Travel Guide Roscoff

Former privateer city, Roscoff benefits from a microclimate that makes it one of the hot spots of the North coast. Always an active fishing port, its fish auction is a place to live and visit at least once, before going to taste the day's catch in one of the restaurants overlooking the port. A place of embarkation for the British and Irish Islands, it is the starting point for trips to other cultures, which has moreover helped to make it a high place for the exchange of goods since ancient times, contributing to the development of the prosperity of the inhabitants. During the Middle Ages, while shipyards were in full swing, merchants traded linen cloth and salt for Spanish wine and other foodstuffs. Beautiful 16th and 17th century granite houses with original dormer windows and gargoyles are reminders of this flourishing past. Roscoff's economy then turned to agriculture. The cultivation of onions, first of all, had a decisive impact on the history of the town and its inhabitants, and the Johnnies House traces this adventure. Other vegetables, representative of Leonardo's production, such as artichokes and cauliflowers, are also grown in the fields around Roscoff. From the 19th century onwards, it became a popular seaside resort, thanks in particular to the simultaneous opening of the Rockroum marine institute, making the town of Roscoff the first thalassotherapy centre in France. The beautiful beaches, wild and sheltered, continue to attract holidaymakers.