Finistère
As the sun rises on the tip of Brittany, the Angels’ Bay glistens like a sheet of glass. The tide turns, the oyster beds peep out of the water and villages begin to stir, clusters of flower-draped cottages with blue shutters and silvery roofs. The last shreds of mist drift across islands and rocks and on the Coast of Legends, the ancient tales are laid to rest for another day.
This far corner of Brittany is known as Finistère, the ‘end of the land’, but in the Breton language, they call it Penn ar Bed, ‘beginning of the world’. The north coast is rugged and wild, fringed by the English Channel, the south faces the Atlantic with sunny bays and wooded valleys. The Arrée and Black Mountains stretch across the hinterland to meet on the sacred mount of Menez Hom.
The Celts reached Armorica, the ‘land near the sea’, in 500 BC, followed 1000 years later by a second wave, this time monks and Christians who crossed the Channel to evangelize ‘little Britain’. Independent until the 16th century, Brittany retains a strong sense of identity, particularly in Finistère. Stone Age megaliths mingle with Celtic sites, outdoor calvaries and mysterious church enclosures found nowhere else in the country, built by villagers as a token of faith and a show of wealth from the cloth trade. There are holy springs and magic forests, hundreds of local saints and ghosts wandering on the moor among heather and gorse or in the turquoise lagoons of Crozon, the untamed peninsula shaped like a cross in the shadow of Menez Hom.
Crozon and a large slice of central Finistère form the Armorique Regional Park which extends into the sea. Ramblers enjoy the nature trails and spectacular views across two seas and the hills bristling with rocks. A scattering of museums reveals the diversity of the fauna and flora and the ancient skills and traditions of Armorique.
All over Finistère, festivals abound to celebrate the Breton heritage, from the colourful ‘pardons’ which honour the patron saints to the sumptuous Cornwall Festival in Quimper, all bagpipes and accordions and traditional costumes where lace hats can reach 33 cms in height.
Quimper has its own legendary figure, King Gradlon, betrayed by his daughter long ago, but still watching over the town and seen riding his horse between the cathedral towers. Among the city’s original claims are the delicate earthenware items hand-painted with Breton scenes, the stethoscope invented by Laënnec and ‘crêpes dentelles’, lace-like pancakes whose recipe remains secret.
Wherever you are, Brittany is sure to tickle your taste buds with tender artichokes from the Léon plain, succulent seafood such as monkfish or Bélon oysters, and galettes, the savoury pancakes made from buckwheat. The local drink is cider, sometimes served in a cup to preserve its earthy taste. For dessert, try the delicious strawberries from Plougastel or the biscuits and ‘all things sweet’ from Pont-Aven.
Pont-Aven was sweet indeed to the 19th century painters who followed Gauguin to this pretty little spot at the mouth of the river Aven. They met in the sacred Lovers’ Wood, mused by the rustic Trémalo chapel and founded the Pont-Aven School of Art which thrived on bold colours. Drawn by the landscape and the ever changing light, artists still gather here and all around the Gauguin Square, art galleries line the streets. Crowds browse for a while then take a walk by the stream tumbling over the rocks, past the last waterwheels or the sprinkling of yachts bobbing at anchor in the harbour.
Not so far away, beyond the old walled town of Concarneau and its blue fishing nets, Bénodet is all fine sands and holiday fun but across the river, life moves at a gentle pace. In Sainte Marine, fishing boats wait for the tide, huddled in a secluded creek where a sailors’ shelter glows candy pink among the cottages. The air smells of pines and now and then, a sailing boat heads down river to the open sea.
Some say Finistère is like three fingers of a hand pointing towards the setting sun, others see a dragon’s head, wagging the fiery tongue of Crozon between the Bay of Douarnenez and the deep enclave of Brest. The dramatic Pointe du Raz battered by the waves looks out to the island of Sein, barely six metres above the water, while to the north, the coast curves towards the Ouessant islands, a haven for birds and strong-minded women who once had the duty to propose marriage to the men. Over 1000 kms of coast weave around Finistère, white sands and rocky bays, dunes, cliffs, islets topped with lighthouses, and scenic fjord-like inlets of the sea known as Aven in the south and Aber in the north.
Tucked deep into a bay once haunted by corsairs, Morlaix greets you with a 19th century viaduct towering above the old town and unusual ‘lantern houses’ with spiral staircases and galleries where lamps used to glow. Among them is the house of Anne de Bretagne, the duchess so dear to the heart of every Breton. Forced to marry two successive French kings, queen by the age of 13, Anne fought hard to preserve Brittany’s autonomy. But weakened by ill health, her daughter handed over the duchy to her own royal husband and the Treaty of Union was signed in 1532.
Follow the coast to the west and you come to Roscoff, a jewel of a place with a quaint old harbour and a ferry terminal hidden out of sight. Boats are carved on the walls of the church and on the headland festooned with hydrangea, a lonely chapel blesses the passing ships.
Roscoff is famous for its red onions, with a museum dedicated to the trade, and the world’s largest variety of seaweed, easily harvested due to an exceptional eight metre differential between high and low tide. The seaweed is used for cosmetics, health food and treatment in France’s oldest thalassotherapy centre.
From Roscoff, it’s just a 15 minute crossing to Batz island where the only taxi competes with tractors and cycles and horse-drawn carriages. Lanes from another age meander up to the village and along the shore palms and agapanthus sway in the breeze. Here is the lighthouse, seen 80 metres out at sea, there the old wash-house or the lush Delasselle Gardens where myriad exotic plants thrive in the island’s micro-climate.
On this most northerly point, the Celtic monk St Pol defeated the dragon to become one of Brittany’s founding saints. So as you lie on a deserted beach, watching fluffy clouds scurry across the sky, you may feel this is truly the beginning of the world, lapped by the waves but deeply rooted in the ancient land of legends
Text by Solange Hando
http://www.travelintelligence.net
Our region has a very rich nature, culture and history.
This is a non exhaustive list of the jewels available a few minutes away from the Domaine de Moulin Mer.
Natural regional park of Armorique
The park covers 39 rural villages in the Finistère region. 600sq. miles, with 56.000 inhabitants. It has an island and coastal sector as well as an inland sector : The Iles of the Iroise Sea , the peninsula of Crozon, the maritime Aulne, the "Monts d’Arrée”.
Océanopolis
Océanopolis also allows you to discover underwater Brittany.
Daoulas
Daoulas is a small village in the heart of Brest’s roadstead. It offers a very rich architecture and many cultural events.
Daoulas Abbey has preserved significant architectural traces of its prestigious past with its oratory, fountain and Romanesque cloisters - the only one of its kind in western France. The abbey also features a wonderful medicinal plant garden with specimens from Brittany and throughout the world.
Places to visit:
- Abbey
- Sainte Anne chapel
- Cloister
- Milling museum
- Marchet
Daoulas abbey
The abbey is owned by the county council. Since January 2006, its management has been given to a public cultural organisation called «Chemins du patrimoine en Finistère» (Patrimonial pathways in Finistère). 
The actual buildings -a cloister and a 12th century basin, an oratory and a monumental 16th century fountain, the 18th century conventual house- are an exceptional tribute to Breton art from the 10th century onwards.
The abbey has been renown since 1986 for the quality and originality of its archaeological, historical or ethnological exhibitions organised in collaboration with some of the most known world wide museums.
The abbey houses a superb medicinal garden with over 250 species. It is still structured and organised like most middle age/renaissance convent or monastery gardens.
In conjunction with the traditional medicinal and aromatic plants some rare and exotic vegetation can be admired.
Landerneau
Places to visit:
- Pont de Rohan, 1510 (Inhabited bridge with shops)
- Church of Saint-Thomas (17th century) and church of Saint-Houardon (17th - 19th centuries)
- Quarter of Saint-Houardon en Léon and Quarter of Saint-Thomas en Cornouaille : houses of 16th - 18th centuries notably in Logonna micro-granite
- House of Sénéchaussée, 1664
http://www.ville-landerneau.fr
Brest
The history of Brest has been much influenced by its geographical situation. The city occupies a strategic site at the back of a bay whose only entrance is a narrow channel. Many battles were fought in its waters, and the most important of them are described in detail at the Naval Museum. The castle of Brest, completed by the royal architect Vauban is one of the major monuments of Brittany.
The city itself was almost entirely destroyed during the second World War and is now characterised by the geometrical layout of its main streets.
The famous phrase “Tonnerre de Brest” (“Thundering typhoons” in English), made popular by Tintin’s captain Haddock, refers to the cannon shots that were fired every morning and every evening to signal the opening and closure of the port for almost three centuries. Occasionally, these cannon shots signalled the escape of a convict.
Brest’s roadstead
Brest’s roadstead is a large sea area covering 150km² (60sq miles) opening to the west on Iroise sea through a 1.8km large bottleneck (goulet de Brest).
The roadstead is a very secure sailing area all year long.
The roadstead is one of the biggest in the world.
Crozon’s peninsula
Crozon peninsula enjoys an outstanding location at the western tip of Brittany. Various hiking paths lead to this ocean- and wind-sculpted region. From these paths, you can marvel at the breathtaking cliffs, the wonderful shades of rocks and the violent waves crashing against the reefs.
The parish enclosures
Parochialism also had an influence: each village rivalling its neighbours to build the finest parish close possible!
Parish closes are the expression of permanent exchange between the living and the dead, a Celtic inheritance ever present in the Breton imagination.
The calvaries, ossuaries and imposing churches of the parish closes underline faith with great solemnity, combined with the fantasy and joie de vivre of the baroque style: painted altarpieces, naive statues, cherubs trimmed with grapevines…
One finds in every parish close the same architectural features, but each one has its own personality. There is so much to see that each new visit brings you more wonder!
http://www.ot-paysdelandivisiau.com
Les Monts d’Arrée
Les Monts d'Arrée are the highest area of Brittany. Although the highest peaks do not reach impressive heights (384 meters for the Tuchenn Gador, le signal de Toussaines), the reliefs are quite real and the panoramas are truly magnificent.
The regions hardly shelters 40 inhabitants in the square kilometre, because of a very rude climate. The winters are cold, windy and rainy, and it is not rare that the peaks are even snow-covered. The summer, the area becomes quickly a true furnace... In short, not a very welcoming area! But the landscapes are original and often breathtaking: mounts sculpted by erosion, rocky peaks, infinite moors, deep forests... Few places in Brittany profit from so varied landscapes! It is undoubtedly the hardness of the area which make of it one of the high places of the Breton imaginary. Few places were that much frequented by the Devil! The locals even say that the gates of Hell are in the peat-bogs of Yeun Elez...
Yeun Elez: Another place of legends! In the heart of the monts d'Arrée, Yeun Elez is a peat-bogs zone, partly transformed into lake for the needs of the power station of Brennilis. Per time of fog, the place is magic and even distressing. It is undoubtedly for this reason that the legends locate in the area the gates of Hell; often drowned in the fog, the marsh was regarded as the beginning of the underground world. The marsh is however not Hell, since it constitutes a paradise for numerous birds (ducks, martins-fishermen, ashy curlew...) and...The castors! Indeed, 10 beavers established in 1969 on the banks of Ellez proliferated! Many paths permit to discover the site.
http://www.lesmontsdarree.com
Abers / Coast of legends
Brittany has three « abers » (or flooded estuaries) situated on the north west coast of Finistère: the Aber-Ildut, the Aber-Benoît and the Aber-Wrac'h. Dependent on the rhythm of the tides, these sea inlets penetrate far inland and are veritable passports to moments of tranquillity. When you arrive in the Abers region, you are setting foot on the “Coast of Legends” and walking in the foot steps of the seaweed harvesters of the “pagan” region of Brittany. In Aber-Wrac'h, meet the fishermen, taste the seafood from their shellfish tanks and simply relax...
Le Faou
Open in high season, the “Maison de Pays”, museum of the 16th and 18th centuries, houses a permanent exhibition on the history of the town with costumes, plaster models and photos, plus temporary exhibitions. A programme of guided tours exploring the town is available.
Unmissable sights:
- Church of Saint-Sauveur (1544 - 1647) with exceptional furnishings from the 16th and 19th centuries
- Church of Notre-Dame de Rumengol
- Chapel of Quai Quélen built in the 17th century
The Black Mountains
Trévarez
The Bay of Morlaix
The Bay of Morlaix is an ever changing image. The landscape is dotted with islets and rocky spurs jutting out of the water, while the perpetual flux of the sea constantly redraws the outline of the rugged coastline.
Each islet is a picture postcard: The Île Louet with its single house turns its back to the Château du Taureau, while the Île Sterec, bristling with dense vegetation contrasts with the arid Île Noire surmounted by its square tower. Further west towards Carantec the Île Callot, wonder of the Bay, is accessible on foot by a narrow road.
The Bay extends inland, along the River of Morlaix, the natural border between Léon and Trégor, subject to the movements of the tides right up to the centre of Morlaix, washing as it passes the small oyster harbour of Dourduff en Mer and the village of Locquénolé, nestled on the bank of a hill.
http://www.tourisme.morlaix.fr
The calvaries
Molène and Ouessant
The Ile d’Ouessant is constituted of a rocky plateau, 30 to 65 m high, hollowed out to form a deep bay on the south west. Its approaches are feared by sailors on account of the danger the area represents, with innumerable rocks and violent currents. They are the subject of folklore: “He who sees Molène sees suffering, he who sees Ouessant sees his blood”. The lighthouses protecting these reefs are famous: Jument, Stiff, Créac’h. The Ile de Molène, just 1.2 km long and 800 m wide, is very flat and surrounded by white sandy beaches. A fishing fleet is based on the island, specialising in lobster and langoustes.
Quimper
Located by the river Odet, Quimper has always been a sheltered place and a crossing point. As far back as the roman conquest a small urban centre settled round a port opened to the Mediterranean world, downstream from the actual town.
Later Breton immigrants chose to settle upstream, on the confluent (Kemper in Breton language). The choice of Quimper as an Episcopal town contributed to its development as it was already the residence of the powerful Count of Cornouaille. Since the 13th Century the building of the cathedral and the belt of walls have structured the town. The construction of the cathedral which lasted many centuries made it one of the major building in gothic art in Brittany.
In the 16th century Brittany became part of France with a royal administration which led to the building of private hotels, and in the following century by the construction of many convents related to the catholic reform. Nevertheless the town remained a town of merchants and ship-owners who built timbered- or stoned- houses.