{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox French commune |name = Erquy |native name = Erge-ar-Mor |commune status = [[Communes of France|Commune]] |image = Erquy.jpg |image coat of arms = CoA fr Erquy.svg |caption = Aerial view |coordinates = {{coord|48.6325|-2.463|format=dms|display=inline,title}} |INSEE = 22054 |postal code = 22430 |arrondissement = Saint-Brieuc |canton = Pléneuf-Val-André |mayor = Henri Labbé<ref>{{cite web|title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires|url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503|publisher=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises|date=13 September 2022|language=fr}}</ref> |term = 2020–2026 |intercommunality = CA [[Lamballe Terre et Mer]] |elevation min m = 0 |elevation max m = 116 |area km2 = 26.46 |population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}} |population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}} |population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}} |image flag=Flag of Erquy.gif}}
'''Erquy''' ({{IPA|fr|ɛʁki}}; {{Langx|br|Erge-ar-Mor}}; [[Gallo language|Gallo]]: ''Erqi'') is a [[Communes of France|commune]] in the [[Côtes-d'Armor]] [[Departments of France|department]] of [[Brittany (administrative region)|Brittany]] in northwestern [[France]].
Erquy is located in a cove of the [[Counts and dukes of Penthièvre|Penthièvre]] coast bordered by cape Erquy on one side and a volcanic rock formation called ''pointe de la Heussaye'' on the other. Its harbour shelters a flotilla of about 80 trawlers, earning the town a reputation as the [[scallop]] "capital". The shellfish are collected in the Saint-Brieuc bay.
It is a popular summar destination, known for its ten fine sand beaches and pink [[sandstone]] houses.
Erquy claims to be the inspiration behind the village of the [[Asterix]] comics, which is situated in roughly the same place in ancient [[Armorica]] (now Brittany); this would make the villagers likely [[Coriosolites]], a tribe who lived in that area.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-16 |title=Erquy: a day in the real-life Gaulish village of Astérix |url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20200816-erquy-a-day-in-the-real-life-gaulish-village-of-asterix-comic-brittany-goscinny-uderzo-erquy-myth |access-date=2025-11-24 |website=[[Radio France Internationale]] |language=en |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref>
==Population==
Inhabitants of Erquy are called ''Réginéens'' or ''Erquiais'' in French.
{{Historical populations |source = INSEE<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/8643952?geo=COM-22054#tableau-POPREF_G1 Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023], INSEE</ref> |percentages = pagr |align = none |1968 |2998 |1975 |3347 |1982 |3426 |1990 |3568 |1999 |3760 |2007 |3764 |2012 |3898 |2017 |3910 |2023 |3974 }}
==Geography== Erquy offers a variety of natural landscapes: pink [[sandstone]] cliffs and rocks, wild [[heath]]land, pinewoods, beaches, dunes and a transparent emerald sea.
Some coastal paths run along the spectacular pink [[sandstone]] cliffs of Cape Erquy and [[Cap Fréhel|Cape Fréhel]], close by. The heathland of Cape Erquy is listed as one of the most remarkable natural environments of the [[Côtes-d'Armor]] department. Once used as farmland, it is now a nature reserve. It shelters a wide variety of species of [[Calluna|heather]] and [[Ulex|gorse]] creating a colourful landscape changing with the seasons.
Erquy's ten beaches come in all shapes and sizes: from the small coves bordered by [[heath]]land north of the cape to the large expanses of Caroual and Saint-Pabu.
During the summer season, the population is multiplied by seven and can go as high as 30 000 inhabitants. In just a few years, Erquy has become the most active town of the [[Counts and dukes of Penthièvre|Penthièvre]] coast economically, commercially, culturally as well as in sports.
==History== Erquy and its neighbouring hamlets are rich in heritage with chapels, mansions, lighthouses, a [[dolmen]] and a castle. Besides being a harbour, Erquy used to shelter an active pink [[sandstone]] quarry and the small pink Tu-Es-Roc village is a testimony of that activity. Nowadays, a trail with interpretative panels allows visitors to explore the former quarry whose pits have become ponds: ''Les Lacs Bleus''.
The jewel of its rich past is the ''Château de Bienassis'', a pink [[sandstone]] castle.
'''Other interesting pieces of heritage in Erquy include:'''<br /> - The guardhouse at Trois Pierres which was built in 1744 as part of a vast defensive system instigated by [[Louis XV]] who formed coast guard companies and stationed batteries and guardhouses along the whole Breton coast.<br /> - A cannonball oven which was completed in 1794. The cannonballs were heated until they were red-hot so they could set enemy ships on fire.<br /> - The Saint-Michel Chapel: this picturesque chapel is located on a tiny island, [[Îlot Saint-Michel]], linked to the coast by a natural pebble causeway covered by the sea at high tide.<br /> - The Caroual viaduct: built by Harel de la Noë, it enabled the first trains to run from the towns of [[Côtes-d'Armor]] to Erquy from 1922 onwards.
'''The fishing harbour:'''<br /> Erquy became an important fishing port following the discovery of [[clam]] banks in the early 1950s and of [[scallop]] banks in 1962. Since then, it has been rated one of the important scallop ports in Europe.
==Cultural significance==
Erquy and two other harbours, [[Saint-Quay-Portrieux]] and Loguivy-de-la-Mer/[[Paimpol]], organise every year and in turn a [[scallop]] festival : ''La Fête de la Coquille Saint-Jacques''.
==See also== *[[Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Erquy}} *[https://www.ville-erquy.com Official website] {{in lang|fr}} *[https://www.capderquy-valandre.com/erquy/ Erquy Tourist Office] *{{Search Mérimée|22054}}
{{Côtes-d'Armor communes}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Communes of Côtes-d'Armor]] [[Category:Seaside resorts in France]] [[Category:Armorica]]