Miquelon-Langlade

The commune

Get to know Miquelon-Langlade

The commune of Miquelon-Langlade occupies most of the archipelago, about 205 km², and has around 600 residents, almost all in the village of Miquelon. There are three former islands joined by sandbars: Le Cap in the north, Grande Miquelon in the center, and Langlade, also called Petite Miquelon, in the south. The highest point of the territory, the Morne de la Grande Montagne, at 240 m, is on Grande Miquelon.

The village of Miquelon grew around the church Notre-Dame-des-Ardilliers and the harbour. Some families descend from Acadians who came from the Canadian Maritime provinces, commemorated by a monument, and from Basque fishermen. The Musée de Miquelon displays the inhabitants’ objects and customs, and the Maison de la Nature et de l'Environnement presents the islands’ fauna and flora and organises guided walks. On the west coast, the Cap Blanc lighthouse was built in 1883 after an English frigate wrecked off the cape.

South of the village begins the Langlade isthmus, a sand and dune strip more than 10 km long between the ocean and the saltwater lagoon of the Grand Barachois. The lagoon hosts colonies of grey seals and common seals, which often rest on sandbanks, and receives migratory birds; an observatory and boat trips allow close views. On the isthmus, horses are allowed to roam free for much of the year.

To the north, Cap de Miquelon is a reserve of cliffs, heathland and viewpoints, with trails such as the Vallée de la Cormorandière. Langlade, to the south, has no permanent residents: Anse du Gouvernement has summer houses, a chapel and the seasonal ferry pier, and the Belle Rivière crosses hills covered in boreal forest to the Pointe Plate lighthouse, dating from 1881.

The Miquelon and Langlade destination includes the village of Miquelon, the lagoon, the isthmus, the cape and Langlade’s beaches and trails.