Brittany, France
Departments: Cotes d'Armor, Finistere, Ile-et-Vilaine, Morbihan.

Brittany, France
Main Towns: Audierne, Belle-Ile-en-Mer, Brest, Cancale, Carnac, Chateaubriant, Clisson,
Concarneau, Dinan, Dinard, Dol-de-Bretagne, Douarnenez, Fouesnant, Fougères, Guérande, Hennebont, La Baule, Lorient, Morlaix, Nantes, Paimpol, Perros-Guirec, Pont-Aven, Pontivy, Port-Crouesty, Poul-Fetan, Quiberon, Quimper, Rennes, Roscoff, Saint Pol de Leon, Saint-Brieuc, Saint-Malo, Treguier, Vannes, Vitre.

Brittany’s long, jagged coastline is the region's great attraction. Magnificent beaches line its northern shore, interspersed with seaside resorts and fishing ports. The south coast is gentler, with wooded river valleys and a milder climate, while the dramatic western coastline, exposed to the Atlantic winds, justifies the name ‘Finistère’ - the end of the earth. The southern part of Brittany has a distinctly better climate than the UK. The area around Vannes has as much sunshine (in terms of number of days per year) as Toulouse in the Midi-Pyrenees.

Inland lies the Argoat, a patchwork of fields, woods and rolling moorland. The Parc Régional d'Armorique occupies much of central Finistère, and it is here, in western Brittany that Breton culture is most apparent. Crèpes and cider, traditional costumes and Celtic music are still a part of the Breton lifestyle, especially in Quimper, and in the Pays Bigouden.

The walled port of St-Malo on the Côte d'Emeraude evokes the region's maritime history; the remarkably intact castles at Fougères and Vitré are remnants of the fortresses that protected Brittany's eastern boundary before its union with France in 1532. Vannes, Dinan and Rennes, the Breton capital, have well preserved medieval quarters where there are many half-timbered buildings, with markets, shops, crèperies and restaurants.

Watersports are popular in the mainly hot summers and warm waters of the Gulf Stream. For those who want a change from beach or boats there are tours or walks, riding stables, golf courses and tennis courts, and at the end of the day there's a wide and affordable choice of restaurants in which to enjoy the Breton specialities of seafood and sweet or savoury crêpes washed down with local cider.

Whether in Cotes d'Armor, Finistere, Ile-et-Vilaine or Morbihan, you are never very far from charming lodgings in private estates or chateaux, and always nearby is a café or restaurant serving up traditional Breton crepes filled with ham, mushrooms or cheese (or served sweet with chocolate, jam or fruit) or a superb seafood meal accompanied by a glass of crisp, cold Muscadet or cider. There are large, fashionable French resorts like La Baule and Dinard, and seaside resorts like Benodet (pictured above) but the pattern is small, friendly historic towns like Guemene-sur-Scorff, fishing villages and traditional Breton markets.

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