petite town of character | A French Collection

Locronan – The Most Beautiful Town in France

Locronan in Brittany simply overflows with charm and is one of the most beautiful villages in France. In fact it's been titled the 'Most Beautiful Town in France'.

Locronan - the Most Beautiful Town in France

Locronan is situated only five kilometres from the bright blue Baie de Dourarnenez on the craggy Côte de Cornouaille. The most accessible ferry port is at Roscoff where Brittany Ferries regularly operate from. It’s an easy two hour drive by car from Roscoff to Locronan, and with its narrow streets lined with stunning bright hydrangea bushes and colourful flowering window boxes, this village well deserves its Petites Cités de Caractère (Small Town of Character) status.

Moncontour-de-Bretagne – Perfectly Picturesque

Moncontour-de-Bretagne

Our family has always loved Moncontour as it was one of the numerous towns we explored on the first Christmas holidays we spent in France after buying our home. There's more to see and love about Moncontour-de-Bretagne than first meets the eye, so read on and find out more about this perfectly picturesque town in Brittany.

Perfectly Picturesque Moncontour-de-Bretagne

Moncontour-de-Bretagne is a fortified town perched on a rocky escarpment at the meeting of two small rivers in the Côtes d'Armor region of northwestern Brittany (department 22). It is between the two other charming towns of Lamballe and Saint-Brieuc (one of my closest major town centres).

Guémené-sur-Scorff: A Beautiful Small French Town

Guémené-sur-Scorff is a small French town of character or petite cité de caractère in the south of Brittany (Bretagne), and it’s part of our series on these small towns of character. To be included in the Association Petites Cités de Caractère de Bretagne, a town must be rural in terms of their small population while at the same time urban in terms of their history and heritage.

Guémené-sur-Scorff: Petite City of Character

Guémené-sur-Scroff, or simply Guémené, as it’s sometimes called, fits these qualifications nicely and there is so much I love about this town which is only about 20 kilometres away from the bustling and popular town of Pontivy (which is situated beside the Napoleonic Canal de Nantes à Brest (the Nantes to Brest Canal).

Annette Charlton

Annette lives with her family between their homes in France and Australia. She’s been featured in International magazines including French Property News, on numerous blogs and travel websites and appeared on ABC National Radio. You can connect on Instagram or Facebook.

www.afrenchcollection.com

Josselin – 5 Top Things to See and Do

Josselin, a petite city of character in Brittany

Josselin is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France and is classified as a Petite Cité de Caractère (small town of character). The town is absolutely charming with a huge stone walled château, half timbered buildings, pretty river with boats to hire and great cafes and boutiques to explore. Josselin welcomes thousands of visitors every year and it’s easy to see why.

Exploring Josselin on a warm summer’s day with friends is one of my happy memories and in this post I’ll share what I think are the top 5 things to do and see in Josselin and why this town qualifies as a Petite Cité de Caractère of Brittany. I loved Château de Josselin, the Musée de Poupées (museum of dolls), walking along the river and eating lunch in the town square.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

Combourg -The Hometown of François René de Chateaubriand

Combourg castle amongst trees viewed from the lake

Combourg – A Small Town of Character

Combourg is a small town in the north western part of France in the region of Brittany or Bretagne. This small town of character or Petite Cité de Caractère is said to have risen from a small parish town when in the 6th century Irish monk, Saint Lunaire, built a church. Much later in the 11th century the archbishop of Dol-de-Bretagne built a château where his younger brother Riwallon lived.

The town grew around three centres; the château, the feudal settlement that developed due to the protection of Riwallon and then a priory settlement that developed after Riwallon summoned Benedictine monks to the area.

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Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

Top Things To Do in Pontrieux and Pont-Croix, France

Top Things To Do in Pontrieux and Pont-Croix

In our series of small towns that belong to the Association of Petites Cités de Caractère (Small Towns of Character) of Brittany, we have already explored Bécherel, Bazouges-la-Pérouse, Chateaugiron and Chatelaudren. Now lets explore Pontrieux and Pont-Croix and the best things to do in these towns and oh my goodness you’ll love them, they are so pretty.

Pontrieux – A Stunning Flower Town

First the stunning colourful town literally overflowing with flowers, Pontrieux. I love this town which is one of the 22 Small Towns of Character in Brittany and also the holder of the prestigious title of being a “4 flower” village.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

Petite Cities of Character – Châtelaudren and Châteaugiron

Châtelaudren - Petite City of Character

Petite Cities of Character – Châtelaudren and Châteaugiron

Have you heard of the French term ‘petite city of character’ or ‘small town of character’ – Petite Cité de Caractère? Some rural and urban towns with a strong history and heritage in Brittany, France are part of the Petite Cité de Caractère de Bretagne Association (Small Towns of Character Association).

Do you love French small towns that overflow with colourful flower boxes, narrow cobblestone streets and quaint half-timbered homes? Well, you are not alone. France welcomed over 89 million visitors in 2017 and many of these tourists head into the countryside to experience the history, architecture and cuisine of the numerous smaller towns and villages.

Annette Charlton

www.afrenchcollection.com

Bazouges-la-Perouse: A Small Town of Character

Bazouges-la-Pérouse: Petite Cité de Caractère

Bazouges-la-Pérouse is a Gallo-Roman fortified town in the Ille-et-Vilaine department and this beautiful town is a member of the official Association of Petites Cités de Caractère (Small Towns of Character). As we shared in our Petites Cités de Caractère de Bretagne post, to qualify for inclusion in this Association a town must meet a strict criteria of being considered rural due to their small population, but at the same time urban because of their strong history and heritage.

Why does Bazouges-la-Pérouse qualify as a Small Town of Character?

Bazouges-la-Pérouse has a strong religious origin with evidence that Christianity dominated twice in the history of this town, once in the Gallo-Roman period and then by the Bretons.

Annette Charlton