Travel guide Brittany

It's a contraction of Breizh, the Breton name for Brittany. This acronym, which appeared in the 1960s on stickers on the back of cars, is a way of marking its attachment to the region: it can be found on souvenirs, on social networks with the hashtag #bzh or as a domain extension for websites (.bzh).

It's true: sometimes, from time to time, it does rain in Brittany. Rarely a heavy downpour. Rather a small, fine, tight, penetrating and persistent rain: the famous drizzle. Characteristic of oceanic shores, these light rains do not prevent walks: they make them invigorating and nebulous, magical.

Resurrected in the 1950s, now classified as an intangible heritage of humanity by UNESCO, the fest-noz ("night party" in Breton) is a kind of ball, where Breton dances are performed in groups, to live music of traditional inspiration. Very popular, intergenerational and convivial events. Invigorating!

This Breton word, which is also spelled "glas", has no equivalent in French. It designates a palette of colours, between blue, green and grey. A nuance inspired by the Breton sea, with ever-changing hues, depending on the clouds, the sun, the season... An adjective full of poetry and fascination for this chameleon sea.

Pink, blond, grey or bluish, granite is omnipresent in the region. This very hard rock forms a large part of its base and its coasts. Granite has been used to build many houses, castles, menhirs... It is also found, polished by erosion, in the enchanting chaos of the Pink Granite Coast or the forest of Huelgoat.

This is the name of the Breton flag, literally "black and white". Created in 1923 by an autonomist, it consists of black and white stripes with ermines in the left corner. It has lost its political connotation to become a popular emblem and today it flies in many festivals and gatherings, like proud little winks.

They are the protagonists of Breton tales and legends. At night, these mischievous dwarves can play very bad tricks on humans, especially if they are disrespectful or reckless. But they also know how to be kind to those who deserve it. Rich and strong, they hide in caves, dolmens, moors or woods.

Brittany is the region that concentrates the greatest number of these standing stones, lined up like in Carnac or isolated in the countryside. Besides, the word is taken from the Breton: men (stone), hir (long). Erected from the^5th millennium BC, these megaliths had a symbolic function, which remains mysterious even today.

A land of fishermen and sailors, Brittany has given birth to many great sailors: the discoverer of Canada Jacques Cartier, the Malouin corsairs Duguay-Trouin and Surcouf, the explorer of the sub-Antarctic islands Kerguelen... Nowadays, the heroes of the seas are those of ocean racing, such as Olivier de Kersauson and Armel Le Cléac'h.

A third of the lighthouses in France are in Brittany. It is even the region of the world that concentrates the most of them! Emblems of the coastal landscape, planted in the open sea or on rocky points, these stone sentinels fascinate and remind us of the reefs of the waves. Each lighthouse has its own history, architecture and light signal.

This plant, which is not a cereal despite its nickname of buckwheat, has long been a staple of the Breton diet: porridges, kig ha farz... Not forgetting the ever-popular galette! Growing in poor soils, buckwheat was once a symbol of rural misery, but it's now making a comeback, cooked up by top chefs.

The local tchin-tchin! Two words known to everyone in the region, even those who do not speak Breton. Yec'hed means health, mate means good, good. But be careful with the pronunciation: the c'h, a specific letter of the Breton alphabet, is pronounced like the Spanish jota. And the end of the word is often abbreviated, which means: yermat!