Information about Brittany, France

Brittany is popular with both French and foreign tourists. Its attractions lie most obviously along the coast, which, speckled with offshore islands and islets, makes up over a third of the seaboard of France. In parts of the north, and in the western region of Finistère, the shoreline can be nothing but rocks and cliffs, its exposed headlands buffeted by the full force of the Atlantic and swept by dangerous currents. The west, being exposed to the Atlantic winds, has a drama that justifies the name "Finistère", the end of the earth. Inland you can find the Argoat, once the land and the forest, now a patchwork of undulating fields, woods and rolling moorland. It is in western Brittany that Breton culture remains most evident. In Quimper, and in the Pays Bigouden, crèpes, cider, traditional costumes and Celtic music are still a genuine part of the Breton lifestyle.

The northern coastline of Brittany is a wonderful mix of dunes leading to huge sandy beaches and pink granite rocks reaching out into the sea to form a series of islands. Huge tides sweep the northern shore keeping it clean and interspersed with well-established seaside resorts, seasoned fishing ports and abundant oyster beds. In the sheltered southern resorts around the Morbihan and La Baule, it is caressed by the gentlest of seas, the sands rambling for kilometres or nestled into coves between steep cliffs.

In Brittany you are never far from the sea, hence the remarkably mild climate. From Mont-Saint- Michel right down to Penestin, the coastline has been sculpted by the relentless waves for thousands of years. Brittany's magnificent shores are much appreciated by walkers and local wildlife, and there is an infinite variety of coastal paths from north to south. Sandy beaches contrast with jagged cliffs and wild rias. The fabulous rocks on the Pink Granite Coast give way to jagged reefs on the Coast of the Abers.

Brittany is also known as the land of the sea, and it past is filled with the legends of drowned cities and Arthurian forests as well as strange and inexplicable archeological formations. Brittany was, after all, home to the enchanted Forest, was where Merlin lived, and where corsairs sailed to the new world. The people from Quebec retrace their roots here, and Great Britain owes the "great" in its name to distinguish it from this unique one-of-a-kind region of France.

Brittany is steeped in history. The walled port of St-Malo on the Côte d'Emeraude recalls the region's maritime expertise, while the remarkably intact castles at Fougères and Vitré are still a reminder of the mighty border-fortresses that protected Brittany's eastern frontier before its final union with France in 1532. Vannes, Dinan and Rennes, the Breton capital, have well preserved medieval quarters where half-timbered buildings cover markets, shops, crèperies and restaurants.

There are few people in France as staunchly proud and protective of their culture and traditions as the Bretons. Their traditional costume, includes a tall lace head-dress for women, is one of the region's trademarks. The Bretons are a hugely hospitable race with a diverse countryside and a cuisine to match.

Brittany is fairly uncrowded even in the height of summer and its always possible to get away from the crowds.