Half-timbered houses in the Breton village of Josselin
We travel inside the french brittany in search of medieval villages, forests of legends and fairy tale castles and we find, in addition to all that, boats and electric bicycles, Breton colas and updated gastronomy that has not lost a bit of the identity that both define this northwestern region of France.
FIRST STOP: RENNES
The mere existence of the Parliament of Brittany, located in its capital, Rennes, gives an idea of the political and cultural importance of this region in French history.
Today, converted into the seat of the High Court of Justice of Brittany, It is striking how, while you become enthralled with the wooden coffered ceilings and statues of justice from the room of the Attorneys, known as the room of the lost steps, on the other side of the door, outside, the contemporary attorneys and lawyers continue 'losing their steps' while waiting for the judicial resolutions.
Four years of restoration were necessary to bring this 17th century building back to life after the roof structure gave way after a devastating fire started by a social protest in the year 1994.
This is how the Breton sailors spend it when the price of fish comes up. A strong and rooted local character present, as well as in the Breton language, in that celtic dna arrived from the south-west of Great Britain during the great waves of immigration of the 5th and 6th centuries.
Chamber of the Parliamentarians in Rennes, designed by Charles Errard, painter to Louis XIV.
In the Council of the Great House, which was the office of the first speakers of parliament, your neck will ache from looking up so much to see every little detail of the caisson (or coffered ceiling) adorned with French-style canvases Inspired by the Italian Renaissance.
The only roof that remained almost intact after the fire was that of the Chamber of Parliamentarians. The set of the room was designed by Charles Errard, painter to Louis XIV and author of the decoration of the first Versailles, whose trace was gradually erased in France by the arrival of new decorative styles.
Not so in the Breton Parliament, which is why the Great Chamber is considered an ornamental oddity, even though Napoleon filled all the walls with his gigantic 'N' and the symbolic bees of him.
Maison Ti-Koz, 16th century, in Rennes: half-timbered and cantilevered with three superimposed floors.
Other points of interest in Rennes are its cathedral, which began to be built in the Renaissance style and ended up being neoclassical, and its Portes Mordelaises, the remains of the 15th century fortification that surrounded the city and that are about to be restored.
More than 280 half-timbered houses decorate the lively streets of Rennes with their different shades.
These types of medieval buildings that lasted until the Renaissance (with changes in structure and ornamentation) are today a refuge for university students, who live in their tiny apartments and drink in the breweries and bars that house their ground floor.
One of the most striking in the old town of Rennes is the so-called Ti coz ('old house' in Breton). Built for the canons of the nearby cathedral, it dates from the first quarter of the 16th century and its peculiarity lies in its structure of two houses in one.
Today at the Ti coz house, at number 3 Rue Saint-Guillaume, there is a well-known nightclub which is called El Teatro, but through its stained-glass windows, the guests of the inn that it used to be and the diners of the Michelin-starred restaurant that occupied it and of the later creperie that it became later also watched.
The villages of French Brittany look like something out of a fairy tale...
'THE' STREET OF RENNES
The Rue du Chapitre is one of the most important arteries of the city. Here, delicatessens such as La fine épicerie coexist with art galleries such as Eleven and alternative boutiques such as Grammage, whose vintage aesthetics range from sailor-patterned swim trunks to brass mugs, going through t-shirts with ancient legends of the Breton soccer team.
There is also a very special place to try the quintessential Breton dish: the crêpes (galette, in its savory version made with buckwheat) .
Every crêpe at Crêperie Saint Georges has George's name on it: a Georges Braque (with brie, grapes and fig jam), a Georges-de-la-Tour (with honey and goat cheese) or a Giorgio Armani (with potatoes, duck breast and fleur de sel) . Breton rule dictates that you eat a galette first and then a crêpe, but you may need Celtic DNA to meet such a culinary challenge.
Crêperie Saint Georges, in Rennes, where each Crêpe bears George's name.
SECOND STOP: JOSSELIN
Walking and exploring the medieval quarter of Sainte-Croix, sprung up around the Château de Josselin, is a real treat for the senses. Their half-timbered houses of colors will make you live a visual overstimulation.
Their artisan pastries They will make you salivate with two of the most typical Breton desserts: their Palets Bretons (butter cookies) and their kouign-amann (butter tarts).
One of the best is Biscuiterie Merlin , where "100% artisan 100% Breton" Philippe Danet tops the gâteau breton (Breton cakes) with either a white sugar icing or a lemon yellow icing.
You will feel the Breton gastronomic traditions in the restaurant La Table d'O , with stunning views of the castle and the Oust valley from your table. On its weekend menu you will find everything from spiced beef fillet, vegetable curry and grenailles potatoes to a crispy mi-cuit galette of foie gras with honey and onion fondue.
Colored meringues, Breton gâteau with white icing and kouign-amann, at Biscuiterie Merlin (Josselin).
You will be surrounded by the sound of nature when navigate by electric boat on the canal from Nantes to Brest that Napoleon built in order to transport goods and food through the interior of France. Ti War An Dour, which has two houseboats on the banks of the canal, is the company that is in charge of renting them, as well as the electric bicycles with which to get carried away along the banks of the Oust River.
The most common view of Josselin Castle, in the Flamboyant Gothic style, is taken from the water, as it looks doubly imposing as its towers are reflected in the dark water of the canal. I, however, prefer to take the photograph from top of the tower of Basilica of Notre Dame du Roncier to get a different perspective, but also as testimonial proof that I was able to climb its 140 steps.
Josselin Castle from the top of the cathedral tower.
THIRD STOP: ROCHEFORT-EN-TERRE
France has a total of 117 protected municipalities that carry the label of "Small town with character". Well, out of all of them, Rochefort-en-Terre has been chosen this year as the most beautiful in the country by the French due to its many particularities: its castle, its cobbled streets, its typical architecture of stone houses, its flowers and vegetation and its craftsmen's workshops.
At Artisanat d'Art Creations Originales they sell paintings called écoliers in which they create an artistic composition with photographs and old documents accompanied by several fountain pen tips and a text written in ink with them.
At Madame Chamotte there are soaps, perfumes and wind chimes. L'Orée du Bois makes handcrafted wooden toys. In Le Puits des Gourmandises there is a queue to buy the best kouign-amann in Brittany. And the lamps that Romuald creates in L'Ardoiserie have even appeared in a French television program.
Nougats in Rochefort-en-Terre, in French Brittany, are shaped like giant cheese.
In L'Art Gourmandl he specialty is sweets with chocolate and, door to door, on the same Rue du Château, another pastry shop surprises with its enormous handmade nougat shaped like giant cheeses.
For its part, the classic gastronomy and extremely authentic atmosphere from the restaurant The Pelican –including the open fireplace that occupies half the wall of the premises– will help you integrate into the medieval spirit of the town.
It doesn't matter how many sweets or galettes you eat in Brittany, after a meal is always accompanied by an idyllic walk to the top of a castle. the of Rochefort-en-Terre was restored at the beginning of the 20th century by the American painter Alfred Klots, who bought it in ruins and brought it back to life.
The idyllic town of Rochefort-en-Terre, chosen as the most beautiful in France by the French.
WHERE TO SLEEP
**- Le Relais de Brocéliande: ** a three-star hotel with 24 spacious rooms, located in the historic city of Paimpont, in the heart of the Brocéliande forest. Built with local stone, it boasts a spa, but above all a restaurant, since its chef practices contemporary Breton cuisine based on seasonal ingredients. At breakfast, in addition to the typical butter sweets, you will find fruit jams, honey and salted butter caramel made by regional producers.
- Hotel Royal Arthur: On the edge of the Brocéliande forest, this four-star hotel is located next to the Lac au Duc lake and has a golf course and a spa with a water area and relaxing beauty treatments. your restaurant, Les Chevaliers , uses regional and organic products, such as the delicious oysters included in its menu. It is worth getting lost for a while along its beautiful path of hydrangeas.
- ** Ti War An Dour :** two houseboats on the banks of the canal Nice to Brest with all the comforts of an apartment. They are ecological and respect the environment and each have capacity for four people.
Ti War An Dour: two houseboats on the banks of the Nantes-Brest canal in Brittany.
HOW TO GET
Two direct routes to the region of Brittany have the Iberia Express company, which has a digital inflight entertainment system with which you can access all the multimedia content posted on your Club Express Onboard from your mobile or tablet.
The first route is to the city of Rennes, which operates on Thursdays and Sundays, with departures from Madrid at 11:00 a.m. on Thursdays or 11:25 a.m. on Sundays s, and from Rennes Saint Jacques airport at 1:10 p.m. on Thursdays or 1:35 p.m. on Sundays (from 39 euros each way) .
To the city of Nantes, Iberia Express operates a total of four weekly frequencies: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. At 6:30 p.m. on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays and at 7:25 a.m. on Wednesdays from Madrid, and from Nantes Atlantique airport, at 8:30 p.m. on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays or 9:30 a.m. on Wednesdays (from 29 euros each way).
Of the 117 'Little Villas with Character in France', the most beautiful this year is Rochefort-en-Terre.