Page 274 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

EXPERIENCE Brittany

Bright floral displays spilling
across the bridges leading
to Quimper's historic houses

7 tour at La Ferme Marine main thoroughfare, with place
(Oyster Farm) with workshop au Beurre and the picturesque
Cancale tours, a documen tary film and hôtels particuliers (mansions)
an exhibition. of rue des Gentilshommes to
! B2 ⌂ Ille-et-Vilaine
@ n 44 rue du Port; www. La Ferme Marine the north.
cancale-tourisme.fr The cathedral is dedicated
"' ⌂ Aurore # Only by to the city’s founder-bishop
A small port with views across tour: mid-Feb–Jun & mid- St Corentin. Begun in 1240, it
the Baie du Mont-St-Michel, Sep–Oct: 3pm Mon–Fri (in is the earliest Gothic building
Cancale is entirely devoted to French only); Jul–mid-Sep: in Lower Brittany, its colour-
the cultivation and consump- 2pm daily (in English) fully painted interior now
tion of oysters. Prized by the ∑ ferme-marine.fr restored. It was constructed
Romans, the acclaimed flavour with its choir at a slight angle
of Cancale’s oysters is said to to the nave, per haps to fit in
derive from the strong tides 8 with some since-disappeared
that wash over them daily. You buildings. Two spires were
can survey the beds from a Quimper added to the west façade in
sentier des douaniers (custom ! A3 ⌂ Finistère 1856. Between them rides a
officers’ path) running along k £ @ n Pl de la statue of King Gradlon, the
the cliffs. There are plenty of Résistance; www. mythical founder of the
opportu nities for sampling quimper-tourisme.com drowned city of Ys. Legend
the local delicacy, in a multi- has it he chose St Corentin
tude of bars and restaurants The former ancient capital of as his spiritual guide and
along the busy quays of the Cornouaille, Quimper has a Quimper as his new capital.
Port de la Houle, where the distinctly Breton character. The city’s Musée des Beaux
fishing boats arrive at high Here you can buy Breton Arts is one of the best in the
tide. Devotees should take the language books, music and region, strong on fin de siècle
traditional costumes, and tuck artists, such as Jean-Eugène
into some of the best crêpes Buland, offering an insight
Prized by the Romans, and cider in Brittany. The city into the way visiting painters
the acclaimed gets its name from the Breton perpet uated a romantic view
kemper, meaning “con fluence
of Brittany. There are works
flavour of Cancale’s of two rivers”, and the Steir of the Pont-Aven School and
oysters is said to and Odet still flow through it. by local artists such as Max
derive from the The pedestrianized area of Jacob and J-J Lemor dant.
strong tides that Vieux Quimper is full of shops, The 16th-century bishop’s
crêperies and half-timbered
palace houses the Musée
wash over them daily. houses. Rue Kéréon is the Départemental Breton,
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