June is early season for Brittany resp. the whole of France because in July & August all France goes on holiday.
A trip to Brittany was on our holiday schedule for some years, however … Last year we finally set the scope on Brittany – only to learn that during July & August a trip becomes difficult: only very few apartments to rent at sky-high prices even if you look about 3-4 months earlier. Also we learnt that traveling to Brittany might be tedious because it’s a way of about 1000 km … by car. So we made a deep dive into train business … which would take up to 12 h with changing trains at Paris.
Finally we cancelled our ideas about holidays in Brittany – postponing the trip for a year.
So we started this year with planning the trip for June which turned out to be fine concerning the overwhelming offers of apartments to rent at fine prices. Also we found a flight from Frankfurt into Brittany so that the journey from door to door only took about 6 hours.
We found a spacious apartment at Saint Armel, a small village at the Golfe du Morbihan.
Saint Armel is quiet – at least during early season. I think most of the about 800 inhabitants were still anywhere than in Saint Armel, because most of the houses seemed empty and shut up – waiting for July & August?
There is a church and nearby there is a boulangerie/patisserie/tabac/bar, the only one in the village. You may sit in front of the building for breakfast w/ fresh croissants, for a light lunch w/ quiche, for a glass of beer or wine in the afternoon, some delicious piece of cake … and watch the traffic, maybe some cyclists, maybe some cars stopping for fresh bread. My better half & I enjoyed a leisurely stay in the afternoon.
Walking the alleyways of Saint Armel you’ll find lots of cosy houses and lost of flourishing roses. Finally you’ll arrive at the only restaurant, a crêperie, with rather rigid opening hours (only from Wednesday to Sunday, only from 12:00-14:00 h and from 19:00-21:00 h – maybe more active in July & August). Nevertheless the crêperie creates delicious galettes, savory & sweet, as well as some traditional dishes like entrecôte frites.
We enjoyed this peaceful setting especially when relaxing in the garden of our holiday home w/ some extraordinary French cheeses, fresh baguette and a glass of white wine like Muscadet.
Of course we didn’t lounge all the time: we made trips into the region and whole Brittany.
One of our first trips (after having found a well-resourced supermarket – Saint Armel hasn’t got one!) was exploring Vannes. We concentrated on the historic center w/ the amazing cathedral.
A long river channel crammed w/ yachts leads from the Golfe du Morbihan into Vannes where one of the historic gates opens into the historic centre. It’s a walled city w/ defensive fortifications in good shape – you may walk on top sometimes – and a nearby palace with a French garden.
You may walk up the hill to the cathedral, down to another historic gate, once again up into the maze of alleyways … do shopping … Finally you’ll find a busy corner w/ a café for a break.
Early season in Vannes means that you have a fair chance for getting a table & relax … Once we went to Vannes on Saturday when there is market day: it was interesting, but became crowded.
Saint-Armel lies at the Golfe du Morbihan and we made some boat trips as well as excursions w/ our car.
Early season means – unfortunately – that only few boat trips are running. If you read the timetables for any boat excursions you’ll notice that in July & August the number of offers as well as the number of destinations seem to explode.
Nevertheless …
We made a day trip from Port Navalo to L`Île aux Moines & enjoyed the blue sky, the sun & the glittering water. Our boat was spacious because of early season: there weren’t so many people milling around. We took a walk around the island & ended up later at the port chilling outside under sunshades w/ some nice fresh beer.
The island is quiet w/ some long beaches. There are alleyways in the center w/ lots of opportunities for taking photos. There are restaurants for all tastes although some were still closed because of early season. We noticed quite a row of shops renting out bicycles at the harbour: I think during July & August the island is floated w/ cyclists.
We also made a boat trip – a short one – to Locmariaquer (see above on the left). It’s a small village w/ a small harbour … the entry, after a short walk, to Site de megalithes de Locmariaquer – more about these later.
We also did some trips along the coast of the Golfe du Morbihan, walking along the coastline … at low tide & at high tide. It was always very quiet & relaxing.
At the southern coast you’ll meet the Atlantic Ocean. There are sandy beaches, ragged rocks … and deep blue seas. You may also encounter some small chapels …
Finally we found Suscinio, a medieval fortress and château founded in the 13th century, very near to the coastline. It’s a nice walk around … outside beyond the moat, inside in the courtyard & along the defense walls as well as exploring the chambers & halls. All has been restored during the last decades.
I was really impressed by some meticulously unearthed & restored floor mosaics, also from the 13th century, which once covered the floors of a private chapel of the Dukes of Brittany who lived in Suscinio.
Of course there is also some entertainment – mainly for kids, but who knows – relating Suscinio to King Arthur and his Round Table, the Holy Grail etc. etc.
Another castle at the coastline is Château Turpault in Quiberon. It’s private property – no sightseeing.
Quiberon is a small seaside resort w/ a wide beach – almost deserted in early season. It’s a relaxing walk along the promenade around the bay – at least in early season.
We ended up at Quiberon when visiting some more neolithic sites w/ long rows of stones painstakingly adjusted, menhirs, dolmen … more about this later in another post. These relics from neolithic age are scattered all over Brittany.
Let’s close this post w/ an impression of the promenade at Quiberon.
