Rugged cliffs and jagged inlets, sandy beaches and muddy estuaries, Brittany is edged by some 1,800 km of coastline, and its moods are as varied as the scenery, swinging from menacing to invigorating, sunnily inviting to misty and dank, as if by magic. That same sense of sorcery in the air permeates the tapestry of Celtic history and legend which weaves around the Armor and the Argoat, the ancient Breton words for the ‘Country of the Sea’ and the ‘Country of the Woods’.

The Bretons are a race apart. Both their language and culture have more in common with other Celtic peoples – Irish, Welsh and Cornish – than with France, a fact celebrated in frequent Celtic festivals (Quimper in July, and Lorient in August are the biggest). Religion also plays an important role in Breton life with a host of unofficial local saints adopted from the ranks of early Christian missionaries from Britain, and a multitude of annual processions known as pardons.

Most visitors to Brittany head straight for the seaside, north to the Côte d’Emeraude around Saint-Malo, and the Côte de Granit Rose (Brittany’s Pink Granite Coast), or south to the Golfe de Morbihan and Côte d’Amour. These family resorts are generally full to bursting at the height of the July-August season (when most hotels enforce obligatory half-board terms), and firmly shuttered from October to May – worth remembering if you visit out of season. But the best places to visit also include the salty little fishing communities such as Finistère in the west, clinging to wind-swept headlands like the shellfish for which Brittany is justly famed. Also venture into the Breton Argoat the inland hills and forests of the Pare Naturel Régional d’Amorique in the west, or the eastern borderland fortresses and ancient Brocéliande near Rennes, setting for Arthurian legend (see Inland Brittany).

The main N176 and N12 run parallel to the north coast. The N165 does the same job in the south and west.

TRANSPORT

Not the best served region in France. Train is the most reliable mode of transport with services following the outline of the coast, but somewhat inland. From Rennes, there are train services south to Redon (connections to all the main south coast towns) and Nantes; and north to Dol-de-Bretagne (connections to Morlaix and to Landerneu for Brest and Quimper) and Saint-Malo. Otherwise you have to rely on local buses (details from www.about-france.com/france-bus-travel).