• Sights
• Restaurants
• Hotels
• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Travel Tips
• Features

Sights Overview

Even the French may feel they are in a foreign land when they visit Brittany, the triangular patch of northwestern France that juts far out into the Atlantic. Cut off as they are from mainstream culture, the Bretons have closer cultural affinities with the Celts across the Channel than with Parisians. Attractions by the score are to be found here -- village fêtes, prehistoric megaliths, and picturesque medieval towns among them. Little wonder Brittany remains a favorite vacation destination for Brits -- but don't worry about overcrowding: its vast beaches offer space to spread out, and there are more than enough castles to go around.

Brittany can be divided into two basic areas. The first is the northeast, stretching from Rennes -- the traditional capital of Brittany -- to St-Malo and along the Channel coast. The Côtes d'Armor, the long stretch of Brittany's northern coast, recounts the dramatic struggle between sea and granite shore. The coastline is loosely divided into two parts: the Côte d'Emeraude (Emerald Coast), stretching westward from Cancale, where cliffs are punctuated by golden, curving beaches and chin-high forests of fern; and the peaceful Côte de Granit Rose (Pink Granite Coast), including the stupefying area around Trébeurden, where Brittany's granite glows an otherworldly pink. In northern Brittany mighty medieval castles survey the land and quaint resort towns line the seacoast. In addition to the cosmopolitan pleasures of Rennes and St-Malo, highlights include the splendid gabled wooden houses of Dinan; Chateaubriand's home at Combourg; and Dinard, the elegant Belle Époque resort once favored by British aristocrats. Brittany's westernmost point is called Le Finistère, literally meaning "the end of the earth." Ties to ancient Celtic culture are strong here in Basse Bretagne (Lower Brittany); elders speak Breton, and Irish pubs replace French cafés. Heading southward you hit Brittany's second major area -- the Atlantic coast between Brest and Nantes, where frenzied surf crashing against the cliffs alternates with sprawling beaches and bustling harbors. Between Lorient and Nantes is Brittany's breathtakingly beautiful Le Morbihan (Morbihan Coast), famed for its coast lined with sand, not rock. Hereabouts lies lively Quimper, with its fine cathedral and museum; Pont-Aven, a former artists' colony made famous by Gauguin; the pretty island of Belle-Ile; the prehistoric menhirs of Carnac; the 19th-century resort of La Baule; and the thriving city of Nantes.