With travel now readily available, especially within Europe, many little ports, towns and villages in Brittany have become inundated with visitors and holidaymakers during the Northern Hemisphere summer, from June to August, making travel less appealing. The British fly to Rennes or Dinan in Brittany very cheaply with Ryan Air, Fly Kiss or Easy Jet, take a car on the ferry, or drive through the tunnel via Paris. And so you would expect this area of France to be busy. Those not travelling independently are met by a 16 to 45 seater bus which then tours the area. These buses are out of place in tiny villages, clogging town squares, a reminder of those disgusting towering cruise ships dominating the Venetian canals which the Italian authorities are too cowardly to deal with.
Considering Pont Aven as a microcosm of this phenomena, there’s only one way to avoid these invasions: travel in late September or anytime out of season. The weather won’t be so gloriously sunny, and at times it will be quite moist, but I consider this to be a fair trade-off. You will find a quiet market square and a village getting on with its business in a ‘post seasonal’ way and you will hear French spoken. On some days, a few buses might land in the square- arriving at 11am, most stay for around 30 minutes or so, as the tourists disembark to buy the local buttery biscuits, canned fish products from the conserveries, or stare through the windows of the ateliers, the 40 artist workshops flogging colourful paintings of sea themes. And then the town returns to normal.
Pont Aven has always been popular with travellers. Paul Gauguin spent extended periods in this town in the late 1880s and early 1890s, establishing, with others, the Synthetist style, a break from Impressionism. Their work is often characterised by the bold use of colour, the abandonment of faithful representation and perspective, with flat forms separated by dark contours, and geometrical composition free of any unnecessary detail and trimmings. The modern Pont Aven art school tends to follow this style.
His legacy has left its mark on the town. Some walks follow in his footsteps, with little plaques dotted here and there, depicting Bretagne scenes of the local people or boating scenes. Art workshops dominate the retail scene here, but most are closed after August or only open during the weekend. The result of their presence, as well as the proximity of an Intermarche supermarket less than 1 km away, means the loss of a second boulangerie and a functional epicerie within the town. The town’s commerce is out of balance with a preponderance of outlets catering to the visiting tourist and not the locals. There are two or three good restaurants in the centre, often with reduced opening times, a creperie, one boulangerie, a bar, and a wine cave. A small market operates weekly in the town square. Many shops have closed and will be replaced, most likely, by yet another art gallery.
The district of Finisterre, in which Pont Aven is located, is heavily populated along the coastal area, in contrast to my recollections of the coastal areas in Morbihan. Beautiful farming land, away from the sea fringes, is dotted with smaller hamlets and villages, and larger medieval towns, such as Quimper. On cool days, motoring around the countryside is a pleasant way to spend the day. A visit to Locronan, one of ‘Les Plus Beaux Villages de France‘, is worth the drive, but go early before the buses arrive. Like many a designated belle village, Locronon is on the cusp of becoming too faux. Once the tourist shops move in, the rent goes up and local retail suffers. The up side of this designation means these beautiful medieval buildings are carefully restored.
But then, this is the story of any lovely spot in France. Travel slowly, go outside of the tourist season, and most of all, attempt to speak French, however poorly, and always use your inside voice, even when outside. Intrusiveness, I’ve found, comes down to the volume of voice used by fellow travellers.
ALMOST ITALIAN 
Beautiful pics Francesca!!!
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Thank you kindly.
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Lordie – thought I knew a fair amount about Paul Gauguin but now find I have to do some quick study on the ‘Synthetist’ style . . . exciting! Have always believed in ‘out-of-season’ travel, tho’ ours was usually early rather than late . . . Rome for Easter and then northwards . . . . well, we followed the trade fair season . . . have been ‘spoonfed’ on a few tourist buses in my time . . . . well, we all have to learn . . .
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the early season is rather nice too, though anywhere in Italy at Easter is rather overwhelming. They do take Easter pretty seriously and anyone who lives in a neighbouring country seems to take the Easter break to visit. These days, with 50 million a year visiting Italy, and those that aren’t counted,, and over 50 million residents, in a country only slightly larger than Victoria, you need to like crowds to visit Italy.
Never done the tourist bus thing, or any group tour. I thin I’ll retire from travelling before that happens.
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Hear! Hear!! But we all have to learn, don’t we 🙂 !! And the Sunday when the then King of Sweden reached over and smilingly asked whether my ‘newborn lamb’ [no comment!]! was OK kind’of sticks in memory !!!
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I bet it does. we might need more of that story Eha.
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Gustav XVI I believe . . . . we both thought the other OK I believe . . . never mind the ‘bl’ food oj, The :hassle looking down at these siyepsrty . .. .
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my apologies . . . . WordPress does go unexpectedly go awry . . .
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Love names like that, Gustav XV1 .
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I never come to Europe in summer. I can’t stand the heat and the crowds. Who wants to shuffle around with thousands of others. I much prefer to see these gorgeous places at a slower pace.
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Exactly Debra. Much better to stay at home in Brisbane, which has reasonable weather in winter, than do that awful shuffle, and cope with crowded restaurants and people speaking too loudly.
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The one part of France I’ve never been to is Brittany, and I always thought of going there in winter. Your photos make me want to go soon. Winter is coming, after all, and Toussaint is less than a month away.
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It might be quite chilly in winter, We were there in late September and the days averaged between 14 and 17, comfortable and not too cold.
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Lovely pics, but I wonder how much longer this region will remain quiet in the ‘shoulder’ travel season. Many areas in Italy are now noting that there is almost no difference in tourist numbers in what used to be a quieter time.
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Yes, that’s true Amanda. Questions of overcrowding and catering,to the tourists over the locals are now big issues as travel has become more democratic, and as the Chinese middle class now has access to world travel, once difficult for them. I’m now in Perigord, and I must say that during the week, the place is so quiet. But then, France is so much bigger than Italy, and although France receives far more tourists than Italy, the country seems to handle it quite well.
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Beautiful photos, Fra! I feel like I’ve been on a little holiday with you. xx
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Thanks Celia. It’s a rather long holiday this time, more than five months away. Thank goodness the kids are keeping the grass down and the rabbits out of our home paddocks. Are you still in the states?
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Home now! Just three weeks, but for us, that’s a long holiday! Enjoy the rest of your time over there! 😘
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Thanks Celia. I am sure your friends would have been shocked and horrified by the recent massacre. Hope your holiday was happy and refreshing. I haven’t commented much but have read your posts. xxx
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