Experienced agents with houses for sale in all areas of Brittany

The distance in miles between Brittany and the UK is shorter than the distance between Leeds and London, but the difference in quality of life is immeasurable.
How to get here:
The following transport hubs are either based in Brittany or the distance to the Brittany border is shown.

• Ports
  
  
  • Roscoff in Brittany, served by Plymouth
  
  
  • St Malo in Brittany, served by Portsmouth, Plymouth, Jersey, Guernsey
  
  
  • Caen 2 hours from Brittany, served by Portsmouth
  
  
  • Cherbourg 2 hours from Brittany, served by Portsmouth and Poole
  
  
  • Le Havre 3.5 hours from Brittany, served by Portsmouth
  
  
  • Calais 6 hours from Brittany, served by Dover
  
  
  
  
• Airports
  
  
  • Dinard in Brittany, flights from East Midands, Stansted, Leeds/Bradford, Bristol, Channel Islands
  
  
  • Brest in Brittany, flights from Birmingham, Southampton
  
  
  • Rennes in Brittany, flights from Manchester, Exeter, Southampton
  
  
  • Nantes 20 mins from Brittany border, Manchester, Gatwick
  
  
  
  
• Rail
  
  
  • SNCF is the national train service for France
  
  
  • TGV is the fast train network in France
  
  
  • There are stations served by the TGV throughout Brittany including Rennes, Vannes, Guingamp, Lamballe, St Brieuc, St Malo, Brest, Quimper
  
  
  
  
• By car
  
  
  • Brittany's road network is as good as the rest of France, but has the added advantage of being toll free.
  
  
  
  

With 700 miles of coastline and surrounded by the sea, it is no wonder Brittany is renowned for fabulous seafood. Locally caught fish, crabs and oysters from Cancale which are the best in the world are plentifully available.

You may try 'moules frites' all over France, but they taste the very best in Brittany and sharing a "Plateau de Fruits de Mer" is an experience not to be missed, whether it be during a summer break spent at your holiday home or as part of a traditional Christmas feast for those who move here permanently.

The daily markets have a splendid array of fresh produce on sale including locally grown salads, strawberries, perfect potatoes and lots of garlic. Learn to eat seasonally and you will always be eating what is the best value and the best quality. Brittany is a major grower of artichokes which are delicious and not really so tricky to eat; your new Breton friends will show you how if you are a novice.

Locally reared meat is also available whether it be the pork sausage in your "galette saucisse" or farmed venison. The origin of the meat is displayed in the butcher's shop and you can be sure of the quality when you buy.

Brittany contributes its share to France's 500 cheeses and there are many artisan producers, particularly of fresh goats' milk cheeses. For a milder taste choose a "brebis", a ewe's milk cheese from the black faced moorland sheep native to the region.

Much of the region's dairy production has also been traditionally used for making "lait ribot" (buttermilk), a common accompaniment and ingredient for many meals and also for butter, particularly butters flavoured with the delicate sea salt harvested from the centuries old salt beds at sites such as Guérande.

To top off a traditional meal, why not enjoy crêpes served with local sea salt butter, jam from home grown fruit or a little dark chocolate. The wines of France are plentiful , but you may find you prefer the locally produced Breton cider on those sunny evenings, it is so refreshing and don't forget you can also drink it warm in the winter - this is a 1600 year old culture, they have everything covered!

Brittany is ideal for those who love being outdoors in the clean, fresh air making the most of the mild climate and wide open spaces.

Diverse leisure pursuits are available; the area is great for walking, kayaking, horse riding on the beach or through forests, quad biking, paint balling, tennis, swimming, yachting, climbing (rocks or trees), cycling of course, there's some pretty good surfing to be had and there's always plenty of room to spread out on the clean, sandy beaches.

The Brittany coast is quite breezy, making it particularly popular with sailing enthusiasts; many of France's most famous yachtsmen, such as Eric Tabarly, have hailed from Brittany and yachting is a major tourist activity all round the coast.

It is possible to take sailing lessons, hire motor or sail boats on a day rate or if you don't quite fancy getting in the water, how about some land yacht lessons.

Many inland lakes also offer leisure facilities and none more so than Lac de Guerledan, a 400 hectare man-made lake 12km long which is a major tourist attraction. Many of these lakes have restaurants, boat hire, well signed walks and man-made beaches providing a great day out.

Horses are intertwined with Breton culture having been used to work the land as well as for travel. Riding out is a relaxed pleasure with many miles of rural tracks, rides through forests and horses are regularly seen on the beach.

There are still large collections of working horses, the national studs are open to the public and often have spectacular displays of horsemanship or just offer open carriage rides. Two situated in Brittany are at Hennebont and Lamballe and both have an interesting program of events.

Cycling is popular throughout France and particularly so in Brittany, riders of all ages can be seen whizzing around in fluorescent jerseys and this is a great way to explore the countryside. The Tour de France regularly has stages in the region and is an exciting spectacle when it comes to town.

Brittany lays claim to being the location of many of the tales of King Arthur and in the Middle Ages was covered in forest, forest in which with Merlin, the wizard who was Arthur's tutor and advisor, was alleged to have lived.

At that time there were especially close links between Britain and Brittany: the Breton language is closely related to Welsh and the French name for Brittany (Bretagne) can be translated as "little Britain", with Great Britain being "Grande Bretagne".

Local legend has it that it was in the Forest of Brocéliande, at the Fountain of Barenton, that Merlin met and fell desperately in love with Viviane, later famous as the Lady of the Lake, who raised Sir Lancelot. Her home, the Castle of Comper, Merlin's tomb and the Church of the Holy Grail all form part of a tourist trail across the region.

Now officially known as Paimpont, but still much referred to as Brocéliande, the forest is a wonderful place to visit and for hiking in season. There are many gîtes for holiday makers and for house hunters, this area offers some of the most affordable prices.

Culture:
Various factors have combined to give Brittany a unique culture of music and dance: the Breton musical tradition is Celtic in origin, but Celtic music has evolved in different directions in the different countries in which the Celts settled.

The Breton tradition has a close association between music and dance and when no musical instruments have been available, the human voice has been used to keep time for the dancers. This is the origin of the famous "Kan ha Diskan" - a form of singing in which one singer, the kaner, 'calls' the song, and another singer, the diskaner, makes the response.
Brittany's music is extremely rich and varied; it reflects customs and ways of life and in times-gone-by there were hundreds of different dances. When people from a village got together - perhaps for a family gathering, or maybe after a day working in the fields, singing and dancing would take place.