A long, jagged coastline is the region's great attraction.
Magnificient beaches line its northern shore, swept clean by huge tides and interspersed with well-established seaside resorts seasoned fishing ports and abundant oysterbeds.
The south coast is gentler, with wooded river valleys and a milder climate, while the west, being exposed to the Atlantic winds, has a drama that justifies the name "Finistère"
, - the end of the earth.
Inland lies the Argoat - once the land and the forest, now a patchwork of undulating fields, woods and rolling moorland.
Parc Régional d'Armorique occupies much of, central Finistère, and it is in western Brittany that Breton culture remains most evident.
In Quimper, and in the Pays Bigouden, crèpes and cider, traditional costumes and Celtic music are still a genuine part of the Breton lifestyle.
Vannes, Dinan and Rennes, the Breton capital, have well preserved medieval quarters where half-timbered buildings shelter inviting markets, shops, crèperies and restaurants.
The walled port of St-Malo on the Côte d'Emeraude recalls the region's maritime prowess, while the remarkably intact castles at Fougères and Vitré are a reminder of the mighty border-fortresses that protected Brittany's eastern frontier before its final union with France in 1532.
Women dressed in traditionnal costume and "coiffe", the typical Breton lace head-dress.
Big size ( 51 ko )