Wanderlust Travel Magazine (UK)
THE ROAD TO CULTURE
Epoch-blurring architecture, art-stuffed villages and D-day history await…
1 Roscoff to Île Vierge Distance: 56km
After a night in your own cabin aboard Brittany Ferries, stroll along Roscoff’s harbour-front before heading west along the Côte des Sables, watching the golden beaches unfold in your rear-view mirror. From Aber Wrac’h, a five-minute boat (or 45 minute walk at low tide) takes you to the Île Vierge, home to Europe’s tallest stone lighthouse at over 80m. It’s one of four that make up La Route des Phares
(lighthouse trail) around the far west of Finistère along with the Pointe de Saint-mathieu, the Trézien Light and the Stiff Lighthouse. Elsewhere, book in for a stay like no other: near Audierne in south-west Finistère, the Semaphore de Lervily is a renovated lighthouse keeper’s house that sleeps eight, while the Phare de Kerbel’s bedroom is set in the octagonal glass lantern room overlooking the Quiberon peninsula in southern Brittany.
2 Île Vierge to Brest Distance: 31km
Under a 40-minute drive south lands you in Brest, a town known for its links to the ocean. Don’t miss Les Ateliers des Capucins, where an ancient convent that was converted into industrial workshops has now been transformed again into the largest covered public square in Europe. Inside, there are cafés, restaurants and a brewery as well as boutiques and galleries, and even an indoor climbing wall. Arrive in style at the complex by cable car from the other side of the River Penfeld for a bird’s eye view of the city and its harbour below.
3 Brest to Quimper Distance: 70km
You’ll spot the twin spires of Quimper’s cathedral from a distance, and they’ll lead you to the heart of this culture- and historystuffed town. Visit the Musée Départemental Breton, set in the former Bishops’ Palace for an insight into the region’s heritage through the traditional costumes, as well as art, ceramics, sculptures and furniture on display. Walk the narrow, medieval streets to browse the town’s boutiques before calling into a crêperie for a true Breton meal – a buckwheat galette (a savoury pancake usually filled with spinach, cheese and egg) and a cup of cider.
4 Quimper to Pont Aven Distance: 35km
Follow the slower road (the D783) to Pont Aven, stopping at Concarneau on the way to roam around its ramparts. Continue to Pont Aven, set on the river that gave the town its name and also inspired generations of artists, including Paul Gauguin who stayed in the village several times. It was here that he met fellow artist Émile Bernard, leading to the start of the École de Pont-aven. This saw the beginning of an art movement that rejected traditional methods, stripping art down to its essentials and focusing more on colour and symbolism. Explore the galleries and follow the trail that marks out the spots that inspired Gauguin’s paintings.
5 Pont Aven to Rennes Distance: 188km
Colourful paintings abound in Rennes too, just over two hours west, where a trend for street art has seen bright murals adorn walls and fences throughout the city, much of it thanks to ‘the Banksy of Rennes’ an artist named WAR! The Breton capital is also known for its mosaic art, which started with the Odorico family, who settled in Rennes in 1882. Spanning two generations of Italian artists and craftsmen, they decorated many buildings in and around the city of Rennes (and many other places in Western France, too) with intricate and colourful mosaics, including the elaborate public swimming pool,
La Piscine Saint-georges.
6 Rennes to Fontenay-le-comte Distance: 232km
The route from Rennes to Fontenay-lecomte allows for plenty of pitstops to admire lesser-known castles and palaces along the way. In the heart of the city of Nantes, the 15th-century Chateaux des Ducs de Bretagne houses a cleverly curated museum that uses contemporary, digital methods to tell the many stories of Nantes’ history, from biscuits to shipbuilding. Around a 30 minute drive south is Clisson where you can visit the Chateau de Clisson – much of it built in the 13th century – before exploring the rest of the town’s Renaissance architecture.
7 Fontenay-le-comte to Angers Distance: 161km
With so many well-preserved examples of fine Renaissance architecture, a visit to Fontenayle-comte (dubbed the ‘fountain of beautiful minds’ by King François I) is like travelling back in time. Walk through its arcaded streets, following the trail of time-frozen mansions and manor houses such as the Sénéchaussée, the Grimouard and the Guesthouse of Beauxesprits. Around an hour-and-a-half’s drive north to Brissac-quincé, the tallest castle in France awaits exploration. With 204 rooms – including a 200-seat theatre – spread over seven floors, it’s worth allowing out a couple of hours for. Over in the nearby city of Angers, its eponymous chateau is encased by 17 rotund towers and the ramparts hanging high over the River Maine.
8 Angers to Sainte-suzanne Distance: 94km
Start at Anger’s chateau and follow the bluepainted line on the pavement to see the rest of the city’s highlights including Art Deco architecture, modern murals and Maison Adam, a 15th-century, timber-framed building with several carved figures both from mythology and the bible. An hour north, more art awaits at the Musée Robert Tatin in the Mayenne department, which opened in the early 1960s and has been intriguing visitors with its alienlike sculptures and figures ever since. Tatin’s travels in South America inspired his own imaginative world, and the park welcomes you in with the 80m-long ‘Alley of Giants’, lined with sculptures that shine a light on his artistic journey. From there, it’s around an hour’s drive to Sainte-suzanne where its 11th-century keep looks out from high above the Erve Valley.
9 Sainte-suzanne to Le Mans Distance: 55km
Taking to Le Man’s Historic Quarter on foot is a relaxing way to see the Plantagenet City’s cobbled streets, Roman walls, half-timbered mansions and Gothic-romanesque cathedral. Just outside the city, the Abbaye de l’epau is a former Cistercian abbey established by English queen Berengaria of Navarre in 1229. Today it’s a serene place to learn about the monks who lived there until the French Revolution. Le Mans also makes a good base for seeing the chateaux of the Sarthe department such as the 15th century Chateau de Montmirail, which has been in the same family for over 600 years. Set on a gentle hill
surrounded by the village, it offers views over the Perche Regional Nature Park. An hour’s drive south, Chateau du Lude began life in the 10th century but over the following centuries gained features from a variety of architectural styles including a lavishly sculptured façade, a grand example of Italian Renaissance architecture in France.
10 Le Mans to Le Havre Distance: 209km
The journey north through the expansive countryside of Sarthe brings you to Saint-cénerile-gérei. It’s categorised as one of France’s ‘Plus Beaux Villages’, thanks to its medieval chapel, Romanesque church and the River Sarthe running through, all adorned by an abundance of flowers. The peaceful scenery was much loved by artists including Corot and Courbet as well as pre-impressionist landscape painters. Another one for the must-see list is Le Bec-hellouin in south-west of Rouen, where its 11th-century Abbey Notre-dame du Bec is still home to an order of Benedictine monks. From there, it’s just over an hour’s drive north-west to Le Havre.
11 Le Havre to Deauville Distance: 43km
Le Havre is something of a Brutalist beauty thanks to its post-war architecture. The whole town was flattened by carpet bombs during the Second World War and so was entirely rebuilt to a design by Auguste Perret, and the architecture has since been listed by UNESCO. As well as the surprisingly spiritual St Joseph’s Church, there’s the retro Appartement Témoin Perret, a ‘show flat’ presented as it would have looked to its first residents in the 1950s, complete with Scandi furniture (that’s now back in style). Across the mouth of the River Seine, Deauville is a step back in time to the glamorous Belle Epoque.
12 Deauville to Cabourg Distance: 25km
Stroll the famous boardwalk along Deauville’s beach, where the bannisters that separate each beach hut bear the names of A-list stars who have attended the town’s American Film Festival. Just five minutes from the beach, the new cultural centre Les Franciscaines is set in a former convent and brings together an extensive collection of works by renowned artist André Hambourg, as well as photography exhibitions and interactive displays. Further along the coast at Cabourg, the Villa du Temps Retrouvé (The Villa of Time Rediscovered) is a new visitor centre that celebrates the culture of the Belle Epoque, focussing on the early 20th century scribe Marcel Proust, who wrote some of his weighty tome in the nearby Grand Hôtel.
13 Cabourg to Beuvron-en-auge Distance: 15km
Normandy’s power to inspire continues to this day and during the 2020 lockdown, David Hockney – who has lived in Normandy since 2018 – was so inspired by the apple blossom and richness of the countryside that he created a series of works that went on to become The
Arrival of Spring exhibition at London’s Royal Academy. He is based near Beuvron-en-auge, well known for its cider farms and orchards, as well as being another of Normandy’s ‘Plus Beaux Villages’. Hockney has also been inspired by the Bayeux Tapestry, which he first saw in 1967; he is now preparing to show his own over 80m ‘Bayeux-tapestry-styled’ picture – depicting a year in Normandy – at Paris’ Musée de l’orangerie from 13 October 2021 to 14 February 2022.
14 Beuvron-en-auge to Caen Distance: 36km
No visit to the Normandy coastline would be complete without learning more about D-day. Just outside the village of Ver-sur-mer, the newly revealed British Normandy Memorial stands overlooking the Gold Beach, one of the two beaches where British forces landed on 6 June 1944 and lists the names of more than 22,000 men and women under British command who lost their lives in the region as part of the Battle of Normandy. Elsewhere, museums and memorials tell of the intricate planning of the mission and its brave execution. From there, head to the ferry port at Caen to sail back to Portsmouth with Brittany Ferries.