Brittany’s north is so beautiful, you won’t believe it’s becoming even better heading to the south of the Finistère.
I think I mentioned it once in one of the Algarve posts: the hypnotic light at this coastline. Same goes for Brittany. It’s the kind of sunlight that makes everything seem unreal. And you really have a lot of this sunlight as in June the sun is setting very late in Brittany.
Lucky us the weather was perfect and we experienced some amazing summer days in Brittany. You wouldn’t expect this from this region, being so close to the Atlantic Coast. Seriously, I packed all my sweaters and jackets for nothing.
Manoir de Kerangosker
Coming from north we arrived at our accommodation in the early evening. It’s called Manoir de Kerangosker and is a site for itself.
It’s an old manor surrounded by a huge park with a guesthouse next to it. From here we made our trips to the surroundings.
Restaurant in Kerdruc: Bistrot de l’Ecailler
Do you know the detective stories with Monsieur Commissaire Dupin, being set in Brittany? Yes, right. We came to this restaurant because of the books. The monstrous fresh fish platter is unbelievably delicious. The restaurant is idyllically located at the little harbour. It’s not the cheapest place to eat but it’s so worth it. Just do it. Eat here while you’re here.
Pointe de Penhir/ Beg Penn Hir
It was like Cap Fréhel, just even more beautiful. This rocky coast was wilder and the offshore islands fit perfect to the scenario.
While being so in awe of the beautiful coast line, we almost forgot the Menhirs. In prehistorically times the Bretons (or the Celtics) put up those stones for cultic and ritual reasons. The historical meaning is interesting but actually being there they were just stones to us.
There are a huge war memorial and bunkers from WWII here, too, which remind of not so pleasant days.
Camaret-sur-Mer
This is a beautiful small fishing village on the Crozon peninsula. We were hungry, searching for food and found this pretty idyllic place.
We stayed a bit longer than planned because we liked the views so much. There are many cafés and restaurants along the harbour.
Concarneau/Konk-Kerne
Concarneau is a pretty small town and famous for its Old Town (Ville Close) surrounded by walls. It’s connected with the main land by a bridge and surrounded by the harbour.
The Old Town is really cute. You can walk along the wall and see everything a little bit from a bird’s view. But be aware of the pensioners. They own this place and have a priority.
Fans of Commissaire Dupin have to take a seat in the famous l’Amiral. But don’t be disappointed: coffee, cider etc. are not better than anywhere else. Though there’s a hype, the l’Amiral isn’t more expensive than other places.
Port Bélon
If you love oysters, you will love Port Bélon. Brittany is famous for its fresh oysters and the best, the famous Bélon oysters, are to be found here in this small village south of Pont-Aven.
You can make an oyster tasting in the Château de Bélon, choose the oysters you want (different levels of size and quality) eat them outside with a little bottle of Muscadet and enjoy the amazing afternoon light and the view over the Bélon River.
Doing something like this maybe sounds decadent and like a commercial. But as this is normal in Brittany, you will feel like this is the most usual thing on earth when here. We really loved it here.
Port Manec’h
And because we were talking about the special light: we’ve been twice to Port Manec’h to see the sunset.
It’s a little harbour from where you can see the rivers Aven and Bélon opening into the Atlantic. It’s so peaceful here during sunset.
Pont-Aven
This is my absolute favourite place in Brittany. It’s an old artists’ village.
By the end of the 19th century, a group of French artists lived and worked here. The most famous of them was the painter Paul Gauguin. It still has that atmosphere here as there are lots of artists’ studios and galleries in this small town.
Pont-Aven is amazingly beautiful and so idyllic. The afternoon light is crazy here.
If you’re looking for delicious Crêpes and Galettes, there’s one right next to the Office de Tourisme at the market place. It’s called Auberge de la Fleur d’Ajonc, it’s super tasty and offers good value for money.
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