Road Map Brittany (AA Touring Map France 01): No. 1

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Drive to the camperstop overnight stop at Trevou -Treguignec (11km) – or find accommodation that suits you for the next day at Plougrescant.

Several Bretons have won the Tour de France: Bernard Hinault, Louison Bobet, Jean Robic and Lucien Petit-Breton as riders, and Cyrille Guimard as a directeur sportif. Main article: Union of Brittany and France Anne of Brittany is regarded in Brittany as a conscientious ruler who defended the duchy against France. Until the 19th century, Catholicism had been the main inspiration for Breton artists. The region has a great number of baroque retables, made between the 17th and the 19th century. Breton sculptors were also famous for their ship models that served as ex-votos and for their richly decorated furniture, which features naïve Breton characters and traditional patterns. The box-bed is the most famous Breton piece of furniture. The Breton style had a strong revival between 1900 and the Second World War and it was used by the Seiz Breur movement. The Seiz Breur artists also tried to invent a modern Breton art by rejecting French standards and mixing traditional techniques with new materials. The leading artists of that period were the designer René-Yves Creston, the illustrators Jeanne Malivel and Xavier Haas, and the sculptors Raffig Tullou, Francis Renaud, Georges Robin, Joseph Savina, Jules-Charles Le Bozec and Jean Fréour.Museums in Saint-Malo, Lorient and Douarnenez are dedicated to ships and maritime traditions and history. The Musée national de la Marine has a large annex in Brest and a submarine is opened to visitors in Lorient. In the same town, it is also possible to visit the Keroman Submarine Museum, and the Cité de la voile Éric Tabarly, a museum dedicated to sailing. In Saint-Nazaire, where many transatlantic ships were built, including SS Normandie and SS France, a museum showing transatlantic interiors was installed in a Second World War base. Nantes has a museum dedicated to Jules Verne, a Natural History Museum and a museum of archaeology and design, the Musée Dobrée. The Curiosolitae, who lived around the present town of Corseul. Their territory encompassed parts of Côtes-d'Armor, Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan départements. In 1956, Brittany was legally reconstituted as the Region of Brittany, although the region excluded the ducal capital of Nantes and the surrounding area. Nevertheless, Brittany retained its cultural distinctiveness, and a new cultural revival emerged during the 1960s and 1970s. Bilingual schools were opened, singers started to write songs in Breton, and ecological catastrophes such as the Amoco Cadiz oil spill or the Erika oil spill and water pollution from intensive pig farming favoured new movements to protect the natural heritage. Many distinctive traditions and customs have also been preserved in Brittany. Among them, the " Pardons" are one of the most traditional demonstrations of popular Catholicism. These penitential ceremonies occur in some villages in Lower Brittany on the feast day of the parish's saint. The penitents form a procession and they walk together to a shrine, a church or any sacred place. Some Pardons are reputed for their length, and they all finish by large meals and popular feasts. of the poll respondents agreed that Brittany should have more political power, and 31.1% thought that it should stay the same. Only 4.6% favoured independence, and 9.4% were undecided. [68]

The region became part of the Roman Republic in 51 BC. It was included in the province of Gallia Lugdunensis in 13 BC. Gallic towns and villages were redeveloped according to Roman standards, and several cities were created. These cities are Condate ( Rennes), Vorgium ( Carhaix), Darioritum ( Vannes) and Condevincum or Condevicnum ( Nantes). Together with Fanum Martis ( Corseul), they were the capitals of the local civitates. They all had a grid plan and a forum, and sometimes a temple, a basilica, thermae or an aqueduct, like Carhaix. In response to a plea from the Roman Emperor Anthemius, Riothamus had led twelve thousand men to establish a military presence in Bourges in central Gaul, but was betrayed by Arvandus, the Praetorian Prefect of Gaul, and subsequently ambushed by Euric's army. [c] After a long battle, the Armorican survivors escaped to Avallon in Burgundy, after which they are lost to history. According to Breton king-lists, Riotham survived and reigned as Prince of Domnonia until his death sometime between 500 and 520, though this may have been a different person. The island has three smaller villages. The village of Bangor, on the Côte Sauvage (wildest part of the island), was founded in the 6th century by British monks. Picturesque farmlands surround Locmaria, a rural township on the highest part of the island. Sauzon is a little fishing village with narrow streets and a thriving marina in its well-sheltered harbor.Brittany is closely associated with the Matter of Britain and King Arthur. According to Wace, Brocéliande is located in Brittany and it is nowadays considered to be Paimpont forest. There, ruins of a castle surrounded by a lake are associated with the Lady of the Lake, a dolmen is said to be Merlin's tomb and a path is presented as Morgan le Fay's Val sans Retour. Tristan and Iseult are also said to have lived in Brittany. Another major Breton legend is the story about Ys, a city swallowed by the ocean. Pont-Aven was discovered in the 1860s by American painters but is most famous for its association with post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin and the Pont-Aven art movement. Gauguin arrived in Pont-Aven in 1886, and along with artist Émile Bernard, created a new style of painting known as the "Ecole de Pont-Aven" (School of Pont-Aven). Several drafts for French regions had been proposed since the 1920s, and the definitive regions were drawn in 1956. The new Brittany had four départements, and Loire-Atlantique formed the Pays de la Loire region together with parts of Anjou, Maine and Poitou. In 1972, the regions received their present competencies, with an elected regional council. Since then, the region of Brittany has had its own council and administrative bodies. This area was also affected by the Bagaudae (also spelled bacaudae) during this period, which were groups of peasant insurgents.

Gallo is spoken on the eastern half of Brittany. It is not itself a Celtic language. Like French, it is also descended from Latin (and is classified in the Langues d'oïl branch), but has some Celtic influences, particularly in its vocabulary, whereas French has influences from both Celtic ( Gaulish) and Frankish (the Germanic language which arrived after Latin in much of the rest of France).

Destinations

Main article: Kingdom of Brittany A 1922 nationalist engraving of Nominoe, first king of Brittany Battle of Ar Roc'h-Derrien during the War of the Breton Succession Breton is a Celtic language derived from the historical Common Brittonic language, and is most closely related to Cornish and Welsh. It was imported to Western Armorica during the 5th century by Britons fleeing the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. Breton remained the language of the rural population, but since the Middle Ages the bourgeoisie, the nobility, and the higher clergy have spoken French. Bretons take pride in celebrating the ancient custom of "pardons," a special type of pilgrimage when townspeople attend Mass to ask forgiveness for their sins. The pardons also include religious festivals with participants wearing historical costumes. One of the most enjoyable things to do in Dinard is take a leisurely walk by the sea or along the palm-fringed waterfront Promenade du Clair de Lune (Moonlight Promenade), which overlooks the Baie de Prieré. The promenade is illuminated in the evenings during July and August. Bretons are mainly Catholic and the Christianisation occurred during the Roman Gaul and Frank era. During the Briton emigration to Brittany, several Christian missionaries, mostly Welsh, came in the region and founded dioceses. They are known as the "Seven founder saints":

Within this delightful historic town are many quaint narrow lanes and half-timbered houses. The prettiest street is Rue de la Baudrairie, once the quarter of the " baudroyeurs" (saddlers). The town's Gothic church, the Eglise Notre-Dame, was built in the 15th and 16th centuries. The interior features an intricate triptych consisting of 32 panels of Limoges enamel. Refreshing scenic walks give visitors a chance to discover the coastline around Cancale. The Sentier des Douaniers (The Custom Officers' Path) is a hiking trail that follows the entire coastline of Brittany. The portion from Cancale to La Pointe du Grouin affords spectacular vistas of dramatic cliffs and beaches. The Château de Josselin has been inhabited throughout the centuries by generations of the Rohan family. The town of Josselin takes its name from the son of the Viscount who built the château.In the center of the town is the Place Saint-Corentin, presided over by Quimper's awe-inspiring Cathédrale Saint-Corentin. Dating to the 13th century, the cathedral is considered Brittany's finest Gothic building. Between the cathedral's two high towers (which were completed in the 19th century), the legendary figure of King Gradion peers above the town.