Cottage in Brittany

BRITTANY MARKETS                                                                                                                                  Brittany is famous for it's fresh produce and the best place to find it is the traditional Breton Market. You will discover each town and village offers it's own unique spin, with various seasonal delights and culinary specialities.

Close by there are markets at:

· Baud - Saturday morning.

· Pontivy - Monday.

· Rostrenen - Tuesday morning.

· Josselin - Saturday morning.

· Locminé - Thursday.

A bit further afield, the market in Vannes is well worth the trip, especially on Saturday. You will find all sorts of fresh produce, goods and gifts and it gives you the feel of an authentic french town on market day. Park on the quayside- buy some croissants or pains au chocolat in the bakery by the city gate-stroll into the old town- walk down te cobbled street and the bright, bustling street market opens out in front of you- FABULOUS! There are two great indoor makets there as well, one for fish and the other with all sorts of fresh foods from beautifully matured cheese to local fresh foie gras. Not to be missed. Wednesday & Saturday mornings.

· Auray - Monday morning.

· Malestroit - Thursday morning.

· Port-Louis - Saturday morning.· Quimper - Saturday & Sunday mornings / Organic market Wednesday and Friday afternoons.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              PLACES OF INTEREST                                                                                                                                     There are over 4,000 chateaux, manoirs and stately homes in Brittany and Ty Pradigo is well situated for visisting many of them.

Art dans les Chapelles. July – September. Highly Recommended. A circuit of chapels starting at St Nicodeme. Different artists are invited to present one or more of his/her works that compliments a chapel.. A wonderful way to discover the countryside and view some very interesting works by modern artists. www.artchapelles.com/

Pontivy- 8 miles/ 15 minutes

There are two parts to Pontivy- the medieval town with its fortified 15th century château overlooking the river and the regimented streets laid out to Napoléon's plan. It was a military base and he renamed it Napoléonville. The old town, around Place du Martray is very picturesque and well worth exploring with its has narrow streets and overhanging wooden houses.

Josselin- 38 miles/ 45 minutes 

The picturesque medieval town of Josselin was the dynastic home of the Rohan family of nobles throughout the middle ages. There are many tourist attractions in this historic town including the fantastic 12th Century turreted Chateau overlooking the Oust River, the16th century half-timbered buildings and the gargoyled Basilique de Notre dame du Roncier (our Lady of the Brambles) with its beautiful 15th and 16th century stained glass windows. The Basilica also contains the tomb of Olivier de Clisson, nicknamed 'The Butcher' for his tendency to chop the arms and legs off English soldiers in battle.There are guided tours of the town available from the Tourist Information Office which is situated in one of the half-timbered houses just outside the Chateau entrance.Every Bastille Day (14th July) Josselin recounts its historic past with the hugely popular Festival Médiéval when the whole town dresses up in period costume - well worth a visit.The impressive Château de Josselin was originally constructed of wood around 1000 and was  added to and rebuilt a number of times over the next 500 years. Henry II destroyed most of it in 1168; and it was nearly destroyed completely again by Cardinal Richelieu in 1629 when he had five of the nine towers pulled down.

The Chateau was extensively restored in the 19th Century and in more recent times Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother has stayed there. Guided tours around some of the Chateau's extravagantly-decorated rooms run from April to September and twice a day the tours are in English.

Immediately outside the Chateau in the converted stables is the Musée de la Poupée (Doll's Museum) which houses a collection of over 500 antique dolls and dolls' furniture. 

Spreading up the hill is the cobbled old town with street cafes, tabacs, restaurants, banks and shops,including "The English Bookshop".

  Vannes- 41 miles/ 55 minutes

Thanks to its position at the head of the Golfe de Morbihan, Vannes, 20km east of Auray, is southern Brittany's major tourist town. Modern Vannes is such a large and thriving community that the small size of the old walled town at its core, Vieux Vannes, may well come as a surprise. Its focal point, the old gateway of the Porte St-Vincent, commands a busy little square at the northern end of the long canalized port that provides access to the gulf itself. Once inside the ramparts, the old centre of chaotic streets – crammed around the cathedral, and enclosed by gardens and a tiny stream – is largely pedestrianised, which is a refreshing contrast to the somewhat insane road system beyond.

Auray 47 miles/ 55 minutes

This is a lovely old town with lots of charming little shops and an excellent market for food lovers on Monday mornings. The picturesque old port of St Goustan which is down by the river has some excellent restaurants by the water's edge.

Some people find Auray with its over-restored ancient quarter, slightly dull – but it's a lot less crowded than Vannes, a lot cheaper than Quiberon town and usefully placed for exploring Carnac, the Quiberon peninsula and the Gulf of Morbihan. 

 The centre of the town today is the place de la République, with its eighteenth-century Hôtel de Ville. In a neighbouring square, linked to the place de la République by rue du Lait, is the seventeenth-century church of St Gildas, with its fine Renaissance porch. A covered market adjoins the Hôtel de Ville, but on Mondays an open-air market fills the surrounding streets with colour – and stops all traffic for a considerable radius.

However, Auray's showpiece is undoubtedly the ancient quarter of St-Goustan, with its delightful fifteenth- and sixteenth-century houses. The bend in the River Loch, an early defended site, was a natural setting for a town – and, with its easy access to the gulf, it soon became one of the busiest ports of Brittany. Today, as you look at it from the Promenade du Loch on the opposite bank, with the small seventeenth-century stone bridge still spanning the river, it's not difficult to imagine it in its heyday. In 1776, Benjamin Franklin landed here on his way to seek the help of Louis XVI in the American War of Independence.

 Lake Guerlédan 18 miles/ 25 minutes

Separating Morbihan from Côtes d’Armor is the Guerlédan lake with bathing, canoeing, water skiing and pedallos. To the north east is the Forest of Quénécan, the “Swiss Brittany”. With peaks rising only to 287 metres, the description is a little ambitious, but there are three lakes and some good marked walking trails. www.capbreizh.com/pratique/guerledan/guerledan.htm