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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Brest»
Oceanopolis
Aquarium in Brest shows the
diversity of the world’s
oceans in its 42 different
aquariums of various sizes (ranging
from 50,000 to 1 million litres).
The Aquarium is divided into 3
climatic zones – polar,
temperate and tropical for
over 10,000 creatures representing
more than 1,000 species. There are
exhibitions of fish and flora with
explanations of how ocean
temperatures are regulated, and
more. Closed on Mondays. Adults
16.5€ and Children 11€.
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22nd – 27th February
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Quimper»
The Breton cathedral town of
Quimper holds an annual
winter festival comprising a
variety of concerts – see
http://www.hivernautes.com
Tickets costs vary.
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May
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near St Quay Portrieux
»
The annual Cotes d’Armor
Scallop Festival takes place this
year in St Quay Portrieux.
Visitors can expect the opportunity
to sample gourmet seafood, go on
fishing trips, watch fish catches
being unloaded and see the fish
auction.
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9th May
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Mont St Michel »
Departing from Cancale at
9am, this popular marathon attracts
some 5,000 runners. The route is
reasonably flat and takes
participants through magnificent
countryside finishing at the foot
of the Mount.
If you can’t manage the
marathon, there is a 10km race
around St Malo’s
old ramparts starting at 9am.
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16th May
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Treguier»
Pardons are ancient religious
festivals held annually throughout
Brittany to honour the local patron
saint. Treguier in
May is one of Brittany’s
largest, with an enormous church
mass and ten thousand pilgrims in
procession through the streets.
Dressed in black, red and ermine
and carrying yellow and gold flags,
they honour St-Yves, the patron
saint of lawyers.
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13th – 16th May
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Binic»
Four days in May of concerts,
traditional music and food market,
celebrating the local fishing
industry – particularly cod.
Picturesque boats, fishermen
sharing their knowledge of the sea
and a variety of special cod dishes
to try.
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20th – 23rd May
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near St-Brieuc
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The Art Rock Festival combines
contemporary music with performance
arts over a varied programme that
includes international names and
established artists. See
http://www.artrock.org
for details.
St-Brieuc has
good shopping and some attractive,
well preserved streets, although
the city is mostly post-war.
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5th – 10th July
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Rennes »
Each evening during this annual
event, musicians, poets and
storytellers abound throughout the
town. To add to the enjoyment,
there are light and sound shows and
restaurants participate with
special dishes for the event. Les
Tombees
de la Nuit is free
and visitors simply stroll from one
performance to another.
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11th July
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Locronan
»
A pardon is a religious
festival held once a year to honour
the local patron saint. Sometimes,
it involves just the small village
church; for others, it involves the
whole parish and many churches.
There is usually a procession with
the priests at the head and all the
pilgrims following, singing, and
carrying the colourful banners of
their churches. These have been
taking place since the middle ages
and before in Brittany.
The Petite Troménie
in Locronan is
one of the oldest and largest
pardons in Brittany.
Pilgrims in costume carrying gold
brocaded silk banners and singing
Breton songs begin the procession
from Locronan
church, and go through the
countryside to a sacred forest
clearing, Le Nemeton. This
natural temple in the middle of the
forest was a pagan site of worship
for centuries, dedicated to nature
and fertility.
The procession goes to 12
different sites throughout the
forest and ends at Locranon
Mountain.
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15th –
18th July
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Carhaix
»
This is France’s largest
music festival, now attracting big
names in the music industry and
more than 200,000 festival-goers
every year. This year’s
line-up includes Bruce Springsteen
and Lily Allen.
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17th –
25th July
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Quimper »
This year is the 86th Festival de
Cornouaille
in
Quimper, Brittany's
biggest celebration of Breton
culture. Participants wear
traditional Breton costumes called
‘guises’ of which there
are 66 different kinds. The event
comprises concerts, street parades
and street musicians all of whom
bring the beautiful medieval city
of
Quimper to life
The first festival took place in
1922 to celebrate the Breton way of
life,
Quimper being the
capital of the duchy of Cornouaille.
Today, spectators can enjoy music
and dance performances all day long
in the area around the cathedral
plus a plethora of celebrations in
the medieval streets, on the
quayside and by the 16th
century bishop’s palace. Each
evening, Fest Noz concerts
continue late into the night.
The festival brings together Breton
traditions and modern creativity,
and attracts a diverse range of
talented performers
The street events are free, start
at 10am and finish at 7pm and
include special children’s
shows. Concerts and evening events
are ticketed.
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25th July
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Brittany holiday accommodation near
Gourin
Festival of dancing, concerts,
games, exhibitions of crafts and
rural traditions plus, of course, a
competition for the largest
pancake.
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July –Aug
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Brittany holiday accommodation near
Vannes
In the summer, Vannes is the venue
for an open-air festival of jazz
held under the town’s lime
trees within the port ramparts. A
jazz parade is held on the first
evening and streets and bars come
alive at night as famous musicians
gather to hold friendly jam
sessions.
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6th – 8th August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near the Crozon
Peninsula »
Annual African music festival in
the beautiful Crozon
Peninsula setting featuring an
impressive line-up of international
artists.
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6th – 15th August
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Brittany holiday accommodation near
Lorient
Lorient’s annual Celtic arts
festival with participants not just
from Brittany but Ireland,
Scotland, Wales, Asturias, Galicia,
the Isle of Man and event Celtic
contingents from Canada and
Australia.
In addition to musicians (including
traditional, classical, folk, rock
and jazz), visitors can enjoy
dancers, painters, sculptors,
writers and film-makers. There
is also a range of
competitions, including the Breton
Bagpipe Championship and one of the
highlights is a traditional Breton
Fest Noz, a
night of dance and music. You will
hear all the Celtic languages being
spoken and can sample delicious
Breton cuisine
This event is important for
cultural exchange and economic
co-operation as well as being a
huge celebration of Celtic culture.
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7th – 8th August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Perros
Guirec
»
A wonderful 2 day festival of
Celtic music which brings together
500 groups from Ireland, Scotland,
Wales, Brittany, Galicia and
Asturias. The concerts are open air
and take place in the town centre
and Les Jardins de la
Capitainerie.
There are performances by Breton
and Celtic bands and individuals,
plus invited musicians from outside
the Celtic world.
Breton catering includes mussels,
brochettes, beer and cider.
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10th –
15th August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Plomodiern
»
Annual folk festival with folk
dancing, concerts and painting in
the pretty seaside town of Plomodiern.
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13th – 15th August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near St Malo
»
Major summer music festival with
some 30 bands playing in 3 St Malo venues
– the beach, the Casino and
Fort de St-Pere.
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14th August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Brest »
Flea market held in the streets by
Les Halles
Saint-Louis on the second Saturday
every month.
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14th – 22nd August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Guingamp
»
Breton folk dance festival and
National Breton Dance Championship.
There are daily folk dance
performances, various concerts and
a traditional Fest Noz.
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15th – 16th August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Perros
Guirec
»
This long-celebrated pardon begins
with a torch-lit procession on the
evening of 15th August
to the chapel known as ‘Our
Lady of the Light.’ It was
the lights of this chapel that
guided sailors on a sinking boat
back into shore.
The following day sees mass in the
morning and a procession in the
afternoon – villagers carry
small boats to the chapel to be
blessed.
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20th – 22nd August
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Brittany holiday accommodation near
Concarneau
Concarneau’s
annual festival celebrating the
traditional costume, music, dance
and cuisine of this part of
Brittany.
The first festival was held in 1905
to bring cheer to Concarneau’s
sardine fishermen and their
families following a downturn in
the industry the previous year.
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21st – 22nd August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Roscoff
»
Festival to celebrate the red onion
with a market, concerts and
procession.
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14th July – 25th Aug
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Brest »
Every Thursday evening from 7.30pm
in the summer, the city of Brest
invites locals and visitors to a
colourful carnival in the Port de
Commerce, where music and good food
are served. There are activities
for all the family and local
delicacies can be sampled from one
of the many stalls that are set up
for the occasion.
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21st – 28th August
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Douarnenez
»
The week long Festival du Cinema de
Douarnenez
draws some 22,000 visitors to the
town with screenings, discussions,
exhibitions, literary gatherings
and concerts. This year, the
32nd Festival has a
focus on ‘Les Peuples du
Caucase.’
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Plonevez-Porzay
One of the oldest and largest of
Brittany’s pardons. Open-air
mass takes place on the sand dunes
followed by a procession over the
dunes. Pilgrims wear traditional
Breton costumes, and carry ancient
Breton crosses and decorated
banners from their parish churches.
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First weekend
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Dinan
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Traditional boat rally up the River
Rance
to the port of Dinan with
parades, street festivities, food
and song.
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Rennes »
A superb event for horse-lovers,
with more than 700 horses. The
event includes show-jumping,
displays, rides and retail.
It is held at La Pevalaye
Sports Centre, opening hours are
9am to 6pm and entrance is free.
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7th –
10th October
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Dinard
»
Annal
event screening top
English-language films and the
event includes a number of awards.
Head to the main square for the
opening screen – as this is
open-air, don’t forget to
take chairs with you!
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Lanvellec
Three of Lanvellec’s
churches host a series of Baroque
concerts. The town’s festival
is on at the same time with its
food market, processions and
artisan demonstrations.
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near St-Briac
For Christmas shopping with a
difference, visit St-Briac’s
craft fair where you can see
artisans such as potters and
wood-turners at work and purchase
their goods.
You can also enjoy Breton foodstalls
selling traditional and local
produce such as cheese and cakes,
and street musicians and
performers.
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Brest »
Some 250 short films by film-makers
across Europe screened at Le
Quartz, Brest.
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Rennes »
Well known French musical festival
with a large line-up of both
established and new artists.
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Ploermel
Ploermel’s
Christmas preparations include
their traditional Christmas market.
Located in the town centre, it
includes hand-made toys and lots of
present ideas.
You can also browse the foodstalls
with their cakes, bread, cheese and
more.
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Peillac
This delightful festival is devoted
to children who can enjoy Christmas
tales and fairy stories read and
performed by actors and musicians
in traditional costumes.
Starting right at the beginning of
December, the festival closes at
Epiphany with a special huge gallette des
rois
made by Peillac’s
bakers. Gallette des
rois is
a special almond tart containing a
tiny figurine called a ‘feve.’
If you have the slice containing
the feve, you
become king or queen of the family
and wear a paper crown for the day.
The festival’s unusual name
comes from the Christmas tradition
of putting oranges or coal in
stockings. Oranges would show that
the person had been good during the
previous year but the quantity of
coal received reflected how badly
they had behaved. Nowadays, the
Mayor of Peillac
donates a ton of oranges to show
how good the inhabitants are.
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Brittany holiday accommodation
near Perros
Guirec
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Midwinter watersports
competition – not for the
faint-hearted!
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WITH EVENT ORGANISERS BEFORE MAKING YOUR
HOLIDAY AND TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS
Copyright: Holiday France Direct 2010
