Brittany, France

State guide with cities, regions, and key information.

FranceEurope
Introduction
Brittany (Bretagne) is the rugged Celtic peninsula at France's north-western tip, thrust out into the Atlantic — a region of dramatic coastline, walled ports, standing stones and a proud identity all its own, with its own language, music and flag. For travellers it offers the corsair city of Saint-Malo, the rose-coloured rocks of the Pink Granite Coast, the prehistoric alignments of Carnac, the island-dotted Gulf of Morbihan, lighthouses and wild headlands, and a famous table of crêpes, cider and Atlantic seafood.

Discover Brittany

Brittany's coastline is its glory, and it changes character as you round the peninsula. On the north coast, the Pink Granite Coast (Côte de Granit Rose) around Perros-Guirec and Ploumanac'h is a surreal jumble of giant rose-coloured boulders sculpted by the sea, threaded by a coastal path and watched over by a famous lighthouse. East toward Normandy, the Emerald Coast (Côte d'Émeraude) takes in walled Saint-Malo, the Belle Époque resort of Dinard, the long beaches and the dramatic headland of Cap Fréhel with its lighthouse and the clifftop Fort la Latte. West, the coast grows wilder: the Crozon peninsula juts into the Atlantic with cliffs, coves and the Pointe de Pen-Hir, and the Pointe du Raz in Finistère — the 'end of the earth' — is a windswept granite headland above crashing surf, one of the great viewpoints of France. Offshore lie the islands that Bretons love: Belle-Île, the largest, with its citadel and Côte Sauvage; tiny, car-free Île de Bréhat, the 'island of flowers'; rugged Ouessant (Ushant) and Île de Sein out in the Atlantic; and the turquoise lagoon of the Glénan archipelago. Lighthouses — Brittany has more than anywhere in France — punctuate every cape, and the long-distance GR34 customs path follows the entire coastline for walkers.

Travel Types

Wild Coast & Islands

The Pink Granite and Emerald coasts, the Pointe du Raz and Crozon, lighthouses, and the islands of Belle-Île, Bréhat and the Glénan.

Corsair Towns & Ports

Walled Saint-Malo and its ramparts, Belle Époque Dinard, medieval Dinan, Vannes on the Gulf of Morbihan, Quimper and Concarneau.

Megaliths & Celtic Culture

The Carnac alignments, the Breton language and music, the fest-noz dances and the Lorient interceltic festival, and Arthurian Brocéliande.

Crêpes, Cider & Seafood

Buckwheat galettes and sweet crêpes, cider, kouign-amann and salted-butter caramel, and the oysters of Cancale and Atlantic seafood.

Frequently asked questions

Brittany is France's Celtic peninsula, known for its rugged Atlantic coastline — the Pink Granite and Emerald coasts, the Pointe du Raz and offshore islands — and for the walled corsair city of Saint-Malo, the prehistoric standing stones of Carnac, the island-studded Gulf of Morbihan and a strong regional identity with its own language, music and festivals. It is also a great food region, famous for buckwheat galettes and crêpes, cider, salted-butter caramel and Atlantic seafood, especially the oysters of Cancale.

Rennes, the regional capital, is about an hour and a half from Paris by TGV, and the high-speed line continues to Saint-Malo, Brest and Quimper, so the main towns are easy by train. To explore the coast, the headlands and the standing stones, though, a car is by far the most flexible option, and the long-distance GR34 coastal path is superb for walkers. Ferries link the mainland to the islands such as Belle-Île and Bréhat.

The Carnac alignments are one of the world's greatest prehistoric sites: thousands of menhirs — single standing stones — set in long parallel rows across the heath, raised by Neolithic peoples around 6,500 years ago for reasons still debated. Together with the dolmens and tumuli of the surrounding Gulf of Morbihan they form a UNESCO World Heritage landscape. You can see the main rows from the roadside year-round; in summer the enclosures are accessed on guided visits booked through the official site.