I love Bretagne (Brittany, for the anglophones). Where Paris is measured, even severe, Bretagne is untamed, free, running wild. It’s a land of legends and history: Megaliths, Fairies, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Bretagne first gave us crepes, galettes (savory crepes, made with buckwheat), and French apple cider. What’s not to love?
My husband’s family has a summer home in a small Breton village at the opening of the Golfe du Morbihan. When we visit them during the summer, we tend to escape to their home here rather than swelter in Paris. The last several trips we’ve enjoyed mostly sunny days, which last from 5 in the morning until 10 at night. We spend our days riding bikes through overgrown pastures and past flower covered rock walls that are hundreds of years old, dipping our toes into the Atlantic, and eating fresh oysters that the neighbor harvests. And, of course, crepes, galettes, and cider. Every time I suggest staying there and never returning to our “real” lives, my husband warns me that I’m not experiencing the “real” Brittany.
“There’s a reason everything here is so green and overgrown, Carol,” he tells me.
I tell him he can’t burst my bubble.
Here are a few photos:
My favorite spot on Ile Aux Moines, in the Golfe du Morbihan
Golfe du Morbihan
Traditional home, straight out of a fairy tale
Winner! Best French Mullet
Port de St. Goustan
My hubby and me, making crepes
Carnac
Breton humor
On our bike ride
A dolmen and a menhir (megaliths)
A French American Life 
I always love reading about Paris, but I’m glad to learn more about different regions of France as well. Thanks for the post!
~Mia
macaronhoarder.wordpress.com
France has such diversity – Bretagne has become one of my favorite places to be!
I totally agree with you ! I was not born in Brittany, but in the far north of France… I came to Brittany 5 years ago and never left since ! I really fell in love with this place, as I try to show it with my photos :
http://mooonalilaphoto.wordpress.com/bretagne-mosaique/
Thank you for this article ! 🙂
Yes, Brittany is a special place. Beautiful photos you have there! Thanks for reading 🙂
I love Bretagne, aussi!!!! I studied for 3 semesters in Rennes at l’Université Haute-Bretagne! Later on when I was teaching with my Fulbright Scholarship at the l’Université Libre de Bruxelles, I took advantage of being at a close enough travelling distance to return and visit my French host family on several occasions. Took my husband to Bretagne when we visited Europe for three weeks…and now we are hoping to make another trip with the kids in a few years. It’ll be so good for the “Sunny Earth” kids to learn French in France! CANNOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Such a beautiful place, isn’t it? Lucky you, getting to spend so much time there. I’m jealous!
Reblogged this on Sunny Earth Academy and commented:
See my comments below. Bretagne is very dear to my heart!!!!
Loved Brittany – I agree a great place to escape Paris and the summer heat – my sister has a holiday home there and she even held her wedding there – Crepes and Cider were on the menu – I have very fond memories – am plotting a return hopefully sooner rather than later !
Sounds like a fun wedding!
I am going to Brittany for a week in July with my wife and kids (aged 4 and 6) and I was wondering if you could recommend any places to stay or see. We are on a modest budget, so we’ll be looking at small B&Bs or gites and youth hostels to stay. We will have a car (coming by ferry to Cherbourg). Thanks
Great time to go to Brittany – hopefully the weather treats you well! I’m not the best to consult on places to stay as I usually stay at my in-laws. I also haven’t spent a lot of time in northern Brittany. But St. Malo and Mont St. Michel are worth seeing. I’d advise staying coastal and visiting villages rather than visiting the bigger cities (like Nantes and Rennes). If you are a history buff, there’s Caen or Carnac. I am partial to the Golf du Morbihan and the nearby Trinite-sur-mer. Quimper and Concarneau are also beautiful, and I remember some beautiful scenery driving through those areas as well as some places to stop and hike to let the kiddos stretch their legs and burn some energy. I find the whole region wild and beautiful, and fun for kids because they can run around and explore.
Many thanks for that. It gives a great start to my planning. I’ll post some photos when I get back.
I’ll look forward to seeing those photos!
I’ve just seen this post and loved reading it as I’m also really keen on Brittany. My wife and I went there last month on our first holiday since becoming parents in April of this year. We were in the Golfe du Morbihan and saw some of the sites that you pictured, such as Carnac. We stayed at a campsite in the village of Le Bono, which I’m pretty sure is the one in your photo above that has the boats and the bridge isn’t it?
Brittany is a beautiful place, no doubt. And yes, I’m pretty sure that photo was near Le Bono. We were on a boat touring the bay there. Can’t wait to go back!
Hey !! You know what ??? I’m from Morbihan, very close to the Golfe. I lived in Vannes during 17 years and now, my family is in Sarzeau, presqu’ile de Rhuys !!
Quelle coïncidence !! (What is the word in english ???…).
Julie
That is a crazy coincidence! In English, we say “what a coincidence” or “what are the chances?” 🙂 We just got back from 2 weeks in Locmariaquer, where my in-laws have a house, and we spent a few days in northern Bretagne – Rospez with my brother-in-law and his family. What a beautiful place!