Brittany
FOOD & RECIPES
Eating and Drinking in Brittany
Like virtually anywhere in France, Brittany is a region with fine gourmet traditions, the most famous of which is shellfish, or as the French call them “fruits de mer,” fruits of the sea.
Other delicacies for which the region is famous include “crêpes” (pancakes) and a variety of Breton pastries, the most famous being the Breton butter cake or Kouign Amann.
Unlike most regions of France, Brittany does not have a great tradition in cheese. There are no famous Brittany cheeses; a number of local cheeses are however produced, and these are often available in restaurants and good food stores. On the other hand, Brittany is famous for its butter. (Source: https://www.gitelink.com/brittany/breton-food.htm)
DANCE
Traditional Breton music and dance in France. The culture of Brittany with information on Music, Traditional Dress, Dance, and Fest Noz Festival. Click here for photos and videos with musicians and dancers in traditional costumes.
Cape Breton Step Dance Lesson:Basic Reel Step — A lesson for anyone
A very fun Breton dancing video with dancers in traditional costumes in a set of 4 couples. The dance has a Christmas in it.
HISTORICAL SITES
Le Petit Mont — Le Petit Mont is thought to be one of the most significant chambered tombs in Brittany. Although this is for all intents and purposes a “neolithic site”, from about 6,600 years ago, it is an excellent example of how sites from one period are re-used in following periods. Artefacts recovered during excavations show that this site was also occupied during the Bronze and Iron Ages. But the most obvious evidence of re-use is the typical German bunker built into the cairn in 1942.
Pierre Droites Alignments — Les Pierres Droites (the upright, or straight stones) comprise some 400 standing stones that only recently came to the attention of archaeologists. It was after a forest fire about 20 years ago that the significance of this alignment of menhirs, now thought to be one of the most important in France, was realized. Most of the standing stones have been hewn from local schist, but a few are white quartz that have come from some distance. The biggest menhir is 5 meters (about sixteen feet) high and weighs at least 30 tons.
La Roche-aux- Fees — This dolmen, or more correctly a covered alley (also sometimes called a passage tomb) is the largest in the World. The passage is made up of thirty-two upright stones, with nine roof slabs. The structure is 19.5 metres long (about 64 feet), 4.7 metres (about 15 feet) wide, and at the highest point inside the passage it is 4.1 metres (about 13 feet) high. Based on the style of the dolmen, it is thought that the structure was built and used as a funerary monument during the late Neolithic, between 5,000 and 4,500 years ago.
Carnac Stone Alignments — The different series of stone alignments to the north of Carnac are made up of over 3,000 individual standing stones – they are the largest concentration of megaliths in the World. Thought to have been erected between 7,000 and 4,000 years ago, the lines of standing stones cover a distance of about four kilometres in total. Although now fenced off, guided tours of certain sections of the stones are available that enable visitors to walk among the stones. These guided tours are highly recommended.