New and improved impressionist museum.

Founded by Daniel J. Terra in 1992, The Giverny Museum of American Art was for its 16-year existence one of the most active art institutions in the country. Its programme of exhibitions, publications, debates, conferences and countless "in residence" programmes (for historians, artists, etc.) were for the most part dedicated to American Art generally speaking.

The new and improved museum, now turned towards Impressionism, will be opening its doors in 2009 thanks to a partnership with local givernment bodies, the Orsay museum and the Terra Foundation. This new establishment will be mostly centred on the impressionist tradition, starting with a major inaugural exhibition: Monet's Gardens in Giverny: Inventing a Landscape.

The undying myth…

The Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur, Merlin… These names are central to many a myth and storytale.

This unusual institution, the Centre de l'Imaginaire Arthurien, is dedicated to the myth of Arthur at every level, calling attention to any piece in any art form that connects to the mythology of King Arthur. Expect exhibitions, conferences and guided tours…

Discover the monastic life.

The abbey was founded by Herluin, a Norman knight, in 1034 and had a far-reaching intellectual influence in the 11th century, owing mainly to the monks Lanfranc and Saint Anselme.
The present buildings date from the 17th and 18th centuries when they were reconstructed by the Benedictine congregation of Saint-Maur around a vast courtyard adjoining the cloister. The two refectories, the old and the new, are perhaps the abbey's most remarkable rooms. The tall Saint-Nicolas tower dates from the 15th century.
The abbey of Bec-Hellouin was used as military stabling throughout the 19th century and suffered considerable damage. Since 1948, however, it has been home to a community of Olivetan Benedictine monks who have succeeded in restoring much of the abbey's former glory, with the help of the French historic monuments fund, the Caisse des Monuments Historiques et des Sites.

An architectural monument.

Built in 1631 to plans drawn up by architect François Mansart, the Château de Balleroy is part of one of the first town-planning schemes ever executed in France, and that was to inspire Versailles.
In 1975, the first Balloon Museum was founded by Malcolm S. Forbes in one of the former stable buildings.
The 17th century dovecote and the grounds are also not to be missed.

Where the animals are king…

Walking quietly while lemurs run amok in the trees; whispering straight into the ear of a giraffe; sharing a laugh with a family of orang-utans; or feeling the hairs rise on the back of your neck as a family of lions yawn and breathe gruffly…

You aren't dreaming, you've just landed in the local zoo and have yet to realise it.

Fun for the whole family!

Town and sea.

The town's museum, the Seaside Museum, hosts a temporary exhibition every year, either on a theme or dedicated to one artist.

The permanent collections also retrace the history of Bénodet and its relationship with the sea. Nautical pleasure or sailing, those themes are discussed through objects and documents.

From the Middle Ages to the present.

Started in the 12th century and finished only in the 19th, the Saint-Vincent cathedral in Saint-Malo is a patchwork of styles from the different construction periods.
When you step into the building, you will first see a Romanesque nave, which takes you into a Gothic style choir with large windows through which light pours in.

The North transept was enlarged in the 16th century and the South chapel and facade date back to the 18th century. Finally, the spire, which was destroyed during the Second World War, was rebuilt in 1987.

Caesar, its a Julius!

Also known as the Butte de César, the Tumiac Tumulus is, according to tradition, the place where Julius Caesar led the battle in 56 BC. Archaeological digs, which began in the 19th century, have found a closed cellar with engraved walls as well as hundreds of polished axes and approximately three hundred beads and pendants. These finds, which date back to the neolithic period, are a rare historic testimony to the past. Some of the objects are now in the Vannes museum.

Head in the stars...

The Planetarium attracts over 30,000 visitors a year and is one of the fascinating cultural and instructive experiences not to be missed in Nantes.
Identifying the Big Dipper is only part of it; space, the heavens above us and the Milky Way contain infinitely more mysteries.
If you dream of travelling in space and would like to learn more about astronomy by seeing projections of the main constellations, this is the place for you!

Over 5 centuries of the history of ceramics.

The museum is built around the core collection amassed by André Pottier (1799-1867), author of Histoire de la faïence de Rouen.
Established temporarily (1870) in a gallery in the cloister of the former convent of Sainte-Marie, already home to the Antiquities Museum of the Seine-Inférieure, the Ceramics Museum was officially opened on 15 August 1864.
The municipal collection of faïence remained here until February 1888, when it was transferred to the first floor of the new Musée des Beaux-Arts.
In the 1930s, there was talk of setting up a separate Ceramics Museum to offset the lack of space caused by the steady growth of the collections of both paintings and ceramics.

The Hôtel d'Hocqueville, built in 1657 and redecorated in the 18th century, was acquired for the purpose in 1936, but it took another half-century for the project to reach completion.
The collection was finally transferred to the new museum in 1984.

The collection currently contains some 6,000 exhibits, ranging from the simple ceramic tile to monumental busts, two thirds of which were made in Rouen, giving the museum monographic status.
The visitor is offered a full historic and aesthetic overview, beginning with the first production of faïence by Masséot Abaquesne in the mid 16th century, then the second wave which began with Edme Poterat in 1647, flourished in the following century and disappeared at the beginning of the 19th century.

Will you get a good impression?

The Museum of Printing in Nantes owns a permanent collection of 2,000 original prints by national and international artists, all produced on the museum's presses.
The works are available to interested organisations in the form of "turnkey" exhibitions.
They can also be accompanied by educational displays presenting the various printing techniques, equipment and special events.

Visit the Château de Quintin and its permanent collections.

Two chateaux for the price of one in the same park, in the centre of the characterful town of Quintin. An unfinished 17th century chateau, listed as an historic monument, and an 18th century chateau, also listed.
The base of the 17th century chateau, the richly furnished apartments of the 18th century chateau, the former kitchens (including a granite kitchen-garden of extraordinary size), the permanent collections of china, glassware, silverware, trinkets, christening robes and fans are open all year round.

An abbey for men.

The Abbaye aux Hommes in Caen was founded in the 11th century by William the Conqueror and his wife Queen Matilda. The site incorporates several buildings, such as the Saint-Etienne abbey church that was built in different periods (between the 11th and 17th century) and where William the Conqueror is buried.

You can also see the 18th-century convent buildings, which today house Caen’s city hall, as well as the monastic cloisters and guardroom, which is now the municipal council chamber. Situated in the extension of the Abbaye aux Dames (abbey for women), the Abbaye aux Hommes is a key historical site of the Basse-Normandie region.

A commune tied to the sea.

Since as early as the Antiquity, the commune of Morgat has been turned to the sea. At first a mere sardine fishing port, Morgat became a favoured holiday destination in the 19th century, drawing bourgeois city-folk to the coast in search of peace and quiet. The city developed a great deal during this period and numerous bourgeois villas were raised there; the port was slowly transformed into a marina for sea-faring tourists.

Today still the port de Morgat welcomes leisure sailing enthusiasts and tourists by the busload. The fishing harbour has nevertheless maintained its authentic, traditional air and is a great place to get into fishing.

A writer's whole life in this house.

Ernest Renan (1823-1892) was born in a late 16th century/early 17th century half-timbered Breton house. The street front facade is two storeys high and corbelled.
While the author spent only the first fifteen years of his life here, he never parted with the house and continued to spend his holidays here.

The interior has been designed to recreate the presence of Renan as a child, as a teenager and as a famous writer: it contains the room where he was born, with its granite fireplace and box-bed, the schoolboy's room under the eaves with a little desk, and also a reconstitution of Renan's study at the Collège de France.

The biggest forest in the département.

The forest of Ecouves, covering an area of 8,153 hectares, is managed by the French forestry commission, the Office National des Forêts, and is the largest in the département.
The ONF, which manages 27,000 hectares of state-owned forests in the Orne, is charged with preserving France's natural heritage by implemeting multi-functional management of the three main functions assigned to the national forests:
- economic activity, through the production of high quality workable wood;
- A choice of tree species and techniques appropriate to the ecological conditions (climate, soil, etc.);
- Sustainable game management;
- Recreational functions including:
- public amenity areas;
- environmental education in schools and for the general public;
- Opening of footpaths;
- An environmental function: with a programme of campaigns aimed at the conservation and/or rehabilitation of habitats and species of special heritage interest.

Beach babes and culture-vultures.

The Trouville museum, set up in the Villa Montebello, will tell you all about the history of this historic beach resort.

Ethnographic artefacts, along with rich art collections, retrace the history of this fascinating commune from different perspectives to give you a rounded view.

The museum's other halls are more focused, with for example a display space dedicated to Raymond Savignac and another to the André Hambourg collection. One of the galleries, on the dock of the harbour, hosts temporary exhibitions throughout the year.

Discovering the Cotentin.

Where the département of the Manche meets the Calvados, on the "threshold of the Cotentin", the Parc Naturel Régional des Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin is made up of 27,000 hectares of marshland and polders set in a landscape of traditional bocage woodland and rolling meadows (90,000 hectares). Pastureland and hay-meadows, crisscrossed by ditches and dotted with the occasional peat-bog, are the distinctive features of this wetland area that opens out onto the Baie des Veys. With the advent of the winter floods, the marsh turns "white" as the Cotentin peninsula comes into its own.
Less extensive areas of moorlands, woods and forest plus the coastline add diversity to the landscape.

An important collection.

Established as a result of legacies from the collections of Count Jean-Marie de Silguy, Quimper’s Musée des Beaux-Arts has progressively been enhanced by various donations, legacies, deposits and acquisitions. Today it has one of the most important collections in Brittany. Paintings from the Northern European, Italian, Spanish and French schools rub shoulders, complement each other and correspond to the flow of the exhibition through its rooms. Furthermore, the museum houses a huge collection of drawings and prints, displayed on a rota basis in two rooms of the exhibition.

Contemporary art with a modern feel.

Within its outer walls, thanks to the diversity of backdrops available, the chateau offers a splendid setting for this first series of five sculptures, three modern and two contemporary, launching this ambitious project: Rodin's Walking Man on a Column, Bourdelle's Grand Guerrier (the warrior), Giacometto's Grande Femme (tall woman), Sans Titre (untitled) by Damien Cabanes (1999), coloured resin, and One Man, Nine Animals.

The exhibition is an invitation to discovery and surprise, open to all walkers and visitors.

A 19th century church and later works.

Built to the plans of the architect Toutain, the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours church was built in the second half of the 19th century, in 1883. This large building is surprising in its proportions and appearance. Behind a tall narrow facade, lies a church that is bathed in light.

Inside, do not miss the works of religious art which are shown there, such as the Flagellation tapestry, from the 15th century, and the wrought iron candle holder from the same period.

From tradition to technology.

This educational centre covering over 5,000m² retraces the development of a traditional rural trade that over time has grown into a powerful industry using the latest technology. Above all, it is a unique testimony to the changes that have overtaken the rural world in just under two centuries. Milk production has gone from being a craft to becoming a cutting-edge business that is at the forefront of French industry.

The tour gradually introduces the visitor to changes in the world of dairy farming as the tour progresses. In the course of the two-hour tour, you are guided through a world of beauty and light to an understanding of why France is the home of cheese. You will understand the enthusiasm of these men and women who love the business of cheese-making, and watch the tools of the trade being used by skilful hands, their unique knowhow jealously guarded.

Everything there is to know about Cholet textiles.

For some fifteen years, the factory was used as a store-house by various companies before it was acquired by the Cholet town council as a home for the planned Cholet Textile Museum.

Its remarkable architecture and functional design make this former factory an ideal setting for a museum dedicated to the industrial activities that made the town famous for several centuries.

Learn all about: textile fibres, spinning, the knowhow and history of Cholet textiles - a vital element of industrial heritage, a textile garden, demonstrations of weaving, etc.

Temporary exhibitions, lecture-visits, a programme of varied events and a museum shop offering a wide choice of textile products.

Dinner's practically ready.

La Charmille is a charming introduction to authentic organic farm produce.
The farmers will give you a warm welcome and advise you on local products.
Discover delicious organic vegetables, charcuterie, cider and homemade jams, cheese, dairy products, apples and pears and honey.

An open history-book...

Situated in the centre of the Orne département, a stone's throw from the forest of Ecouves, Sées has been an episcopal town city since the 5th century and has managed over the centuries to retain all the charm of a small town while gradually acquiring the essential facilities of everyday life.
Any visitor who enjoys characterful towns will appreciate the simple pleasure of exploring the historic, craft and gastronomic legacy of this administrative centre of 5,000 souls living around their cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic art bearing witness to a long history of some considerable interest.

To explore Sées is, above all, to open up a precious history book to be deciphered street by street, monument by monument, with an epilogue that gives pride of place to local craftsmanship.
The Tourist Office organises guided tours of the episcopal city and its cathedral, by appointment only and for groups.

In the land of the irreducible Gauls.

The Park extends from the confines of the Côtes-d'Armor in the east to the Molène and Ouessant archipelago in the west.
There are two main components of the Park: one, land-based, covers the Monts d'Arrée massif. The other looks to the sea and encompasses the Ria de l'Aulne and the Crozon peninsula which separates the waters off Brest from the bay of Douarnenez.
The isles of Sein, to the south off Cap Sizun, and the Molène-Ouessant peninsula to the north, mark the western confines of the Park.

Time-honoured knowhow.

The workshop exists to safeguard the knowhow handed down by the lace-makers of Bayeux from the 17th century.
The Conservatoire, a place to learn and perfect lace-making skills, keeps alive the technique of bobbin lace making.
Year-round exhibition, events and articles for sale.

Unusual animals

The Bird Garden: from quails to ostriches, parrots and vultures, more than 600 birds are the stars of this park.
Don't miss the largest African aviary in France, with marabous and pelicans.

Spaycific'Zoo: an indoor, heated zoo with some rare animals: hairy armadillos, flying squirrels, snails, soft-shelled tortoises and stick insects.
The zoo has a surprising diversity of animals and some original features, including the nocturnal area.
Both the bird garden and the zoo have fun explanations for children, activities and animal feeding sessions.

An elegant city hall…

The Trouville City Hall is a Louis XIII-style building that dominates the skyline in Trouville-sur-Mer. As you explore this historic beach resort, be sure to stop and admire this stunning edifice with its sober, elegant lines and red brick facades. It was designed by architects Paul and Laurent Farge.

The facade also includes one of the most original circular foreparts you will ever see, giving an unusual character to a building that is all angles and planes.

Free artwork on the roadside.

This statue, signed Vincent Treu, was commissioned in 2005 as part of a large-scale landscaping project in the city. It is an original piece set up at the centre of the Bocage roundabout, designed on the spot. It is a contemporary piece made from stainless steel tubes reaching skywards. The central themes are space and how we live in relation to it.

Cultural outing.

La Cohue is an ancient mediaeval hall of imposing dimensions in which the museum displays its well-stocked collection of paintings.
These collections, further enriched by a number of works on loan, take the visitor on a journey that is both familiar yet constantly renewed.

Light in the landscape, that ceaseless quest of the artist, is the common theme of 19th and 20th century painting.
Figurative salon landscapes and abstract compositions hang side by side and speak visually to one another, reaffirming a continuity of inspiration.

In the 19th century, painters began experimenting with outdoor painting.
Little by little, light begins to dissolve the subject and lead towards abstraction.
This progress towards modernity can be traced through the works of Elodie La Villette, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet, Jean Le Moal and Geneviève Asse.

Evidence of seventeenth-century architecture.

The Royal Parliament of Brittany instigated by King Henry II in 1554 was initially held in a convent whilst construction work began on a special building.

Part of the structure designed by Salomon de Brosses, Marie de Medici's architect, in 1617 can still be seen today. The Parliament has been greatly restored following severe fire damage in 1994, but remains a fine example of seventeenth-century architecture.

Plus each room displays high-quality paintings and frescos.

One of the finest Gothic churches in Normandy.

The cathedral of Sées is one of the finest 13th-14th century Gothic buildings to be found in Normandy.
Its 70m high spires are visible from over 10km around.

Worth visiting:
Outside: the central and lateral portals;
Inside: the fine "Romanesque" main altar dates from the period of Louis XVI and is the work of Brousseau;
The organ is a 1743 Parisot, transformed into a Cavaillé-Coll in 1883 and restored in 1972.

Remodelled over the centuries.

The church of La Trinité was built in 1070 and much remodelled over the centuries.
Its architecture is distinctly mixed, and a visit reveals the different phases of its successive transformations and the splendour of its furnishings.

Open your eyes and enjoy the trip!

The visit will transport you to the shores of South Africa in company with the Cape penguins, or under the seas for an imaginary journey on our ancient submarine, the "Gulf Stream", for a close-up look at the sea turtles.
Or you could take a stroll in the direction of Bora Bora to admire its multi-coloured fish. No need to take the plane to Australia to enjoy a unique experience with the sharks, either.
Why not stop by and visit all these destinations and many more?

Relaxation and sports.

The gardens are an ideal setting for relaxing, strolling and playing sports.
Against their splendid natural background, take advantage of the mini-golf, the exercise circuit, the BMX track, playgrounds and picnic spots.

An ode to the world of dance…

"My plan is to create a wholly new kind of national choreography centre. The idea is to take the materials, principles and hard work that are inherent in dance culture, to put them in a box and shake the whole thing up. The context or framework of this centre will be fun and somewhat archaic, a dusty place that commands respect, a "museum" unlike any other.

(…)This museum aims to be an introduction, an apéritif to the main course of dance history and culture. The museum will not be exclusively dedicated to choreographic arts; the objective is not to create a list or canon of dance practises throughout the world. Rather, it is meant as an appetizer, to stimulate curiosity and interest."

Boris Charmatz, extract from the "Manifesto for a National Choreographic Centre", 2008.

An architectural marvel.

After passing through Plancoët and describing a series of pleasing meanders at Saint-Lormel, the river Arguenon runs into the Channel at Port du Guildo, in the commune of Créhen.
This estuary is overlooked by the ruins of the old castle, known as the castle of Gilles de Bretagne.
There are a number of megaliths in the area and in a covered alley you will find what is undoubtedly the largest dolmen in the east of the département.
The alley, some 13 metres in length, is covered by five flat stones.
The castle must have been built over a fairly extended period.
From the preseent appearance of the ruins, it is likely that certain parts date from the 13th century.
The castle reached its present general form at the end of the 14th century or in the early 15th century.

Shortbread treats.

Created in 1904 by Charles Bansard, Asnelles shortbread continues to perfume the air of the town to this day. The factory also produces other shortbread cakes as well as cookies and financiers (almond cakes), still using traditional craftsman's methods. Visits (by appointment) explain the manufacturing process and production line.

A green monument.

The public park in Bayeux is a 2.6 hectare landscaped site created in 1859 by Eugène Bülher. Of the 400 trees in the park, the most spectacular is undoubtedly the famous "weeping beech", listed as a natural monument in 1932 and designated an "arbre remarquable de France" (a tree of special interest) in 2001.
The park is an integral part of Bayeux's heritage, with a signposted walk and information points providing the keys to an understanding of the gardens and the main plant species found there.

Quiberon stories…

The ground floor of the Maison du Patrimoine, or "Heritage Centre", is dedicated to the history and prehistory of the Quiberon peninsula, and Quiberon during the Second World War. There are of course other displays, including "Quiberon Folk 200 Years Ago", "The 1833 Land Survey" and "Bretons in Quiberon".

The first floor of the museum will teach you all there is to know about regional traditional cuisine thanks to reconstituted scenes from 1900-era lifestyle and period costumes. The second floor deals with "Maritime Professions" and the history of shipwrecks and maritime culture from the early 20th century.

A small historical building.

Although this small chapel is sometimes called Sainte-Anne chapel, is it consecrated to Saint Julien.
It is at the historical centre of the small village of Pouliguen. Listed in the Inventory of Historical Monuments, it was built in the 15th century and has simple, sober lines. Inside, several highly interesting works of art can be seen, such as painted statues or votives.

An unmissable museum in the region.

Situated in the centre of Caen Castle, built by William the Conqueror, the Musée des Beaux-Arts is housed in a decidedly contemporary building.
The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen is reckoned to be one of the most important museums in France in terms of European painting from the 16th and 17th centuries (from France, Italy, Flanders and Holland). Its collection of engravings is also something not to be missed.

Free admission to the permanent collections gives a wider public the opportunity to explore the wealth of its collections.
The museum puts on a dozen temporary exhibitions every year, alternating between classical, modern and contemporary art and painting, drawings, prints and photographs.

An exemplary architecture.

The currentSaint-Gilles church replaces a previous building by Gilles de Retz in the 15th century.
On 22 January 1852, the town of Pornic decided to replace this church with a new building. Work began on it in 1864 and ended in 1875. The new Neo-Romanesque church has sober lines and rich decoration, particularly the sculpted door which represents the legend of saint Gilles, the patron saint of the church.

Retrace the history of art.

Like most of France's museums, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes dates from the Revolution. Founded in 1794 with works confiscated from the town's religious and civil buildings, the museum nonetheless owes the bulk of its collections to the magnificent "cabinet of curiosities" of Christophe-Paul de Robien (1698-1756), President of the Breton Parliament.
From La Femme entre les deux âges (16th century) by Saint-Luc de Heemskerck to contemporary art, the museum also houses an Egyptian archaeological collection (bronzes, ceramics, etc.), an exceptional collection of drawings, and a collection of engravings.

The contemporary art collection focuses on two main areas: artists with Breton roots, such as the Affichistes, and the various currents in abstract art from Sam Francis to Aurélie Nemours.

Gentleman burglar.

The Clos Arsène Lupin, which opened to the public in Etretat in 1999, recounts the life and memory of Maurice Leblanc, creator of the famous Arsène Lupin.
The visit is divided into 7 stages to create an original, entertaining adventure in the footsteps of the most famous and most charming of burglars.

Developing tourism.

In 1879 the village of Pornichet was blessed with a newly-established railway station. This would lead to an unprecedented boom in the tourism industry. This little commune, built on a healthy salt trade, would from the 19th century onwards become one of the most popular holiday destinations in the country. Sea-bathing, for one, contributed to making Pornichet an ever-growing beach resort. The train station is notable for its architecture, similar to that of Pouliguen and Croisic.

A history of names.

Between 1224 and 1428, the commune was known variously as: Trévenech, Trévenoc, Trévenec and finally Trévéneuc.
It takes its name from Saint-Guthénoc, otherwise spelt as: Guezenec, Guennec, Venec, Veneuc, Venoc.
This name in turn comes from the jeu du crapaud, the toad in the hole game, no doubt made from wood and painted red.
The game involved pitching a two-sou coin into a slot, the mouth of the toad. The first player to succeed would win all the other coins that missed the target. The inhabitants of Tréveneuc were apparently much given to playing this game, hence their nickname of the "red toads".

Main places of interest to visit:
church of Saint-Colomban: traces of an original 14th century building remain in the south wall of the present church;
Château de Pommorio: dating from the 18th century, aligned with the church of Saint-Colomban, surrounded by gardens gradually recovering from the ravages of the great storm of 1987 ;
Le Palus: the "Palus" foreshore takes its name from the Breton word "Palud", meaning marsh". The line of pebbles washed up by the sea prevents the stream from flowing normally, creating a marshy area where reeds grow;
Port-Goret: the name is Breton in origin: Gored means "a fishery with a dam". The remains of the dam can still be seen on the foreshore now known as "Port-Goret".

The church that has replaced the castle.

The Saint-Hilaire church is said to have been built on the ruins of the Olonnes castle, which lent its name to the town, although no trace of this building remains.
In addition, no documents allow us to date the building of this church, which was considerably modified during the 18th century. The church was damaged during the French Revolution and was once again restored in the 19th century.