Enjoy a relaxing break within easy access of the Brittany ferry ports of Saint Malo and Roscoff
Côtes d’Armor (22) is central northern Brittany. A rocky coastline with coves and fine sandy beaches; there are no large resorts, but many popular seaside towns and villages, including Tregastel, Erquy or Perros Guirec. Inland, the area is gently hilly and rural, rising in the centre of Brittany to the moorland of the Monts d’Armoric
Brittany – a short guide
Brittany, the northwest tip of France, is a very popular holiday destination; it has long been popular with Parisians, being somewhat closer to Paris than the French Riviera. More recently, Brittany has attracted a growing number of visitors and residents from all over northern France, Britain and northern Europe on account of its easy access, and is now the fourth most popular tourist region in France, and the most popular in northern France.
Easy to reach from the UK, and with property prices far lower than those in the south of England, Brittany has become a chosen destination for people looking for a quiet rural area to live in or retire to, a place that is easy to get to, yet seems a long way away from the pressures of urban life in southern England or the Netherlands or Paris.
New arrivals from the UK are actually just following the route taken by some of their ancestors, the Britons like the legendary King Arthur, who came across from Great Britain in the post-Roman era, giving Brittany its new name – Brittany, the land of the Britons.
Today’s new Bretons have helped inject new life back into what was an area in serious decline; they have bought up large numbers of rural properties, saving them from dereliction, and converting many of them into attractive holiday cottages, villas or gites. Architecturally, cottages in Brittany have much in common with those in the southwest of England; the classic Brittany holiday rental is an old stone buildings, with a slate roof, and often with whitewashed walls.
A seafaring people, the « Bretons » have always remained in touch with their cousins north of the Channel ; and contacts between Brittany and Cornwall have remained strong over the ages. Nowadays there are plenty of holiday rentals and gites in Britany with UK owners who accept payment in sterling and can provide help and local information in English. But obviously, there are even more holiday cottages in Brittany with French owners and caretakers.