Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to Brittany & Normandy (Travel Guide eBook)

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Contents

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Introduction to

Brittany & Normandy

Each quintessentially French yet cherishing its own unique identity, Brittany and Normandy rank among the most intriguing and distinctive regions of France. Exploring either or both offers visitors a wonderful opportunity to experience the best the country has to offer: sheltered white-sand beaches and wild rugged coastlines; mighty medieval fortresses and mysterious megaliths; graceful Gothic cathedrals and breathtaking contemporary architecture; heathland studded with wildflowers and deep ancient forests. Best of all, perhaps, theres the compelling and exuberant cuisine, from the seafood extravaganzas in countless little ports to the rich pungent cheeses of rural Normandy.

Both provinces are ideal for cycle touring, with superb scenery yet short distances between each town and the next, so youre never too far from the next hotel, restaurant or market. Otherwise, a car is the best alternative; public transport options tend to be very limited.

Where to go

Long a favourite with French and foreign tourists alike, Brittany is known above all for its glorious beaches . Here stretching languidly in front of elegant resorts, there nestled into isolated crescent coves, they invite endless days of relaxation. The Breton coastline winds its way around so many bays, peninsulas and river estuaries that it makes up over a third of the total seaboard of France, so its always possible to find a strand to yourself, or to walk alone with the elements. The finest beaches of all tend to be along the more sheltered southern coast, all the way from Bnodet and Le Fret-Fouesnant in the west, past the Gulf of Morbihan , and down to La Baule near the mouth of the Loire, but there are also plenty of wonderful spots tucked into the exposed Atlantic headlands of Finistre , or amid the extraordinary red rocks of the Cte de Grant Rose in the north.

As well as exploring the mainland resorts and seaside villages each of which, from ports the size of St-Malo or Vannes down to lesser-known communities such as Erquy or Ploumanach , can be relied upon to offer at least one welcoming hotel or restaurant be sure to take a boat trip out to one or more of Brittanys islands . Magical Brhat is just a ten-minute crossing from the north coast near Paimpol, while historic Belle-le , to the south, is under an hour from Quiberon. Other islands are set aside as bird sanctuaries, while off Finistre, Ouessant , Molne and Sein are remote, strange and utterly compelling.

Brittany was the Little Britain of King Arthurs realm Petite Bretagne, as opposed to Grande Bretagne and an otherworldly element still seems entrenched in the land and people. Thats especially apparent in inland Brittany , where the moors and woodlands are the very stuff of legend, with the forests of Huelgoat and Paimpont in particular being identified with the tales of Merlin, the Fisher King and the Holy Grail. Modern Brittany, though, also holds the vibrant modern cities of Rennes , noteworthy for its superb music festivals, and its former capital Nantes , where the amazing steampunk contraptions known as the Machines de lle should not be missed.

Normandy has a less harsh appearance and a more mainstream, prosperous history. It too is a seaboard province, first colonized by Norsemen and then colonizing in turn; during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the likes of William the Conqueror exported the ruthless Norman formula to England, Sicily and parts of the Near East, while centuries later Norman seafarers established the French foothold in Canada. Normandy has always boasted large-scale ports : Rouen, on the Seine, is as near as ships can get to Paris, while Dieppe, Cherbourg and Le Havre have important transatlantic trade. Inland , it is a wonderfully fertile belt of tranquil pastureland, where most visitors head straight for the restaurants of the Pays dAuge and the Suisse Normande.

FROM CATHEDRALS TO CHAPELS

Thanks to the wealth accrued by its warriors, Normandy can boast some of the most imposing and resplendent church architecture in France the Gothic cathedrals of Coutances , Bayeux and Rouen , and the monasteries of Mont-St-Michel and Jumiges .

In Brittany, by contrast, its often the tiny rural chapels and roadside crosses that are the most intriguing. Breton Catholicism has always had an idiosyncratic twist, incorporating Celtic, Druidic, and possibly prehistoric elements. Though hundreds of its saints have never been approved by the Vatican, their brightly painted wooden figures adorn every church, along with skeletal statues of deaths workmate, Ankou , and their stories merge with tales of moving menhirs, ghosts and sorcery. Noteworthy village churches include those of Kermaria-an-Isquit and Kernasclden , both of which hold frescoes of the Dance of Death , and the enclos paroissiaux or parish closes of Finistre, where the proximity of the dead to the living seems to echo the beliefs of the megalith builders.

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FACT FILE

• The terms Normandy and Brittany remain in constant use, although the regions original boundaries are no longer recognized in law.
• Normandy is officially split between Haute Normandie (Upper Normandy) and Basse Normandie (Lower Normandy), which together cover just under 30,000 square kilometres, and are home to 3.5 million people.
• Although Brittany Bretagne officially excludes its historic capital, Nantes, and the dpartement of Loire-Atlantique, Bretons still consider them part of a region totalling 34,000 square kilometres, with a population of 4.5 million.
• French is used everywhere, but 210,000 people still speak Breton , 35,000 of them daily. Historically there were many distinct dialects of Breton, while Gallo , a non-Celtic language spoken by the Normans who conquered England, survives in both Normandy and Brittany.
• Famous Normans Christian Dior (190557); Gustave Flaubert (182180); William the Conqueror (102887). Famous Bretons Sarah Bernhardt (18441923); Jack Kerouac (192269); Sir Lancelot (dates unknown); Jules Verne (18281905).
• While Normandy is famous for cheeses such as Camembert, Pont lEvque and Livarot, Brittany produces no cheese. Why? Exempt from French salt taxes, Bretons could preserve butter without needing to make cheese.
• Evidence of Brittanys Celtic traditions range from bagpipes ( biniou ) to the leprechaun-like sprites known as korrigans .

The pleasures of Normandy are perhaps less intense than those of Brittany, but it too has its fair share of beaches , ranging from the shelving shingle of pretty tretat to the vast sandy swathes that line the western Cotentin peninsula . Sedate nineteenth-century resorts like Trouville and Houlgate have their own considerable charms, but its the delightful ancient ports like Honfleur and Barfleur that are most likely to capture your heart, and numerous coastal villages remain unspoiled by crowds or affectations. Lovely little towns lie tucked away within 20km of each of the major Channel ports the headlands near Cherbourg are among the best, and least explored, areas while the banks of the Seine , too, hold several idyllic resorts.