La Mer, le Canal & les Pyrénées

[Jacques Vert]

Vannes

At the head of the Gulf du Morbihan is the the city of Vannes. It has a history dating back over 2,000 years but is best known for its medieval old city, its ramparts and its half-timbered houses (of which there are approximately 170 remaining). It also has a port area just outside the old city which can be accessed by reasonably large pleasure vessels via the Gulf du Morbihan. Although it is now a city with a population of around 54,000 the old city centre has managed to retain it charm.

I've been to Vannes three times and I have to admit it remains one of my favourite cities in France:
















On one side of the old city the ramparts have been maintained and the area once containing the moat is now a beautiful open area:

 

[Jacques Vert]

Most french towns have their marché and while the one in La Rochelle remains the stand-out on this trip, the one in Vannes, although much smaller, is also pretty good...

 

[Jacques Vert]

île de Groix

As noted before there are quite a few islands along the South Brittany coast. The île de Groix is situated around 17km south of Lorient and there is a ferry that goes from the port in Lorient and takes around 50 minutes to cross over to Port Tudy, about midway along the north coast of the island. We were thinking of making the trip and when the lady at the Office du Tourisme mentioned that there were free tickets for the ferry, of course we decided to go.

Not surprisingly the deal turned out to have conditions. You had to travel on the earliest ferry and return on the latest; although when booking it did seem that you may qualify if either your departure or return ticked that box, not necessarily both ways. Next condition was that there were only 10 free tickets per day and they sell out quickly. So at midnight I was ready to pounce but didn't realise that each ticket had to be purchased separately; that is, I couldn't buy 2 free tickets on the one booking. By the time I worked that out most of the tickets were gone but I did manage to get one free ticket and purchased a full fare ticket for +1. Oh well, effectively a 50% discount and we are always up for a bargain.

Our ride:




So on board just after dawn and the trip down Lorient's harbour is beautiful; one of the better harbours on the Atlantic coast. First a couple of photos for @drron :






There's a bit of mist hanging around as we head towards the open sea:






And we pass the German submarine pens...



Continuing towards the ocean...






Finally we leave the mainland behind us...




Approaching the island the mist is starting to lift...




The harbour at Port Tudy:




Our ship being unloaded:

 

[Jacques Vert]

île de Groix continued...

As with the other islands we have visited, there are bikes for hire adjacent to the wharf. We asked about a tandem but there are none on the island. We also visited the tourist information office adjacent to the port to pick up a map and some advice/suggestions and I was a little surprised to learn that there were bicycle routes and separate walking tracks where bikes were not allowed. So we decided to walk around the eastern end of the island...

The start of the walking track proved a little difficult to find due to the poor quality of the map we were given but we were soon on our way. First there were some nice views of the harbour and you can see how small it is. It's a pretty good effort to get a ferry in here safely; could be quite a challenge in poor weather:






Next some nice views along the way...






There's a couple of nice beaches on this end of the island...






The track started off nice and easy but developed into more of a challenge as we progressed...










We forgot to take photos of the roughest sections as we were busy maintaining our footing. Easy to see why bikes are not encouraged along the walking path although there are sections where the walkers and bikes share with vehicles...




After about three hours we decided it was time to head to the only restaurant open on the southern side of the island for lunch. The tide was out when we arrived. The view from the restaurant...




Fortunately, the restaurant was not only in a nice location but the food and drinks were excellent. After a nice cold cidre to quench my thirst, I settled for the Moules Mariniere washed down with a crisp rosé...





+1 also had moules but with a different sauce; both were excellent. By the time we left the tide had returned...




So we took the shortest route back to Port Tudy and passed through the main village along the way...








before arriving back at the harbour where we had time for additional refreshments before boarding the ferry back to Lorient.

One thing I did notice is that quite a few of the old stone houses appeared to be abandoned or falling into disrepair. I assume the younger generation have moved to the cities and many of the residents have either passed away or grown too old to maintain these properties properly.

 

[OZDUCK]

Extremely jealous of what looks to be a fabulous trip. Have you noticed what the public transport is like in these areas? Obviously a car gives you much more freedom but are there smaller rail lines running around there? We are thinking about France next year and this area looks really nice - or your great photos are just deceiving us

 

[Jacques Vert]

Well the photos are from +1 and I agree she does an excellent job. The area is very nice as well.

I haven't taken a lot of notice of public transport options. There are certainly plenty of rail lines running around but how regularly are they used? I don't know. There are plenty of buses in the larger towns.

Sorry I can't offer more info than that.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks - you can only tell me what you know.

I had a quick look and it seems that there is reasonable service. For example there are numerous Paris to Vannes trips taking from about 3 to 6 hours and with at least one stop. Locally, Nantes to Vannes has 13 daily services on weekdays.

I have normally driven in France but as I get older it is not as enticing.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Extremely jealous of what looks to be a fabulous trip. Have you noticed what the public transport is like in these areas? Obviously a car gives you much more freedom but are there smaller rail lines running around there? We are thinking about France next year and this area looks really nice - or your great photos are just deceiving us

Following on from your post and having given this a bit more thought, I note that there are regular trains from Paris to La Rochelle, Saint-Nazaire, Lorient, Nantes, Rennes and all the way west to Brest and many places in between, so train services to the larger population centres are good. Getting to some of the smaller places we visited on this trip would be more difficult and you might be best to consult sncf-connect.com or the local Office de Tourisme. The Man in Seat 61 | The train travel guide may also have some helpfull information.

In addition, Nantes has an excellent and cheap tram system as well as buses; and Rennes has two metro lines.

 

[OZDUCK]

Thanks for taking the time for another reply. The limited details I got in my post just before yours were from the SNCF site. I have used The Man in Seat 61 previously. I would do as you suggested and get to a 'major' centre and fan out from there.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Thanks - you can only tell me what you know.

I had a quick look and it seems that there is reasonable service. For example there are numerous Paris to Vannes trips taking from about 3 to 6 hours and with at least one stop. Locally, Nantes to Vannes has 13 daily services on weekdays.

I have normally driven in France but as I get older it is not as enticing.

Heading to Vannes (and further west), you could also go from Rennes (about an hour to Vannes).

 

[OZDUCK]

Heading to Vannes (and further west), you could also go from Rennes (about an hour to Vannes).

Rennes does seem to be very well situated for travel around Brittany. As well as seeming to be a very attractive city.