HeritageOustanding heritage

Heritage

Brittany is France’s second-largest national heritage region, with over 3,000 listed buildings and monuments. This heritage is extremely diverse and takes in religious, military, maritime and archaeological landmarks and areas. These range from prehistoric menhirs and dolmens, to half-timbered houses typical of medieval cities, with churches, monasteries and chapels dating from the Romanesque period onwards, châteaux, manors and walled towns. Brittany is home to this centuries-old heritage.

©Chapelle St Samson|RAGOT Eugénie

Living fortresses and châteaux

Once the object of Spanish and English rivalry, Brittany built ramparts, fortresses with inhabitable keeps and châteaux for protection against the enemy. The region’s defences also include unassailable fortifications built by the military architect Vauban, which still dominate the horizon, and of which the Belle-Ile citadel is one of its finest examples. Brittany has over 3,000 châteaux, which form an integral part of its living landscape. As you step out on the ramparts, you are also stepping into its history.

Discover the castles and monuments in Brittany

Megaliths, when stones speak to our imagination!

No trip to Brittany would be complete without visiting the celebrated Carnac stones in the south, one of the greatest collections of megalithic sites in Europe and one of — if not — the largest in the world. Over 4,000 megaliths are documented, either standing in rows or, in some places, covered. The land of menhirs and dolmens is a treasure trove of history just waiting to be discovered.

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Unrivalled religious architecture

The most impressive sights in Brittany, more so than the cathedrals, are the many churches, parish enclosures and majestic abbeys. There isn’t a single bay, stretch of moorland or cliff without a stone cross, a statue or a chapel. The parish enclosures dating from the 15th to 17th centuries are works of art and architecture unique in Europe.

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The Lightouse trail

Brittany’s shores feature the largest concentration of lighthouses in the world, with a record number on peninsulas. Some fifty lighthouses illuminate the Breton coastline!

Symbols of Breton maritime identity, these sentinels of the sea form an outstanding historical heritage! The Ile Vierge lighthouse is the tallest in Europe, at 82.5 m!

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A wealth of architectural styles

Brittany’s picturesque towns (“Towns of Character”) and cities steeped in art and history (“Towns of Art and History”) are cameos of the Breton identity. Over the years, these towns have preserved their remarkable historical centres as part of the region’s rich architectural heritage. Each City of Art is a unique tourist destination, a journey in itself at every turn.