Quimper

A traditional crowd-puller, the twisting streets and tottering medieval houses of Quimper furnish rich postcard material, but lovers of decorative arts head here because this is the home of Quimperware, one of the more famous variants of French hand-painted earthenware pottery. The techniques were brought to Quimper by Normands in the 17th century, but the Quimpérois customized them by painting typical local Breton scenes on the pottery. This lively and commercial town began life as the ancient capital of the Cornouaille province, founded, it's said, by King Gradlon 1,500 years ago. Quimper (pronounced cam-pair) owes its strange name to its site at the confluence (kemper in Breton) of the Odet and Steir rivers. Stroll along the banks of the Odet and through the Vieille Ville, with its cathedral. Then walk along the lively shopping street, Rue Kéréon, and down narrow medieval Rue du Guéodet (note the house with caryatids), Rue St-Mathieu, and Rue du Sallé.