half-day or more.
North of the Cap Sizun lies the neighbouring Crozon Peninsula, the other great headland of Finistère and a spectacular scenic drive in its own right, about an hour and a quarter around the Bay of Douarnenez. The two make a natural pair for a longer far-West trip. Douarnenez itself, with its fishing heritage and the Port-Musée, is well worth a visit, and the Baie de Douarnenez has a string of fine beaches along the way.
For a base, Audierne is the obvious and most characterful choice, right at the mouth of the cape with the best of the seafood on the doorstep. Pont-Croix is a quieter, prettier alternative just inland, and either puts you within half an hour of every stop on this drive, close enough to catch the point at sunrise or sunset with the crowds gone.
Getting to the Pointe du Raz: Your Gateway
The Pointe du Raz sits at the far Western tip of Finistère, and the natural gateway is Brest Airport (BES), around an hour to the North. Brest is the busiest airport within Brittany itself, with good UK connections and plenty of rental supply, and it puts you in Audierne, the base for this drive, in about an hour. Compare deals and pick up your car on our cheap car hire Brest Airport page, where prices start from around £20 a day in the quiet season.
Quimper has a smaller airport a similar distance to the East, worth checking if the flight times suit, and Rennes is around two and a half hours away if you are combining the Cap Sizun with the rest of Brittany. Wherever you land, a car is essential here: public transport onto the cape is limited and seasonal, and the freedom to chase the light from headland to headland is exactly what makes this drive special. Our guide to car hire in Brittany compares all four regional gateways side by side. For the complete picture, our easy touring Brittany guide brings together all six of the region’s finest scenic drives and the three airport gateways that unlock them.
Driving Tips for the Pointe du Raz
France drives on the right, and the roads across the Cap Sizun are toll-free and generally quiet, though they narrow considerably out towards the headlands. A small car makes the lanes and the car parks far easier, and it is the cheapest option too.
Speed limits are 50 km/h in towns, 80 km/h on two-way rural roads and 110 km/h on dual carriageways, lower in the wet. Watch for priorité à droite at smaller junctions. Parking at the Pointe du Raz is in a large paid car park set back from the point, with the final approach on foot, and it fills early on summer days, so an early start is well worth it. For the official rules of the road, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office keeps an up to date summary on its France travel advice pages.
One tip worth knowing: this is one of the windiest, most exposed places in France, and the weather can turn in minutes. Take a proper windproof and waterproof layer even on a fine morning, wear shoes with grip for the rocky paths, and keep well back from the unfenced cliff edges, particularly with children or in a strong wind. Respect the ocean here and it will give you one of the great days of any Brittany trip.
What Most Guides Do Not Tell You
Three things will improve your Pointe du Raz scenic drive more than any list of sights. The first is to cross the bay to the Pointe du Van. Almost everyone visits the Pointe du Raz and turns back, missing its quieter twin entirely, yet the Pointe du Van offers the same wild grandeur with a fraction of the people and the loveliest view of the Raz itself. The short walk out to the Chapelle Saint-They is the insider’s highlight of the cape.
The second is to time the point for early morning or late evening. At midday in summer the Pointe du Raz car park is full and the paths are busy, but arrive at opening or stay for the sunset and you can have that edge-of-the-world feeling almost to yourself, with the light at its most magical over the Raz de Sein.
The third is not to skip Pont-Croix. It is tempting to treat this as a pure coastal drive and head straight back, but the medieval town inland is a genuine gem and a perfect, restful contrast to the raw drama of the headlands. Its church spire is the one that inspired Quimper cathedral, and its cobbled streets are among the prettiest in the far West.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Pointe du Raz scenic drive?
The Pointe du Raz scenic drive from Audierne out to the point, the Baie des Trépassés and the Pointe du Van, then inland to Pont-Croix, is about 40 miles, with roughly an hour and a quarter of driving. Allow a full day to enjoy the stops and the walk to the point.
Do I need a car for the Pointe du Raz?
A car is by far the best way to do the Pointe du Raz scenic drive. Bus services onto the Cap Sizun are limited and seasonal, and the headlands like the Pointe du Van are difficult to reach without one. Driving lets you follow the light and see the whole cape in a day.
Which airport is best for the Pointe du Raz?
For the Pointe du Raz scenic drive, Brest (BES) is the best choice, about an hour away with the strongest flight and rental supply in the far West. Quimper has a smaller airport a similar distance to the East. Both work well as a starting point for the drive.
Can you drive right up to the Pointe du Raz?
No. To protect the site, cars are kept at a large car park set back from the point, and the final approach is a walk of about twenty minutes over the heath. It is easy going but wear proper shoes and allow time.
When is the best time to visit the Pointe du Raz?
Late spring to early autumn has the best light and longest days, with sunset the highlight. Early morning and evening are calmest at the point. The headland is dramatic in any weather, and spectacular in a winter storm from a safe distance.
Download the Pointe du Raz Scenic Drive Guide
Take the route with you. Our free downloadable guide has everything you need for the day, and the GPX file loads straight into your sat nav or phone.
Download includes:
- The full stop-by-stop route with verified drive times
- Parking notes for every stop
- The best walks, including the Pointe du Van
- Where to eat, from Audierne seafood to Pont-Croix crêpes
- A printable route map
Drive the Pointe du Raz for Yourself
There are few places in France with the raw, emotional power of the Pointe du Raz scenic drive. The edge-of-the-world drama of the point, the wild sweep of the Baie des Trépassés, the quiet grandeur of the Pointe du Van and the medieval charm of Pont-Croix, all strung along a few toll-free miles of the far Western tip of Brittany. Pick up your car, drive out to the edge, and let the Pointe du Raz scenic drive show you Finistère at its most elemental. Compare deals on our cheap car hire Brest Airport page and start planning.
About the Author
Written by the Digitalhound.co.uk editorial team. Every guide is thoroughly researched with genuine local knowledge, road numbers, food stops and practical driving tips gathered from on-the-ground experience.