Castel Clara

Belle-Île-en-Mer already boasts quite the list of VIP visitors: Dumas, Baudelaire, and Monet, to name a modest few. Not that anyone is unwelcome — far from it, as this Breton island’s population balloons each summer with tourist traffic — but uncharted territory this certainly is not. Now for the silver lining: the island’s southwestern Côte Sauvage hasn’t lost an iota of its rugged, sharp-cliffed beauty thereby. You can have your castle after all in Castel Clara Thalasso & Spa Hôtel.

Commanding sea views are the name of the game; many of Castel Clara’s 63 rooms, split between two slate-roofed Sixties buildings, and all of the public spaces operate accordingly. Just as well, given the beige-on-white interiors, a boundary-respecting exercise in what Brits call “sensibility.” Small touches — model ships, turquoise accents, period lanterns, wainscoting — call the seafaring life to mind, but none so strongly as the actual seascape. Get an ocean-facing balcony room, period.

Once you’ve had your fill of looking at the sea, of course, you should get down to experiencing it. They mean the second half of the hotel name quite literally, offering a host of aquatic treatments across the spa’s 28 rooms. There’s also the island’s natural appeal; avail yourself of the hotel’s bikes and you’ll have plenty to explore, including 95 km of coastal paths, gorse-and-grain valleys, and a near-inexhaustible succession of picturesque hamlets.

Café Clara does an excellent imitation of a fishmonger’s spread with daily, bountiful seafood buffets for breakfast and lunch. Come dinnertime, Le 180° brings the gastronomic dynamite, gorgeously presented plates best enjoyed with a selection from their encyclopedic cellars on the panoramic terrace (hence the name). Who knows, a setting this dramatic might well inspire you to join the ranks of Impressionist masters.

How to get there: Ferries depart year-round from Quiberon ; the trip lasts approximately 45 minutes each way. Several water taxi services are also available from Quiberon, Vannes, Port Navalo, and Locmariaquer.