Key facts
• Location: Across the Channel from the UK, Brittany – or Bretagne as it’s known in France – occupies the north-western corner of France, bordering the regions of Normandy and Pays-de-la-Loire
• Capital: Rennes
• Land area: 34,023km²
• Population: 3,199,066
• Population density: 94/km²
• Average house price: €155,000
Departments
• Ille-et-Vilaine (main town: Rennes; department number: 35)
• Côtes d’Armor (main town: St-Brieuc; department number: 22)
• Finistère (main town: Quimper; department number: 29)
• Morbihan (main town: Vannes; department number: 56)
Highlights
• Almost 3,000km of coastline featuring popular seaside resorts such as Carnac, St Malo, Dinard, Cancale, Erquy, Perros-Guirec, Trébeurden and Bénodet; there are 11 Famille Plus resorts including Binic and Quiberon
• There are many islands off the coast, some inhabited by man, others just by sea birds; Belle Ile is the largest
• Gentle countryside, peaceful landscapes, close-knit agricultural communities and two natural parks: Parc d’Armorique and Brière
• The capital city Rennes has a historic centre with many ‘monuments historiques’, especially around the Parlement de Bretagne and cathedral, colourful half-timbered houses, remains of 3rd to 12th-century ramparts, and Place des Lices where the market is held, plus a fine arts museum and Thabor park
• Villes d’Art et d’Histoire: Concarnau, Dinan, Dinard, Fougères, Lorient, Morlaix, Quimper, Rennes, Vannes, Vitré
• Eight cathedral cities: Dol, Quimper, Rennes, St Malo, St-Brieuc, St-Pol-de-Léon, Tréguier, Vannes
• Many fortified towns including Dinan, St Malo, Fougères, Vitré, Concarneau, Hennebont, Port-Louis and Vannes
• Plus Beaux Villages: Le Faou, Locronan, Moncontour, Rochefort-en-Terre and St-Suliac
• In addition, 22 villages and small towns have been designated ‘Petites Cités de Caractère’
• Outdoor pursuits include watersports (sailing, windsurfing), river/canal cruising, angling, hiking, biking and horse-riding
• Celtic culture and traditions, including Lorient’s Festival Interceltique which attracts around 700,000 people
• Rich religious heritage, including elaborate outside carved Calvaries as well as churches and abbeys
• Neolithic monuments – the best examples are at Carnac on the south coast
• On the menu: sumptuous seafood, including mussels, scallops, oysters and fish soup or stew; Brittany is known for its crêpes and galettes, traditionally washed down with a ‘cup’ of cider
Climate
• A clement climate – not too hot in summer and not too cold in winter (snow is rare)
• The Gulf Stream keeps parts of western Brittany warmer than you might expect – the Gulf of Morbihan has its own microclimate and the area around Vannes enjoys up to 2,000 sunshine hours per year, as much as Toulouse in the south of France
• Annual rainfall: 694mm (Rennes); 950mm (Lorient)
• Annual sunshine hours: 1,717 (Rennes); 1,827 (Lorient)
• Average temperature: 7.9/16.4°C (Rennes); 8.2/15.8°C (Lorient)
Access
• By sea: Brittany has two Channel ports, St Malo and Roscoff (UK ferries from Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth and Weymouth) and there are further ports in Normandy and Pas de Calais
• By air: There are various combinations of routes from London Gatwick, Stansted, Birmingham, East Midlands, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Exeter and Southhampton to Rennes, Brest, Dinard and Quimper (also Nantes just over the border in Pays de la Loire).
• By train: TGV stations include Auray, Brest, Dol-de-Bretagne, Guingamp, Lamballe, Landerneau, Lannion, Lorient, Morlaix, Plouaret-Trégor, Quimper, Quimperlé, Redon, Rennes, Rosporden, St-Brieuc, St Malo, Vannes and Vitré
Property
• Wide choice of property, from ‘longères’ (long, single-storey dwellings) to fishing cottages, modern houses to historic châteaux, and ‘chaumières’ (thatched houses) to ‘malouinières’ (manor houses with slate roofs near St Malo). Granite is a typical building material, and half-timbered ‘colombage’ buildings are common. Plenty of farmhouses and agricultural buildings
• Property close to the coast carries a premium
• Average resale house price: €155,000 (national average €163,500)
• Cheapest department is Côtes d’Armor (€130,000), followed by Finistère (€141,800), Morbihan (€174,800) and Ille-et-Vilaine (€180,000)
• Most expensive sectors: Rennes (€192,000), St Malo (€183,00), Lorient (€200,000) and Vannes (€175,000)
• Cheapest sectors: Fougères (€126,300), Guingamp (€80,000), Pontivy (€91,000), Chateaulin (€110,000) and Morlaix (€125,000)
• In 2011-2012, prices fell by 2.9% (increase of 7.7% in 2009-2011, decrease of 9.7% in 2008-2009)
• Ille-et-Vilaine is the only department where prices are still rising (0.4% in 2011-2012)
• Average price of a building plot: €48,500
• Average price of a new apartment: €3,030/m²
• Average price of a resale apartment: €1,980/m²
Property prices: Notaires de France
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