Finistère Voyage Tips and guide

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Finistère in Brittany is the westernmost French department. Its name comes from the Latin from "end of the earth". The abers, rugged fjord-like inlets on the north coast, are a notable feature of the landscape. The westernmost point of continental France, known as the Pointe de Corsen, extends from the northwestern tip of Finistère. About 40 km to the south is the slightly less westerly, but rugged and isolated, headland of Pointe du Raz.

• 48.39-4.4869441 Brest – the largest city in Finistère, it is an important port city with large tides
• 47.875278-3.9188892 Concarneau – an old city, built by Vauban
• 48.092222-4.3302783 Douarnenez – a historical sardine-fishing and canning town
• 47.995833-4.0977784 Quimper – capital of Finistère and famous for its Quimper faience, a type of white glazed pottery
• 48.726667-3.9858335 Roscoff – characteristically Breton city

• 48.4333-3.91671 Monts d'Arrée – a mountainous area in Finistère, with heathland
• 48.7453-4.00972 Île-de-Batz — (pronounced eel-de-ba) has a botanical garden with exotic species
• 48.3975-4.9569443 Molène — you can walk its coastal path in about an hour
• 48.455278-5.09754 Ushant — rich in religious and agricultural heritage

Finistère (Breton: Penn ar Bed, the end of the world) unites two territories that were not intended to be: the bishopric of Cornouaille (bishop of Quimper) to the south and that of Léon (bishop of St Pol de Léon) to the north, the border between the two being located on the harbor of Brest. If Léon has disappeared, the rivalry has taken another form, that between the large city of the north (Brest) and the administrative capital (Quimper). This rivalry, if it is not exacerbated, never misses an opportunity to resurface.

The department is literally cut in two, both geographically and demographically. If, in Brest, someone tells you that he comes from the south, don't immediately imagine him as a Marseilles resident, he probably only comes from Quimper.

The TGV serves Quimper and Brest from Paris in just over 4 hours. Regional trains connect Rennes to Brest and Quimper, and Nantes to Quimper.

Brest-Bretagne Airport, in Guipavas, connects Brest to Paris (Orly and CDG), Lyon, Marseille and London. Quimper Cornouaille Airport only serves Paris (Orly).

You can reach Ouessant by air from Brest airport in around 15 min:

• Finist'air airline: around € 70 one way. (2018)

Two expressways serve Finistère:

• the national 12 serves Brest from Rennes
• the national 165 serves Quimper and Brest from Nantes and passing through Vannes and Lorient.

The port of Roscoff has ferry connections with the ports of Plymouth (United Kingdom), Cork and Rosslare (Ireland).

Ferries connect the continent to the surrounding islands:

• Penn ar bed, ☏ +33 2 98 808080. It serves the ports of Brest, Le Conquet, Camaret and Audierne on the continent, and the islands of Ouessant, Molène and Sein. There are 1 to 3 crossings per day, with a duration of 1 hr to 2 hr 30 min, depending on the route. (updated Feb 2018)
• Finist'mer. serves the ports of Le Conquet, Camaret, Audierne and Lanildut on the continent, and the islands of Ouessant, Molène and Sein. It also offers guided tourist cruises in the Iroise Sea. (updated Feb 2018)

• Réseau Penn-ar-Bed, ☏ +33 2 98 908889. Intercity bus network, managed by the department. The Quimper—Brest connection is divided into 3 sections and therefore costs €6. €2. (updated Sep 2019)