DISCOVERING LOCAL LIFE

A revealing road-trip through authentic France’s food, wine and ‘L’art de Vivre’…

2021-09-01 -

1 Cherbourg to Pont-l’évêque Distance: 171km Sail into Cherbourg with Brittany Ferries’ service from Poole or Portsmouth and start your trip around half-an-hour east at the village of Saint-vaast-la-hougue. The alluring fishing village was voted France’s favourite in 2019 (in the Village Préféré des Français TV show). Saint-vaast-la-hougue is famed for the oyster beds that lie between the mainland and Tatihou Island, which can be reached on foot at low tide or by a special amphibious vehicle when the water is high. Each August, the island hosts a folk music festival called Les Traversées de Tatihou. Tuck into the oysters at local eateries such as the beachside Le Goeland 1951 café on the other side of the bay at Pointe de Saire. From there, head 180km into the Pays d’auge for another of Normandy’s gourmet offerings:

calvados (a type of brandy made from apples). 2 Pont-l’évêque to Fécamp Distance: 75km As well as being known for its eponymous cheese, the town of Pont-l’évêque is home to the Calvados Experience at the Père Magloire distillery. This immersive visitor centre is a treat for all five senses and not only allows you to learn about the production of the region’s celebrated apple brandy, complete with a tasting session, it also tells the story of the Normans, from their Viking origins to the present day. Meanwhile at Fécamp, on the Alabaster Coast, the neo-gothic Palais Benedictine is where you’ll learn about the Benedictine liqueur that the eponymous palace was built to distil. Learn the story of the invention of the liqueur, enjoy a tasting bar and join in with cocktail making classes. 3 Fécamp to Dieppe Distance: 64km The seaside town of Fécamp is framed by its 90m white cliffs. Before leaving, stroll down to its yacht-filled harbour to learn more about its centuries-old fishing heritage. From there, it’s on to Dieppe, an hour up the coast for more food-focussed treats. Its market was named the finest in France in 2020 and it abounds with local produce from cider to cheese including Normandy’s four most famous

fromages: Camembert, Livarot, Pont-l’évêque and Neufchâtel. Even on the days when the market isn’t in action, the town’s food shops are a joy to explore for treats to take home. Pause for a coffee at Café des Tribunaux, set in an 18th-century Norman building and a stopping point for many of Dieppe’s famous visitors. 4 Dieppe to Craon Distance: 372km Follow the road south towards the Atlantic Loire, pausing for a pitstop in Rouen, which offers its own bounty of good food. Just outside the city, the bakery Aux Délices Normands beat off competition from 130 others to win the TV show La Meilleure

Boulangerie de France. Also in Rouen is France’s oldest inn which dates from even before Joan of Arc met her fate in the square outside. La Couronne opened in 1345 and is now a sophisticated restaurant serving an enticing menu of classic French and local regional specialties under its ancient beams. From Rouen, travel some 200km south-west to discover the peaceful Mayenne countryside. 5 Craon to Nantes Distance: 101km Start at La Ferme du Pressoir near Craon, a cider and fruit farm that has belonged to the same family for five generations. Among their specialities is ice cider made with natural cold, liqueurs and eaux-de-vies (a type of brandy that literally translates to ‘water of life’.) At the farm you can visit the cellars and learn more about their production. Continue on past Angers, where even the chateau has a vineyard on top of its ramparts, to Brissacquincé, a town dominated by its elegant

chateau and home to the vineyard La Belle Etoile, which has also been in the same family for five generations. Tour the vineyards, see the cellars and taste the wines to learn more about the Anjou wine-growing region. From there, drive for an hour-and-a-half to Nantes, where you can stroll the old town to duck in and out of the speciality food shops.

6 Nantes to Clisson Distance: 33km

This almost 120km wine route from Nantes to Clisson runs between some excellent vineyards, giving you the chance to taste the region’s flagship wine Muscadet, as well as wines made with lesser-known grape varieties Melon de Bourgogne and Folle Blanche. From Nantes, drive through the landscape around the Sèvre Nantaise river. Stop for a picnic along the bank at Chaussée des Moines in Vertou, or at the port of La Haye-fouassière. Then it’s on to Clisson, a town with a distinctly Italian vibe thanks to its Renaissance villas that are reminiscent of Tuscany.

7 Clisson to Noirmoutier Distance: 100km

Around an hour-and-a-half’s drive west will land you on the island of Noirmoutier, just off the Vendée coast. The island is known for its seafood and gourmet potatoes – les

bonnottes de Noirmoutier – which thrive in the mild climate, the salty air and the sandy earth, enriched by seaweed. Like Guérande on the border with Brittany and Olonne to the south on the Vendée coast, Noirmoutier is known for its salt production. Its salterns

(salt pans) date as far back as the 5th century and some 100 salt-makers that still produce the mineral using traditional methods. Shellfish lovers should join in with pêche

à pied (digging for shellfish) on the beaches at low tide. The various beaches each offer different types. Look for cockles, winkles and clams close to ‘Le Gois’, the causeway that links Noirmoutier to the mainland, or find pink shrimp, winkles, clams, crabs and cupped oysters at the other end of the island at Le Vieil and L’herbaudière beaches.

8 Noirmoutier to Vannes Distance: 176km

Stop off at Guérande on the way north to see its salt marshes where you can visit the Terre de Sel visitor centre and take a horse-drawn cart ride around the salt pans. Next, head towards the inland sea, the Gulf of Morbihan. Take a detour around the Rhuys peninsula, stopping at the Ferme Fromagère de Suscinio to taste its Tome de Rhuys cheese, made with Guérande salt, at the farm’s Le Pie Noire Café. Next, head half-an-hour north to the secluded village of Séné for a plate of fresh oysters at the beachside La Belle d’ilur. Drive 20 minutes south to the town of Vannes for a meal at Empreinte, a restaurant that sources the ingredients (organic meat, raw milk and cheese and fresh fish, to name a few) for its menus from the bounteous region around it. In Sulniac, around 20 minutes away, the family-run Distillerie du Gorvello is the place to snap up their ciders, eaux-de-vies and cider vinegars.

9 Vannes to Douarnenez Distance: 145km

There’s more cider to be found further west in the region known as Cornouaille (France’s own Cornwall), to the south-west of Finistère, where a cider route links different farms and distilleries. Visit the orchards, meet the

producers and try the products, including the lesser known Pommeau de Bretagne, and

eau de vie de cidre. Douarnenez, meanwhile, is famous for its sardine fishing industry and for being the birthplace of the Kouign-amann, translating to ‘cake of butter’. The sweet treat has fans the world over and many boulangers adapt their recipes with apples, or the local speciality, blé noir (buckwheat). This nutty flour also forms the base of Brittany’s galettes, savoury pancakes served with everything from cheese and ham to seafood.

10 Douarnenez to Roscoff Distance: 100km

On the north coast of Finistère, Roscoff is known for its pink onions, but a newer industry has been making waves there since the ’90s. Algoplus is a company that has been farming seaweed for over 20 years, transforming the plants into unusual food products (including green sea beans and sea parsley) as well as cosmetics. Pay a visit to their shop on the harbourside at Roscoff and taste them for yourself.

11 Roscoff to Rennes Distance: 212km

Heading east into the heart of Brittany, make a penultimate stop at the region’s capital, Rennes. Here, the ‘Bistronomy movement’ – fine gastronomy served in a more casual setting – is in full swing. Book into restaurants such as Bercail, le Globe, Bistro Les Darons, Café du Port or Le Tire Bouchon for great food served at the bar or in sight of the buzzing open kitchens. Also take time to explore Renne’s market in the Places des Lices, where some 300 sellers and 10,000 buyers flood to the streets. Seek out a stall selling the local speciality, galette-saucisse, a kind of hot dog where a sausage is wrapped in a buckwheat crepe.

12 Rennes to Saint-malo Distance: 88km

From Rennes, head 70km back to the coast to Cancale where you can learn how their famous oysters are grown on a trip around the oyster beds with the guides from Ostreika. Sample the delicacy either at the chic L’atelier de L’huitre or the more rustic beachside oyster market where you’ll be swigging back some of Brittany’s finest catch in full sight of Montsaint-michel on the horizon. Before hopping on a Brittany Ferry back to Portsmouth, head into Saint-malo to stock up on Breton specialities. Be sure to buy butter from La Maison du Beurre Bordier on Rue de l’orme, including traditional salted and demi-sel (half-salted) butter as well as flavours such as seaweed and Madagascan vanilla. Across the road, La Maison du Sarrasin sells buckwheat in myriad forms, from biscuits to beer, meaning you’ll be heading back from Saint-malo to Portsmouth on Brittany Ferries with a long-lasting flavour of Western France.