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Brittany, France tourist information

Brittany is found in the north-west of France, a large promontory jutting out into the Atlantic ocean. The English channel is to the north, and the Bay of Biscay to the south. The capital of the region is Rennes.

The departments in Brittany are: Finistere, the western part of the peninsula; Cotes d'Armor (the north), Ille et Vilaine to the east, and Morbihan to the south.

Brittany is one of the most popular regions of France with visitors, for several reasons: the attractive coastline,  beaches and fishing villages; the islands off the Breton coast; the historical architecture of some of the towns such as Morlaix and Quimper; and the prehistoric landmarks.

Places to visit in Brittany - by department

See Brittany seaside, coast and islands for beaches, coastline and Brittany islands

Ille-et-Vilaine, eastern Brittany

This accessible region includes the region north of Rennes and the coastline west of Mont-Saint-Michel (Normandy).

The town of Dol de Bretagne is inland a few kilometres. To the east of Rennes, visit Vitré - a fine medieval town - and 20 km to the north of Vitré is pretty Fougeres and its renowned castle.

Combourg and its chateau are between the historic town of Rennes and the port town of St Malo.

Continuing eastwards, visit Cancale, also Dinard and Saint-Malo, at the eastern edge of Ille-et-Vilaine.

Ille-et-Vilaine highlights - a selection

Cancale Combourg Dinard   Dol-de-Bretagne Fougeres   Rennes  Saint-Malo  Vitre  

See Ille-et-Vilaine for more information

Cotes d'Armor, northern Brittany

Cotes d'Armor covers most of the northern coastline of Brittany, including the famous 'coast of pink granite'.

Along the coast from Dinan towards Paimpol you will find the cathedral town of Tréguier, with the inland port town of Pontrieux to the south.

The large port / town of Lannion is to the north. Inland slightly along the Arguenon River visit Plancoet. Slightly inland from Saint-Brieuc you will find Moncontour, once the centre of Brittany's linen production.

Cotes d'Armor highlights - a selection

Dinan Lannion Moncontour  Paimpol  Plancoet Pontrieux  Saint-Brieuc Treguier

See Cotes d'Armor for more information

Finistere, western Brittany

Finistere is the department that occupies the western part of Brittany.

Visit Morlaix in northern Finistere, and nearby St Pol de Leon, also the busy town of Landerneau.

Head as far west as possible to see the village of Le Conquet, then continue south-west on to the Crozon peninsula for Camaret, nearby Pointe de Pen-Hir, and the classified most beautiful village at Locronan.

Visit the substantial boat 'museum' in the harbour at Douarnenez, and nearby Pont-Croix also.

To the south of Finistere the highlights include the large historical town of Quimper, and also the port at Concarneau and the town of Quimperlé.

Finistere highlights - a selection

Armorique Regional Park Brest  Camaret Concarneau  Crozon Douarnenez Landerneau Le Conquet Locronan  Morlaix Pont-Croix Quimper   Quimperle Saint-Pol-de-Leon

See Finistere for more information

Morbihan, southern Brittany

Continuing into the Morbihan department visit the attractive fishing port at Lorient and venture inland to visit the split-personality town at Pontivy.

Prehistoric sites are found in many places in Brittany, and the 'centre' of these prehistoric monuments is around Carnac (south of Auray) with numerous megaliths, coastline and medieval towns.

See also Auray and Vannes, two attractive towns in the region

In inland Morbihan don't miss Josselin Castle and, to the south of Josselin, the town of Rochefort-en-Terre.

Morbihan highlights - a selection

Auray Carnac Josselin Lorient  Pontivy Rochefort-en-Terre  Vannes  

See Morbihan for more information

Guest article - Visiting Western Brittany: A view of western Brittany from an American resident: visit western brittany

Visit Brittany - travel information

Places to visit in Brittany - more information

To see a larger map which shows places to visit in Brittany in more detail (castles, classified most beautiful villages etc) see Map of Brittany. (Also includes a full alphabetical list of all places in Brittany in France This Way.)

See also Brittany (version Francais)