We hired bikes and joined in the Tour de France. Not quite the real thing but we covered quite a lot of the N part of Belle Ile and had a swim at Plage Donnant. This was a strange experience. It seems to be a beach which although pretty is unsafe for swimming. However they put on lifeguards in the summer and allow swimming and body boarding in a narrow corridor down the middle of the beach. The waves were confused and the depth varied with a series of ridges, so it was no good for swimming, but did cool us down. One lifeguard was in the water, one on the beach and probably others in their hut - nice to be looked after but I would prefer to bathe somewhere which was not fundamentally unsafe!
We visited Le Palais which is the main (ie only) town and port - very glad we were warned off going there. Berthing very congested and harbour busy with ferries and vedettes. Ashore the town was very busy whilst the rest of the island was very quiet. Took a quick look at the impressive town walls and massive citadel. Fortunately the need to return the bikes meant that we did not have to explore them thoroughly.
