Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [52]
Keep an eye out for such typical Breton products as woven and embroidered cloth, woolen goods, brass and wood objects, puppets, dolls, and locally designed jewelry. When it comes to distinctive Breton folk costumes, Quimper is the best place to look. The streets around the cathedral, especially Rue du Parc, are full of shops selling woolen goods (notably thick marine sweaters). Faïence and a wide selection of hand-painted pottery can be purchased at the Faïencerie d’Art Breton (16 bis, rue du Parc | 29000 | 02–98–95–34–13 | www.bretagne-faience.com).
CONCARNEAU
22 km (14 mi) southeast of Quimper via D783.
Concarneau is a industrial town known for its sardine-packaging but its Vaubau-designed Ville Close is one of the most picturesque sites in Brittany.
Getting Here and Around
No trains arrive in Concarneau, so you’ll have to come by car or bus. Buses run almost every hour until 7 PM from Quimper (40 mins, €6) and Pont-Aven (30 mins).
Visitor Information
Concarneau Tourist Office.
| Quai d’Aiguillon | 29185 | 02–98–97–01–44 | www.tourismeconcarneau.fr
EXPLORING CONCARNEAU
Sitting in the middle of Concarneau’s harbor, topped by a cupola-clocktower, and entered by way of a quaint drawbridge, the fortress-islet of the Ville Close is a particularly photogenic relic of medieval days. Its fortifications were further strengthened by the English under John de Montfort during the War of Succession (1341–64). Three hundred years later Sébastien de Vauban remodeled the ramparts into what you see today: 1 km (½ mi) long, with splendid views across the two harbors on either side. Held here during the second half of August is the Fête des Filets Bleus (Blue Net Festival), a weeklong folk celebration in which Bretons in costume swirl and dance to the wail of bagpipes. | Ramparts | €4 | Easter–Sept., daily 10–7:30; Oct.–Easter, daily 10–noon and 2–5.
Five miles away from Concarneau is the village of Beuzec-Conq, home to the Château de Keriolet.
Walt Disney would have loved this fairy-tale, neogothic extravaganza dating from the 19th century. Replete with gargoyles, storybook towers, and Flamboyant Gothic-style windows, this showpiece was constructed by the Comtesse de Chauveau, born Zenaide Narishkine Youssoupov, an imperial Russian princess who was niece to Czar Nicholas II and related to Prince Youssoupov, famed assassin of Rasputin. Hour-long tours guide you through the Arms Room, folkloric kitchen, and other grand salons. | Beuzec-Conq | 02–98–97–36–50 | www.chateaudekeriolet.com | €5 | June–Sept., daily 10:30–1 and 3–7; closed Sat. afternoons.
PONT-AVEN
37 km (23 mi) east of Quimper via D783.
Long beloved by artists, this lovely village sits astride the Aven River as it descends from the Montagnes Noires to the sea, turning the town’s mills along the way (there were once 14; now just a handful remain). Surrounded by one of Brittany’s most beautiful stretches of countryside, Pont-Aven (www.pontaven.com) is a former artists’ colony where, most famously, Paul Gauguin lived before he headed off to the South Seas.
Getting Here and Around
There are no direct trains, so take the rails to nearby Quimperlé and transfer to a bus (30 mins, €3). Buses make the 20-km (12-mi) run from Quimper (1¼ hrs) and Concarneau (30 mins) several times a day. The last buses leave early in the evening, and service is limited on Sunday.
Visitor Information
Pont-Aven Tourist Office.
| 5 pl. de l’Hôtel de Ville | 29930 | 02–98–06–04–70 | www.pontaven.com.
EXPLORING PONT-AVEN
Wanting to break with traditional Western culture and values, in 1888 lawyer-turned-painter Paul Gauguin headed to Brittany, a destination almost as foreign to Parisians as Tahiti. Economy was another lure: the Paris stock market had just crashed and, with it, Gauguin’s livelihood, so cheap lodgings were also at the top of his list. Shortly after settling in to Pont-Aven Gauguin took to wearing Breton sweaters, berets, and wooden clogs; in his art he began to leave dewy, sunlighted Impressionism behind for a stronger, more linear style. The town museum captures