The pretty market town of Châteaulin is located in a valley towards the centre of the Finistère. Situated on the river Aulne, also known as the Nantes Brest canal, Châteaulin is centrally located between Quimper to the south and Brest to the North.
To the West, the Menez-Hom hills separate it from the Crozon peninsula and the Bay of Douarnenez which leads into the Atlantic Ocean. It is central to many tourist attarctions and has plenty of shops and supermarkets, restaurants and cafes nestling along the riverside.
Menez Hom
Menez-Hom (Menez C'homm in modern Breton) is a mountain located in Brittany on the Crozon Peninsula, in the communes of Plomodiern and Dinéault. Attaining a height of 330 meters, it dominates the views from Brest to the bay of Douarnenez, and finishes the chain known as the Black Mountains.
It is one of the revered mountains of the Parc Armorique; the others being Menez Bré and Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts (Menez-Mikael). In the vicinity are three other smaller hills: Run Vras (249 m), Run Vihan (225 m) and Run Askol (235 m).
Menez Hom is mainly made up of sandstone going back 480 million years.
It is composed of two distant peaks of approximately 800 meters: the smaller peak is called Menez or Yelc'h and the principal peak, which is called Yed. The smaller peak Menez contains a stone circle, a possible remain of Gallo-Roman construction.
Pentrez Beach
18 km from Chateaulin, 15 km from Crozon, Pentrez beach is awash with very fine sand. This beach is known as the "league shore" as it is almost 4 km long and covers an area of 120 hectares at low tide. Given the absence of any real slope or rocks, it is a very safe place for children to swim and it is a popular destination for families.
It is an ideal setting for water and other activities: Diving, windsurfing, sea canoeing, surfing, sand and kite buggies, sail-biking, speed sailing, body-boarding, fishing, etc.
Crozon Peninsula
Crozon Peninsula is situated on the west coast of the department of Finistère.
Situated in the centre of the peninsula of Crozon is the town Crozon itself, the administrative centre of the district of Châteaulin.
Very vast (8 037 ha), the commune itself occupies the biggest part of the peninsula and includes numerous hamlets.
Among them, Morgat (Morgad), in the South, offers a nautical center, and Le Fret ( Ar Fred), to the North, is itself a small port and offers passengers ferry access to Brest in the summer.
The church of Saint Pierre contains the altarpiece of 10 000 martyrs and has other numerous chapels, (among which is the chapel of St-Philibert).
There are also numerous Calvaires (large medieval crosses), Fountains, Watermills and Manor Houses in the area. Morgat itself is noted for some remarkable houses on it's beachfront, and some of their famous previous owners include Peugeot and Lazard, and one of which in metal not surprisingly owned by one Gustave Eiffel!
There is the museum of minerals dedicated to St Hernot,
the grottos of the l'Autel and Kador, the Isle Vièrge (Virgin Isle), Cap Chèvre, the "chateau" of Dinan the cliffs of the points de Penhir and Morgat. Among it's events are the 'Festival du Bout du Monde' (festival of the end of the world) taking place on the second weekend of August.
Quimper
Quimper (Kemper in Breton, Corspotium in Latin) is a commune of Brittany in northwestern France. Population (1999): 67,127. Its inhabitants are called Quimpérois.
Quimper is the préfecture (capital) of the Finistère département.
The name Quimper comes from the Breton kemper "confluent" because the city was built on the confluence of the Steir, the Odet and the Jet rivers.
Quimper, with its vernacular architecture, is a popular tourist destinationQuimper, the capital of the Département of Finistere, is situated in a pretty valley at the confluence of the Odet and Steir river estuaries, in the southwestern corner of Brittany.
It is the ancient capital of La Cornouaille, Brittany’s most traditional region, and has a distinctive Breton character. It is at the intersection of Route National 165, D785, D765 and D783, 34 miles northwest of Lorient, 111 miles west of Rennes and 303 miles west-southwest of Paris.
Quimper was originally settled during Roman times. Its name was derived from the Breton word ‘Kemper’, meaning the confluence (of two rivers). By AD 495, the town had become a Bishopric. It subsequently became the capital of the counts of Cornouailles. In the 11th century, it was united with the Duchy of Brittany. During the civil wars of the 14th century, the town suffered considerable ruin. In 1364, the duchy passed to the House of Montfort.
The town has a rustic atmosphere with charming footbridges spanning the rivers that flow through it. The Church of Locmaria, a Romanesque structure, dates from the 11th century. The Cathedral of Saint-Corentin, with its magnificent Gothic-style façade, was constructed between the 13th and 16th centuries.
It is the oldest Gothic structure in Lower Brittany. Its two towers are 250 feet tall; its spires were added in the 19th century. The 15th century stained glass windows are exceptional. The cathedral was named after Quimper’s first bishop.
Located to the cathedral’s west are the pedestrianized streets of Vieux Quimper with a wide array of crêperies, half-timbered houses and shops. Near the Episcopal palace, which now holds the Musée départemental Breton [devoted to regional history, archaeology, ethnology and economy] are the ruins of the town’s 15th century walls. Nearby is the Musée des Beaux-Arts.
The museum has a 19th century façade and an entirely rebuilt interior. It houses a collection of 14th to 21st century paintings that includes works by Boucher, Corot, Oudry and Rubens along with canvases by such Pont-Aven school painters as Bernard, Denis, Lacombe, Maufra and Sérusier.
The town’s best known product is Quimper faïence pottery. It has been made here since 1690, using bold provincial designs of Jean-Baptiste Bousquet. The town’s eating establishments boast of some of the best crêpes and cider in Brittany. The town has also been known for copper and bronze work, food items, galvanized ironware, hosiery, leather, paper and woolen goods.
Douarnanez
Douarnenez is a fishing-port of western France, in the département of Finistère, at the mouth of the Pouldavid Estuary on the southern shore of Douarnenez Bay of the Atlantic Ocean, 15 mi. N.W. of Quimper by rail. Pop. (in 1999) 15,827.
It has a large sardine fishery. Mackerel fishing, boat-building and rope and net making also occupy the inhabitants. There is a lighthouse on the small island of Tristan off Douarnenez.
The legendary city of Ys, of Breton folklore, is believed to lie beneath Douarnenez Bay. The port is also associated with the medieval story of Tristan, lover of Iseult, for whom Tristan Island is named. The island was originally named Saint-Tutuarn Island for the priory founded there in 1118.
Douarnenez has several 16th and 17 century churches, including the Church of Ploaré, which has a Gothic steeple, and the chapel of Sainte-Croix, Sainte-Hélène and the Saint Michel
LOCRONAN
A short way from the sea on the minor road that leads down from the Crozon peninsula, is a prime example of a Breton town that has remained frozen in its ancient form by more recent economic decline. From 1469 through to the seventeenth century, it was a successful centre for woven linen, supplying sails to the French, English and Spanish navies.
It was first rivalled by Vitré and Rennes, before suffering the "agony and ruin" so graphically described in its small museum. As a result, the rich medieval houses of the town centre have never been superseded or surrounded by modern development.
Film directors love its authenticity, even if Roman Polanski, filming Tess, deemed it necessary to change all the porches, put new windows on the Renaissance houses, and bury the main square in mud to make it all look a bit more English.
Today Locronan is once more prosperous, with its main source of income the tourists who buy wooden statues carved by local artisans, pottery brought up from the Midi and leather jackets of less specified provenance.
This commercialization should not, however, put you off making at least a passing visit, for the town itself is genuinely remarkable, centred around the focal Église St-Ronan.
Be sure to take the time to walk down the hill of the rue Moal, where the lovely little stone chapel of Nôtre-Dame de Bonne Nouvelle holds some surprising modern stained glass, and a wooden statue of a depressed-looking Jesus.
