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Finistere, Brittany

Office de Tourisme de Fouesnant
Une coiffe bretonne
Water, earth, wind, and the fire of Brittany's mythical lighthouses... The elements are drawn together in Finistère, touches of colour in stunning landscapes you won't soon forget. This patchwork of pays, the lands of Trégor, Léon, Iroise and Cornouaille, is a land devoted to the ocean and to Celtic tradition.
Looking for cultural sites? Explore the fortified city of Concarneau, Saint-Corentin cathedral in Quimper (perhaps the finest example of Gothic Breton architecture), and the picture-perfect city of Morlaix.
Looking to explore local gastronomy? Finistère has some of the best oysters while local lobster is excellent and Plougastel produces sweet, juicy strawberries. Brittany's own distinctive beverages (cider, chouchen - a kind of mead - and pommeau, an apple-based distilled wine) are definitely worth the potential morning headache.…
The story of Quimper is in a sense the story of the Finstère as a whole. Founded by Gradlon, King of Cornouaille in the 11th century, the town was originally named "Quimper Corentin" after its very first priest.
During the French Revolution the town itself was constrained to the limits of the cathedral.
For one day in 1940, Quimper became the capital of France. Around this time the developmend of food and ceramic industries boosted the economy. Ceramic arts, faïencerie, appeared in the 17th century but it is only in the 19th that expanded significantly. To this day the town produces world-famous hand-painted earthenware.
Quimper and the surrounding towns of Penhars, Kerfeunteun, Ergué-Armel and Elliant join together to form "Le Grand Quimper".
The Finistère is coastal land, bound to the sea, where maritime and religious traditions blend into a single, local culture. Ancient rites of worship survive even today, such as the blessing of fishermen, pardons and troménies (a procession in the name of a saint). Each one of these religious events is an opportunity to witness locals wearing traditional religious garb and to experience spiritual music and folk songs.

A number of secular festivals celebrate the ocean, such as the "Fête des Filets" (the Net Festival) in Concarneau. More modern, the "festival de Cornouailles" (Cornouailles Festival) is a large and very popular music festival in the area.
You're in a restaurant in Finistère - that means its time for oysters and seafood for starters, a "kig ha farz" (meat and vegetables covered with a doughy paste) and a light, buttered crêpe. "Kouig amann", coffee or butter-flavoured macaroons, almond galettes, Roi Gradlon chocolate and Coiffe de Bretagne... Local sweets and pastries come by the dozen and are simply divine.

If you're after strictly local specialties, there are the galettes from Pont-Aven, and paper-thin crêpe "dentelle" (or lace crêpe) from Quimper, the capital of biscuit-making. This is the kind of feast which demands a bowl of cider, cervoise or chouchen (a mead-like beverage) to really do things the Breton way.
Tourist Information
COMITE DEPARTEMENTAL DU TOURISME DU FINISTERE
11 rue Théodore le Hars
29000
QUIMPER
Finistère
FRANCE
Tel:
02 98 76 20 70
Fax:
02 98 52 19 19