47 Best Sights in Brittany, France

Just south of town, this museum explains everything you ever wanted to know about farming oysters and has a display of 1,500 different types of shells.

Local furniture, ceramics, and folklore top the bill at the Musée Départemental Breton.

More than 400 works by such masters as Rubens, Corot, and Picasso mingle with pretty landscapes from the local Gauguin-inspired Pont-Aven school in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, next to the cathedral. Of particular note is a fascinating series of paintings depicting traditional life in Breton villages.

Containing works by Georges de La Tour, Jean-Baptiste Chardin, Camille Corot, Paul Gauguin, and Maurice Utrillo, to name a few, this museum is particularly strong on French 17th-century paintings and drawings, and has an interesting collection of works by modern French artists.

Designed by Clément-Marie Josso, this noted museum was opened in 1900. Inside, skylights cast their glow over a fine array of paintings, from the Renaissance period onward, including works by Jacopo Tintoretto, Georges de La Tour, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, and Gustave Courbet. To go from the sublime to the ridiculous, look for the famous late-19th-century painting of a gorilla running amok with a maiden.

The town’s art museum captures some of the history of the Pont-Aven School, whose adherents painted Breton landscapes in a bold yet dreamy style called Synthétisme. In addition to works by “member” artists—Paul Gauguin, Paul Sérusier, Maurice Denis, and Émile Bernard among them—the Musée de Beaux-Arts has a photography exhibit documenting the Pont-Aven School.

The church of Notre-Dame, with its fine, pinnacled south front, was built in the 15th and 16th centuries. This is a good starting point to visit the 10 or so other picturesque historical sites, from medieval postern gateways to the 14th-century St-Nicolas hospital chapel (now a museum of religious art) within town; other jewels, such as Madame de Sévigné's Château-Musée des Roches-Sévigné, are set in the nearby countryside. Inquire at the tourist office for details.

Make sure you stroll through this lovely park, east of the Palais des Musées. It's a large, formal French garden with regimented rows of trees, shrubs, and flowers, plus a notable view of the church of Notre-Dame-en-St-Melaine.

Originally the palatial home of the Breton Parliament and now of the Rennes law courts, the Parlement de Bretagne was designed in 1618 by Salomon de Brosse, architect of the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. It was the most important building in Rennes to escape the 1720 flames; however, in 1994, following a massive demonstration by Breton fishermen demanding state subsidies, another disastrous fire broke out that left it a charred shell. Fortunately, much of the artwork—though damaged—was saved by firefighters, who arrived at the scene after the building was already engulfed in flames. It was a case of the alarm that cried "fire" once too often; a faulty bell, which rang regularly for no reason, had led the man on duty to ignore the signal. It has been completely restored. Call the tourist office ( 02–99–67–11–11) to book a 90-minute guided tour.

The unique Port-Musée combines maritime-theme museum displays with open-air exhibits. Along the wharves you can visit the workshops of boatbuilders, sailmakers, and other old-time craftspeople, then go aboard the historic trawlers, lobster boats, and barges anchored beside them. On the first weekend in May you can even sail on an antique fishing boat.

Hugging the seacoast on its way toward the English Channel, the Promenade du Clair de Lune passes in front of the small jetty used by boats crossing to St-Malo. In Dinard, the road weaves along the shore and is adorned with luxuriant palm trees and mimosa blooms, which, from July to the end of September, are illuminated at dusk by spotlights; strollers are serenaded with recorded music. The promenade really hits its stride as it rounds the Pointe du Moulinet and heads toward the sandy Plage du Prieuré, named after a priory that once stood here. River meets sea in a foaming mass of rock-pounding surf: use caution as you walk along the slippery path to the calm shelter of the Plage de l'Écluse, an inviting sandy beach bordered by the casino and numerous stylish hotels. The coastal path picks up on the west side of Plage de l'Écluse, ringing the Pointe de la Malouine and the Pointe des Étêtés before arriving at the Plage de St-Énogat.

St-Malo’s imposing stone ramparts have withstood the pounding of the Atlantic since the 12th century. They were considerably enlarged and modified in the 18th century, and now extend from the château for almost 2 km (1 mile) around the Vieille Ville—known as intra-muros (within walls). The views from them are stupendous, especially at high tide. Look for the statues of celebrated explorer Jacques Cartier and swashbuckling corsair Robert Surcouf; the latter, a hero of many daring 18th-century raids on the British navy, eternally wags an angry finger over the waves at England.

Northwest of Le Palais, you'll discover the prettiest fishing harbor on the island; from here you can see across to the Quiberon Peninsula, with its dramatic coastal cliffs and sea-lashed coves.

The famous seaside footpath, the Sentier des Douaniers starts up at the west end of the Trestraou beach in the resort town of Perros-Guirec, 3 km (2 miles) east of Trébeurden; from there this beautifully manicured, fence-lined, and gorgeously scenic path provides a two-hour walk eastward, through fern forests, past cliffs and pink granite boulders to the pretty beach at Ploumanac'h. If you keep an eye out, you might even spot one of the mythical, 900-year-old Korrigans—native sprites with pointed ears, beards, and hooves, who come out at night from seaside grottoes to dance around fires. From Perros-Guirec you can take a boat trip out to the Sept Îles, a group of seven islets that are bird sanctuaries. On a hillside perch above Ploumanac'h is the village of La Clarté, home to the little Chapelle Notre-Dame de la Clarté, built of local pink granite and decorated with 14 stations of the cross painted by the master of the Pont-Aven school, Maurice Denis. During the Pardon of la Clarté (August 15), a bishop preaches an outdoor Mass for the Virgin Mary, village girls wear Trégor costumes, and the statue of the Virgin Mary wears a gold crown (she wears a fake one for the rest of the year). On Ploumanac'h's pleasant beach, Plage de la Bastille, you'll find the Oratoire de St-Guirec, a rose-granite chapel lodged in the sand with other rocks; facing the beach is the neo-medieval, 19th-century Château de Costaérès, where Henryk Sienkiewicz wrote Quo Vadis. Unfortunately, the magical castle-by-the-sea—whose image graces many postcards—is private property (you can, however, rent it for €15,000 per week).

For a superb view of town, climb to the top of this medieval tower.

Fragments of the town's medieval ramparts include the 15th-century Tour de la Bridole, five blocks up from Vitré's castle.

Carnac also has smaller-scale dolmen ensembles and three tumuli (mounds or barrows), including the 390-foot-long, 38-foot-high Tumulus de St-Michel, topped by a small chapel with views of the rock-strewn countryside.