Brittany | A French Collection

Beautiful Brittany: What to See & Do

Beautiful Brittany: What to See and Do

Let's venture into the mythical region of Brittany today, the French region that is almost completely surrounded by the sea and which, with its rich maritime culture, makes it one of the best regions to go exploring France's coastline. Its spectacular coastline, rich farming lands, abundant seafood and dairy products are just some of the reasons we adore living in our department Côtes d'Armor which is in Brittany. Its nature is wild and rugged, with beaches of frothy waves, sugar-fine sands and time-carved rocks. With so much to offer, it's hard to choose what to see and do in beautiful Brittany, but in keeping with our Discovery of France series, we'll shine a spotlight on just a few highlights.

You can read more of our series in these articles on Alsace, Aquitaine and Auvergne.

Beautiful Brittany

Particular stunning areas filled with outlandish rock outcrops, sandy beaches and delicate vegetation are Côte de Granit Rose (the Pink Granite Coast) and the emerald green Côte d'Émeraude.

With its dramatic cliffs jutting out into the sea, the Pointe du Raz is France's version of Land's End.

French Tea Salons – Salon de thé

French tea salons - Étang Neuf - l'atelier de le Étang Neuf - Summer garden with hydrangeas

French Tea Salons - Salon de thé

Visiting a French tea salon or salon de thé, is a wonderful experience and one that I recommend if you enjoy drinking tea, coffee or hot chocolate, and have the opportunity whilst you travel. Tea time in France is known as le Goûter, and is typically an afternoon snack time taken between 4pm and 6pm.

At tea time or le Goûter in France you can typically expect to indulge in pastries rather than savoury food such as finger sandwiches as in a typical British teatime. Pain au chocolat, tarts, cannelés, madeleines or macarons are popular at French tea time.

The more formal tea time, such as in French tea salons or salon de Thé, may be a little more British inspired with cakes, cookies or desserts along with the full service of tea.

While tea is enjoyed, coffee (espresso or French press) and hot chocolate are just as common. The French tend to prefer tisanes and lightly scented teas (such as Jasmine or Earl Grey) rather than the strong, milk-heavy black teas typical in Britain.

Breton Boules

The game of Breton boules is an ancient ball game that's played in the western part of France, Brittany. Breton boules is very similar to classic boules or pétanque, but it's rules are slightly different. Breton boules is played in our village almost every day on the single terrain behind the Tabac (bar) and at the boulodrome (multi-terrain competition field) when there's inter-village competitions. Competitions are fun to participate in with most of the village turning out to play or watch and with visitors from nearby villages bolstering numbers, the stalls selling frites (hot chips) and saucisses (sausages) get busy and are great spots for some lively conversations.

An easy game to play at home (maybe minus a terrain) and one of the best ways to immerse yourself in French life when in France. Just ask if you can join in, and unless it’s an inter-commune competition, you’ll be welcomed to participate. If you’re having trouble sourcing a boules game for yourself, then take a look at this game available on Amazon.

Beauport Abbey at Paimpol Bay

Beauport Abbey at Paimpol Bay

Beauport Abbey, or Abbaye de Beauport, is situated on the edge of Paimpol Bay in the north of Brittany and is listed as a historical monument. It's a beautiful flower filled complex that is a popular place for locals to visit and is also a drawcard for tourists. It's not far from the fabulous harbour town of Paimpol which has a thriving marina surrounded by coloured buildings, busy cafés, boutique marine clothing stores, and summer carousels and ferris wheels.

Beauport Abbey is one of the finest preserved examples of religious architectural fervour, and was constructed in the 13th century overlooking the pristine waters of Paimpol Bay. I regularly go to Paimpol on my way to explore the coast, and often stop there for dinner on my way back home. The Abbey has been somewhere I've wanted to visit for a while, so a couple of weeks ago I did visit - and loved it! The summer flowers and blue skies were a perfect backdrop to the ancient Abbey buildings.

Domaine de Beauport (Beauport Estate)

The Beauport Estate covers a large area with woods, heath, farming lands, marsh and reed beds, coastline and gardens over more than 272 acres. Count Alain de Goëlo of the Penthièvre Bretons sovereign house, founded Notre-Dame de Beauport Abbey in 1202. The quiet sheltered bay on the Paimpol coast was chosen to commemorate his parents and provide a religious structure for the local population.

My Weekly Journal #2

A Week in France

Following on from last week's journal, here's more of what's been happening over in my little patch of rural France.

Lundi - A Bee Sting & Paperwork

There's never any escaping paperwork is there? I'm grateful though that I can continue to keep up to date with things online. And there was heaps of 'keeping up to date' happening today! Bills to pay, documents to file etc etc.

A couple of days ago I was walking narrow lanes that sweep and curve through fields of maize and cow paddocks when I swept away an insect that was close to the side of my face. I remember thinking at the time I was lucky I hadn't got stung as I'd felt nothing. However with a sore, red swollen ear and neck, I've guessed that I must have shooed away one of the huge bumblebees that are everywhere at the moment, and that it did actually sting me. Anyway, I'm okay and you have to expect to share life with insects when you live in the country.

My Weekly Journal

Bonjour and welcome to all our new readers, it's fabulous to have you join us. Of course, it's also lovely to say 'hi' to all our regulars.

My Weekly Journal from the French countryside

To all our new readers who don't know my story, here's a quick recap. (Full story here A Dream Come True) My family and I are Australian and have always been big travellers. My husband and I started travelling to other countries as soon as we were married, but had never visited France. Fast forward to 2009 and we'd still not been to France, but I knew deep in my heart that I'd love everything about France, and really wanted to have a holiday or second home there. So the idea of buying a property and spending as much time as we could seemed the logical next step.

So it was an easy decision to take one of our three children with us on a French house hunting trip and see what we could find. We left Australia in excitement overload, and to cut the story short, found a home in a week, bought it immediately and then the fun started.

The Best of Breton Cakes – Brittany’s Most Popular Desserts

Life in Brittany includes our fair share of delicious cakes and especially the cakes traditional to the region which are collectively called 'Breton cakes', even though this broadly includes biscuits, lollipops and caramels.

The Best of Breton Cakes - Brittany's Most Popular Desserts

Breton cakes are famous for their layers of pastry and creamy butter which is proudly produced locally. The most well known of the 'Breton Cakes' is the Gâteau Breton (Breton Cake), Far Breton and the Kouign-Amann. Surprisingly, the popularity of these desserts with inhabitants of Brittany doesn't correspond with how well known in general.

Sweets that have originated in the region include Salted Caramels, Niniches (artisanal lollipops from Quiberon), and Gavotte (a lacy golden mini crêpe). Breton butter cookies (Sablés Breton) are also a very popular dessert in Brittany. You'll find them in prettily packaged in tins in just about all supermarkets, souvenir stores, markets and in many boutique boulangeries.

Quintin – A Charming French Town

Quintin is a charming French town southwest of Saint-Brieuc city, and is only a short drive from our village. The smallish town has lots to offer to visitors with its blend of old-world charm and modern attractions. Quintin is built in the heart of the scenic “Le Gouët” river valley and is set on a hill perpetually overlooking the serene waters of Étang de Quintin (Quintin Lake).

Quintin - A Charming French Town

Situated between Armor and Argoat, Quintin, which was a fortified town and the centre of the Marian cult, boasts thirteen classified historic monuments. That's a lot of historical monuments for one small town!

It's architecturally rich urban heritage, which is principally the legacy of two centuries of prosperity arising from the manufacture of linen, is what makes it so attractive.