Page 162 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

160  BRIT T AN Y REGION B Y REGION

t Île de Sein
Road map A2 * 250. n Mairie; (02)
98 70 90 35. g Audierne (daily), Brest,
Camaret (summer only). No cars
allowed on the island. _ Pardon de
St-Guénolé (Trinity Sunday, Jun), Pardon
de St-Corentin (first Sun in Aug).
This island, an extension of
Pointe du Raz, is no more than
about 2 km (1 mile) long and
800 m (875 yds) wide, and its
highest point is just 6 m (20 ft) The lighthouse, Phare Île de Sein, off the western tip of the Île de Sein
above sea level. The landscape
here is bare and the small town y Audierne  L’Aquashow
consists of a maze of narrow Road map A2. * 2,500. Rue du Goyen. Tel (02) 98 70 03 03.
streets that give welcome k Quimper-Cornouaille. Open Apr–Sep: daily; Oct & school
shelter from the wind. £ Quimper then by bus. n 8 Rue hols Nov–Mar: daily pm. 8 by
arrangement. 7 &
The Île de Sein (Enez-Sun in Victor-Hugo; (02) 98 70 12 20.
Breton) has a few megalithic _ Pardon (last Sun in Aug). ( Sat. R Chapelle de St-Tugen
monuments, including two ∑ audierne-tourisme.com Open daily (summer only).
menhirs known as Les Causeurs
(The Talkers) and the Nifran The seafaring town of
tumulus. The island may have Audierne (Gwaien in Breton)
been a burial place for druids. still has a busy harbour, with
The islanders’ greatest an inshore fishing industry
moment in history came at specializing in such highly
the outbreak of World War II, prized fish as sea bream and
when they answered the call monkfish caught with seine
of General de Gaulle. nets, and sea bass caught on
A track leads to the light- the line, as well as crayfish. The
house and the Chapelle boat scrapyard in the Anse de Audierne harbour, with the Église
St-Corentin. The Musée Jardin Locquéran, with old lobster St-Raymond-Nonnat on the right
de l’Espérance documents boats, is a protected historic
daily life on the island. site. Also of historic interest u Notre-Dame-de-
are exhibits in the Musée
Environs Maritime. They include Tronoën
The Phare d’Ar Men, 12 km a reconstruction of a fisher- Road map B3. 9 km (5.5 miles) west
(7.5 miles) west of the island, was man’s cottage. of Pont-l’Abbé, commune of St-Jean-
built on a reef that is permanently The 17th-century Église Trolimon. Tel (02) 98 82 00 34 (town
battered by the waves. It took St-Raymond-Nonnat, which hall). Open daily. 8 summer only.
the islanders 14 years to build. overlooks the town, is
The unmanned lighthouse decorated with carvings A landscape of bare dunes
protects shipping negotiating of ships and has a striking surrounds the chapel and
these dangerous waters. Baroque belfry. calvary of Tronoën (Tornoan
The L’Aquashow on the in Breton). The vaulted chapel
E Musée Jardin de l’Espérance outskirts of the town, offers has a rose window, and two
Quai des Paintolais. the opportunity to view doorways frame an open belfry
Open May–Sep: daily. & marine life. set with turrets.
The calvary (c. 1450–70) is
Environs the oldest in Brittany, and the
At Primelin, 3 km (2 miles) detail of its carvings has been
west of Audierne on the obliterated by the passage of
D784, is the beautiful Chapelle time. On the platform are Christ
de St-Tugen, built in 1535. on the Cross, flanked by the two
While the nave and square thieves. The rectangular base is
tower are both in the decorated by a double frieze
Flamboyant Gothic style, the illustrating The Childhood of
transept and apse date from Christ and The Passion of Christ.
the Renaissance. The sequence of scenes
begins on the east side with
E Musée Maritime The Annunciation, continuing on
Les Causeurs, a pair of menhirs on Rue Lesné. Tel (02) 98 70 27 49. the north side with The Visitation
the Île de Sein Open mid-Jun–Sep: daily. & and The Nativity. The scenes are
For hotels and restaurants see pp227 and pp238–41

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