Discover Brittany in France

Your Guide to Brittany

With its crystal clear waters and perfect white sand, most people visit Brittany for the sea and beaches, as well as the beautiful national parks and lush woodland all over the region. But Brittany isn’t one of the most popular regions in France just for the scenery, people also visit for the amount of rich history, culture and cuisine.

About Brittany | Getting to Brittany | How to Get Around Brittany | Activities in Brittany

About Brittany

Brittany is France’s most northwestern region, surrounded by both the English channel and the Atlantic Ocean. It is a celtic region and most of the traditions, such as local music, derive from that. The region is famous for its good cuisine, specifically the fish and seafood dishes. Many people visit Brittany to take advantage of slightly warmer waters by taking place in different watersports, especially sailing and windsurfing.

Climate

The summertime is the best time to visit the region, from around June to September the average temperatures are around 25 degrees although the winter weather is still fairly pleasant.

Language

The large majority of locals speak French in the region, although you can also hear Breton and Gallo in the area.

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Getting to Brittany

By train

The main train stations in the region are Rennes, Brest, Vannes, Lorient, Saint-Brieuc, and Saint-Malo. Rennes is located just over two hours away from Paris, and is where the majority of international trains come into. Rennes is close to the city centre, and is easy to get from there to other cities and towns within Brittany.

By bus

Bus transportation is growing quickly across the whole of France, three companies now provide routes into the region of Brittany. The majority of the bus stations in Brittany are close to the train stations.

By air

The two main airports in Brittany are in Rennes in the east, and Brest in the west. Visitors can also fly into Nantes Atlantique Airport, just outside of the region, which offers international connections. Most flights from London are direct and take around four hours. All airports have buses, shuttles, and taxis to take visitors into the city centre.

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How to Get Around Brittany

Sometimes travelling around Brittany can be fairly difficult as the majority of popular destinations are located on the sea front, which are not reachable by train or bus. Visitors can rent a car to get around these parts of the region.

Train

Large cities are connected by TGV trains, although they are not high speed. To get to the smaller areas visitors can take the regional TER Bretagne trains.

Walking and Cycling

Hiking and walking is very popular with many of the visitors and locals in Brittany as the majority of the paths have stunning views and connect most of the towns and cities in the region.

Bus

Many bus providers now connect the large cities (Rennes, Lorient, Quimper, Brest, and Saint-Brieuc). To get to the smaller areas visitors can use regional buses, like Illenoo which services the east of the region, or Viaoo29 which services the west of the region.

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Places to Visit

Cities and Harbours

Rennes

One of the most popular cities in the region is Rennes, filled with great history, culture and cuisine. There are great tours that operate to take visitors around the city of Rennes which run in both French and English. These tours take visitors to see what is left of the old medieval buildings, and the palace of Parliament, one of Brittany’s most popular and impressive attractions. Other than the informative and popular tours visitors can also explore the city themselves, Thabor park is a popular area for both tourists and locals, and a walk along the river Vilaine is beautiful during all seasons. Visitors who are looking to explore the city through food should stop by the market located at Place de Lices and takes place every Saturday morning selling fresh seafood, cheeses, and regional specialities such as a ‘galette-saucisse’, a traditional sausage wrapped in a type of crepe.

Saint-Malo

One of the most visited places in Brittany, Saint-Malo is a famous port city in northwestern France. Originally built to protect the city, it is still surrounded by walls, which gives a different atmosphere to the old city and the harbour. One popular activity for visitors is exploring both these areas on foot, and seeing the old sailing boats in the harbour. The city itself is relatively quiet with very few cars, but many traditional boutiques and restaurants.

Islands

The region of Brittany is surrounded by more than a thousand islands, from the very small and not inhabited, to the larger and well known ones such as Belle-île. From Vannes visitors can easily continue on to one of the forty islands of the gulf by boat. Two of the largest and easiest to get to are île aux moines and île d'arz, which have some of the most stunning beaches in Brittany as well as some of the best hiking and walking routes.

The Forest of Brocéliande

The Forest of Brocéliande is located just 18 miles from the popular city of Rennes and is an important, mystical place within the region. The forest is full of legends, one of them being that Merlin was imprisoned within a stone in the forest. It is a difficult place to find, but well worth searching for and a popular walking route among tourists. The site is located near the impressive Fontaine de Barenton, and part of the popular Arthurian trail, maps for which can be bought from many of the tourist shops around the forest and within the city centre. The best way to get to the forest is by hiring a car, or visitors can also travel there by bus from Rennes to Paimpont and then continue to the forest of Brocéliande by taxi, or by hiring a bike and cycling through the scenic landscape.

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Activities

Watersports

Some of the best views in Brittany are by the beach and tourists head towards these coastlines to try the many different watersports that are on offer in the region. Watersport centres are everywhere along the coast and offer lessons or equipment hire for the more experienced visitor. Some of the sports offered include surfing, kayaking, sailing and kite-surfing. The weather in the region make perfect conditions for these sports, with warm air in the summer with the right amount of wind, making Brittany the perfect place to give these sports a try.

Hiking and Walking

Brittany is known for being a ‘natural’ region and is known for its breathtaking landscapes. One of the most loved footpaths, not only in Brittany but in the whole of France, is the GR 34 which covers over a thousand miles of beautiful scenery all the way from the east of Brittany through the north and west coast, down to the south. Either walking or cycling the different routes is a great way to see the region and some postcard worthy views.

Thalassotherapy

The use of natural seawater as a spa treatment is said to have been invented in the old seaside town of Roscoff, and is home to one of the oldest thalassotherapy centres in all of Europe, in which visitors can still enjoy the spa treatments. As well as the spa, the town of Roscoff is a popular tourist destination in its own right with boats arriving to the town several times a day.

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Events

Vieilles Charrues Music Festival

Taking place in Carhaix, more than 200,000 visitors per year gather for a very eclectic music festival, featuring artists such as to Muse and Joan Baez. It will be the 25th anniversary of the festival in 2016 and takes place in mid-July.

Festival Interceltique

Located in one of the most popular cities in the region, Lorient, is where every celtic nation is invited to present music shows and dances in traditional costumes. It attracts more than 800,000 visitors every year and takes place from the beginning till mid-August.

Rencontres Transmusicales

Rennes is home to this popular festival Les Transmusicales, often shortened to ‘Trans’. The festival happens every winter in the capital of Brittany and is known, since its start in 1979, for revealing the next big thing in music. The festival takes place in the beginning of December.

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