Page 198 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Brittany

196  BRIT T AN Y REGION B Y REGION

traces the history of navigation u Rochefort-en-
on the Vilaine and documents Terre
the rural life of the region.
Road map E3. 33 km (20 miles) east of
Environs Vannes via the N166, the D775 and
The Parc Zoologique de the D774. £ Questembert. n Place
Branféré, 20 km (12 miles) du Puits; (02) 97 26 56 00. _ Pardon
northwest of La Roche-Bernard, (mid-Aug); Les Médiévales (mid-Aug).
has over 100 species of animals ∑ rochefortenterre-tourisme.bzh
that roam in relative freedom.
Built on a promontory above
E Musée de la Vilaine Maritime the Gueuzon river, this village
6 Rue Ruicard. Tel (02) 99 90 83 47. has a medieval atmosphere.
Open mid-Jun–mid-Sep: daily. & Because of its strategic position,
O Parc Zoologique de Branféré the site has been fortified
Le Guerno, via the N165. Tel (02) 97 42 since Roman times. A keep
94 66. Open mid-Feb–mid-Apr: daily overlooking Rochefort was built
pm; mid-Apr–early Nov: daily. & in the 12th century, and in the
15th the town was enclosed
The 16th-century town hall in by walls. Demolished on two
La Roche-Bernard y Questembert previous occasions, the castle
was again destroyed during
t La Roche- Road map D3. 28 km (17 miles) east the Revolution. In 1907, Alfred
of Vannes, via the N165, the D775 and
Bernard the D5. £ n 13 Rue des Halles; (02) Klots, an American painter,
97 26 56 00. ( Mon am, Wed pm. _ restored it and moved into
Road map E4. 34 km (21 miles) Festival Arts de la Rue (Aug); Pardon in the castle’s 17th-century
southeast of Vannes on the N165. Bréhardec (15 Aug) outbuildings. While the castle
£ Ponchâteau. n 14 Rue du ∑ rochefortenterre-tourisme.com has been closed for many years,
Docteur-Cornudet; (02) 99 90 67 98. the moat walk offers a good
( Thu.
This small town – “chestnut- view of the surroundings. The
tree land” in Breton – owes its former castle museum is now
Perched on a rocky spur, La former prosperity to the fairs the Naïa Museum, presenting
Roche-Bernard stands at an that took place here, in the contemporary art by more than
important intersection on covered market (1675). Nearby 40 international artists. The
the estuary of the Vilaine. In the is the former Hostellerie Jehan finest houses in Rochefort, with
11th century, a village grew le Guenego, built in 1450 and granite or schist façades carved
up around the fortress and, the oldest house in the town. with decorative motifs, are in
six centuries later, Richelieu It now houses the tourist Grande-Rue and Place du Puits.
ordered naval dockyards to office. The 16th-century Hôtel The Église Notre-Dame-de-la-
be installed. It was here that Belmont next door is enlivened Tronchaye, built on the hillside
the three-decker La Couronne, by some remarkable wooden and dating from the 15th and
pride of the French navy, was caryatids. There are many 16th centuries, has a façade in
built in 1634. producers of duck foie gras the Flamboyant Gothic style.
The port consists of a in the area. Features of interest within
marina, along the Vilaine, and
of the old harbour that was later
abandoned in favour of the
Quai de la Douane. Salt, corn,
wine, quicklime and chestnut
wood once passed through
the docks here. In the old
town, which rises in tiers, is the
16th-century Maison du Canon,
which houses the town hall, and
the Auberge des Deux Magots,
on Place du Bouffay. There
are former salt warehouses in
Rue de la Saulnerie.
The Musée de la Vilaine
Maritime is laid out in the
16th-century Maison des
Basses-Fosses, where the
ground floor is carved out of
the living rock. The museum Wooden roof of the 17th-century covered market in Questembert
For hotels and restaurants see pp228–9 and pp241–3

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