Considering a trip to Brittany (Bretagne / Breizh) in Aug'10

Poststructural Pub
1

I’m going to be traveling back to the US from Afghanistan in August, and can stop off anywhere along the way at minimal/no cost to me, so I’m debating where to take a month’s vacation en-route. I’d initially thought about going to western coastal India, but thought it might be too touristy that time of year, and going two countries over might not be enough of a breakaway to really reacclimate.

I pondered Iceland, I pondered Finland, and then realised this might be a good time to build up my French skills. Pondering further, I reckoned that I like folk music, I like cider, and so Brittany might be a solid option. I realise that the version of French there won’t be Parisian (fine by me) and that there are also speakers of Breton (also cool), but I’m pretty flexible.

Anyone spent much time in those parts? Any commentary on “can’t miss” cultural events, places, chow, etc? Are there many “sessions” or similar, community dances, etc?

My gameplan is to rent a room in one of the mid-sized cities for a month, spend most of my time in that city with occasional day/weekend trips to other communities. I’d rather get semi-established in one town than bounce all over. Figure I can get some language tutoring, hang around in pubs, do some volunteer work, and just generally try and get the vibe of the area.

Any suggestions would be awesome.

2

Well - beer in the Pubs is pretty expensive - that’s the bad news.
The good news: Everything else!
I’ve been there almost every summer for the last 22 years…
In Summertime, almost anywhere anytime, You’ll have “Fest-Noz” (“Night-Parties”), that’s Ceilidh-dancing the Breton way, with guitars, accordions, fiddles, shwans, and, of course, “Binious” (that’s Breton bagpipes). The weather is stc, but always warm, food’s great, people friendly and landscape breathtaking (esp. in the West and North).
And the Bretons make the BEST cider in the world!
Sessions are a bit more rare - there’s a nice pub at the railway-station of Quimper, I think, every friday, another one in Brest-harbour, one in Lorient… Check at thesession.org.
Oh - and it might be interesting to hear, that every year 1st-2nd weekend of August the biggest festival of celtic music worldwide takes place in Lorient (South Brittany): 10 days, over 2500 artistst from all celtic regions of God’s wide earth, far more than 400 concerts, 300000+ visitors, mostly from celtic countries…
See Ya there :wink:

3

It’s been a while since I was in Brittany. It’s nice. I was camping. It’s clear that Brittany is part of the Celtic world. It’s rainy, even in summer. My tent got flooded out, and some kind Netherlanders took pity on me and let me sleep in their van. Bretons don’t just have good cider, they have good potatoes! And seafood. And Crépes! And Galettes!

There is also a major Comic Book Festival -http://www.stations-bretagne.eu/uk/littoral/fiche.php?stationid=32

“Bandes-Dessinées” in France is not quite the same as American Comic Books…

There are some amazing Chateux around Brittany, and of course there is Mont-Saint-Michel.

4

Been to the west of Brittany recently. Need to explore more areas soon. I can’t recommend a Fest-Noz highly enough. They’re advertised all over the place in cafes, bars, on at the roadside on lamposts etc.

As well as cider there are some great little microbreweries making some excellent beers.

All the small towns have their own markets. Great for fresh local produce.

I’d recommend getting a good book like a ‘Rough Guide’ or ‘Lonely Planet’ (I used the Rough Guide to Brittany and Normandy to help decide exactly where I wanted to go and what to visit).

Be aware that the coastal tourist industry effectively comes to a complete stop in September. My wife and I visited one ‘town’ that had pretty much closed down for the winter - hotels, supermarkets, the lot - shut.

5

Wow, that festival looks awesome. Best case scenario, I could be in northwestern France as early as 7 or 8 August, so enough time to catch the last week of the Festival. Is there much in the way of semi-affordable rooms around that area, or is it all at a massive premium for the week of the festival? Any suggestions where to start looking on rooms?

The festival would be great for a week, and then I could spend the next three weeks in whatever town hanging about. I was thinking of Brest, being the largest, though the fact that most of it was leveled in WWII takes away some of the architectual charm. Quimper seems pretty folksy, though not sure if it’d be too touristy, or the pub-life and general social scene for a 30yr old would suffer in comparison to Brest. Any suggestions on which city to spend the rest of August in after the festival?

Couple tech musical questions: what key on pennywhistle is best suited to Bretagne music? Can I do it with a D, or should I get a low G or A to take along, or some even odder key? Same for concertina; my box can cover C, G, D, A and their relative modes; will that cover me or will I be sitting out a lot if I try to join a jam?

Any reccommendations so far as “Bretagne tunes that a foreigner can endear himself to the locals by being able to play”? What’s the Bretagne equivalent of Free Bird or Stairway to Heaven which causes folks to say “hey, you know some Bretagne music”?

6

It may be best to avoid Brest. From the Rough Guide

…the postwar town is raw and bleak…While the city can look appealing from across the bay, on closer inspection it takes a real effort of will to stay longer than it takes to change trains or buses. The roads are racetracks; the suburbs, remorselesly industrial; and the last war comprehensively destroyed any historic interest that may once have existed.The most rational reason for an outsider to stay is for the > bagpipe festival > held there for three days in August.

Mind you. If you’re just using it as a base for trips away then that may be fine for you.

Apparently there are plenty of bars. Of most interest is possibly ‘Les Dubliners’ on Rue Mattieu-Donnart which has Irish dancing on Mondays and live music Thursdays and Sundays.

However the Crozon peninsula just south of Brest is definitely worth a visit.

Quimper is described as ‘…very relaxed, though active enough to have the bars and atmosphere to make it worth going out cafe-crawling.’ although accomodation is hard to come by in July-August.

7

Whew, now we’re getting to the complicated questions…
Well - I’ve always been camping for the FIL, so I really don’t know…
Cheapest way may be one of bthose motels, Formule 1 and stuff - try to contact the local Office de tourisme, guess, it’s still early enough…
To really have fun in Brittany, You’ll need transportation after the FIL - wherever You stay, rent a car, since especially Festou-Noz are mostly somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
There’s quite something going on in and around Brest - in contrast to Quimper (my personal experience), that’s widely overrated in this point. Brest itself is ugly, but the location makes it beautifull again, and within the bay of Brest and anywhere around, You’ll find more beauty than You can bear (in every sense :wink: ).
About Breton music - the tunes are easyer to play and pick up than Irish stuff, it’s pure dance-music. They play lots of Irish stuff, though, as well, esp. in sessions, so D or A is no bad choice, either.
Usual Key for Fest-Noz-dance bands would be Bb, since Breton Pipes and Shawns (“Bombardes”) are in that key. But this You will rarely experience in Sessions (too noisy!). Boxes used in Brittany play quite often rather in C, as well as southern Breton pipes (“Veuze”), which You may find at some sessions, too. I’m not sure, whether this was of much help… :really:
How about: D-Whistle, C-box?

8

This is some great info thus far, clears up a ton.

I can try calling the Tourism bureau and seeing what they recommend for lodgings, though have to get right on making reservations. The backpacker hostel is, predictably, booked solid for that week and available for all the days not during the festival.

I’m ordering the Lonely Planet guide to Brittany/Normandy, will try to come to a decision on which city based on that.
So far as cities, a guy on another forum recommended either Brest or Rennes for a youngish person wanting to get out and socialize, so will go read up more on those.

Interesting point about the utility of transport within Brittany; can motorcycles be rented affordably/easily if one has a US motorcycle license?

9

Yep, Rennes is a good one, too - not too far from Mt St.Michel, some great other northern places such as Cap Frehel, or the forest of Broceliande with, a.o., the Merlin’s grave. You shouldn’t miss the chance, however, to get deep into the West as well. A month, beginning with Lorient, should give You enough time to stay in more than one place.
About motorcycle-license - I really don’t know. With the changeable weather, I’d rather recommend a car - also better to sleep in, compared to motorcycle, if You’d feel the urge to booze on a Fest-Noz somewhere on the end of the world… :wink:

10

I didn’t read this thread until now because the lame title just doesn’t give a clue on the possibilities of this thread. Anywhere? Anywhere! What an opportunity. I have no useful advice to give you whatsoever but I do appreciate the wishful thinking moment you gave me.

11

Well, what’s so appealing to me about Brittany is exactly those many options what to see and do, this wide variety, this wonderfull mixture of definitive “Celticness” and “Savoir vivre”.
You have the great beers and Ciders (and better ones!) You’d find in Ireland or Scotland (and don’t miss their “Armorik”-Single-Malt!)- but with it some of the best French and local Breton food (anyone who ever tried a “Galette forrestiere” or Breton seafood won’t even look at any Haggis or Irish salmon anymore!).

You have the spectacular landscape like on the Irish Westcoast - but You can swim and get tanned, since summer-temperature is about 30 degrees C.

You’ll find Breton “Bagadou”, that’ll boast some Piobreachd-world-champions, yet it’ll let Your eyebrows raise for their creativity (, which’ll drive tears of anger into any pipe-competition-judge) and make You want to dance immediately - just like anyone near You, between 5 and 90 years of age, already started to do…

You can discover a strong leaning towards Gaelic culture, yet being firmly rooted in their own Gaul, Cornish and Welsh roots (heck - the Cornish even go there to reconstruct their lost language and music), as well as close contact to their Celt-Iberian bretheren in Northwestern Spain.

And, if You take time, You can discover the different celtitude in the different regions: Almost Southern-French in departement Loire-Atlantique, with it’s great wine and almost central-French bagpipe- and dancing culture, very Gaulish in the North and East “Pays-Gallo”, distinctively “Breton” (= i.e. connected to Wales and Cornwall, but with it’s own flavour) in the far West.

And the most beautifull thing: At any Fest-Noz, You’ll see: Unlike in Ireland or Scotland, this culture isn’t just for those in the country who like it - it’s for everyone there, it’s deeply rooted within anyone’s everyday life.
You cannot describe Breizh - You’ll have to experience it Yourself…