Tourist Attractions & Monuments Brittany

Located at Port de Dinan - Lanvallay, Maison de la Rance offers a discovery of the Vallée de la Rance on a new day. From 2010, the museum got a facelift. Interactive models, sound effects, smell boxes, simulation of tides: a permanent exhibition to be discovered while enjoying the natural and cultural heritage of a “maritime river”. This natural house also offers nature excursions accompanied by an entertainer, who on foot, on a bike or by boat will take you to listen to birds and observe the natural environments surrounding you.

The Amoco Cadiz event, dating back to 1978, left its mark on the spirit and history of Porstall, and continues to have a permanent impact on the representation of the current territory. That is why it very quickly became obvious to keep track of it, by presenting the anchor of the ship An Eor in the port, in front of the place of the disaster, to perpetuate its memory. An imposing building features a museography retracing the history of the shipwreck, including models, interactive terminals and documentary films, the content of which changes every year. Upstairs, a room can accommodate temporary exhibitions, and has a superb view of Porstall Cove. Note: a Nautical welcome in the Pays d'Iroise is also available in parallel with the museum area.

The churchyards are an architectural specificity of Lower Brittany. They are primarily found in rural communities. They are the testimony to the wealth of an era and the symbol of a strong religious piety. The construction of such buildings was made possible thanks to the financial support of the local population and by some wealthy merchants. Built between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by local craftsmen, they result from the flourishing trade of linen paintings. Several elements characterise them: the church, the ossuary, the triumphal arch, the agony and the sacristy with some additions. The whole building of Saint-Thégonnec was built in almost two centuries. Its monumental ordeal is one of the last to have been realised: it was completed in 1610. The baroque style dominates the interior of the church. One can admire its majestic pulpit carved in oak (1683). The peculiarity of the sacristy is being on double floor. The ossuary is also a remarkable building because you can almost compare it to a second church. Inside, life-size figures made of polychrome wood represent a setting in the tomb.

Trévignon with its dunes and ponds ... But also numerous and equally stunning beaches sometimes of turquoise water ... Not to mention the charming harbour guarded by a impressive rescue station. At the end of the Trevignon point is Villa Castle, a strange building whose foundations may have come from Vauban but is also and above all fully share the beauty of the landscape. The view of the bay forest and Beg-Meil is great and you can even see the Glenan islands, Green Island and Raguenes. Lie down on the small sandy beach, facing the sea, and let yourself be carried away by the waves.

In Breton, Bénodet means "the end of the Odet". It took the name of this river which is one of the most beautiful in the region, and even in France. From its source, one can admire the many castles on its banks, as well as the green forests. Many famous writers have been inspired by these changing and bewitching sceneries: Emile Zola, Madame de Sévigné or Jean de La Fontaine. The Cornouaille bridge, located between Bénodet and Sainte-Marine, offers an unobstructed view of the last few kilometres of the river.

The castle of the sea, as it was called before the Quiberonnais rebaptisent the castle of Turpault, is like the emblem of the city. It remains fantastic, reminiscent of the medieval era and of English influence, was built in the early th century. Open on the whole of the wild coast, it is a pure jewel of which you have to come and admire the architecture and the foot of the Pointe-er-Lann to which she adds a little majesty and a fantastic tone. You can only get close to the castle that remains private property, but it's enough to admire beauty and let yourself be overwhelmed by the atmosphere that it radiates. The owners of the premises have long opened the door to the commune so that fireworks are organised there, but this may be a subject of change due to the sale of the castle in the course of 2010. History does not tell if the castle has found buyer and if so which… As an anecdote, it was said that in 2007 Johnny Halliday and his wife Laetitia would have liked to buy it but not being sold at the time, would not have been able to buy it!

Visit the Large river to discover the military Arsenal port, home of the units of the navy based in Brest. This walk in a decor industrial and naval permits you to discover this important facet of Brest and its history. Among others, the submarine base built by the Germans during the Second World War and, depending on availability at quai, the buildings of the navy: frégate, sloop or minehunter. Careful, it is a military area in activity, photos are therefore forbidden during the visit and an ID is required at the entrance (for the French and European Union - for others, a request is to be formula about three weeks before the visit).