9781422269787

part of the country to this day, with rolling hills, regional parks and forests, and the Parc naturel régional d’Armorique , a beautiful and popular area for locals and tourists seeking outdoor activities and craving intact natural landscapes. Despite being primarily rural, Bretagne does have large port cities like Rennes and Brest, which have been growing quickly in recent years as French people are slowly moving away from Paris and its outskirts to seek a better (and more affordable) quality of life closer to the sea. Many cities sport traditional Breton architecture, including the iconic half-timbered houses and the distinctive “lanterns of the dead,’’ which are found in many of the region’s

cemeteries. Nantes

The historic city of Nantes was part of Bretagne until the lines were redrawn in the 1950s to create the Pays de la Loire region, of which Nantes is the capital. Culturally, however, the city is still very much

Explore ten of the best things to see in Nantes, a historic city on the Atlantic coast of France.

Chapter 1: Northwest and Paris

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