Planning a short break in Brittany with family or friends? You are after a bit of fun and relaxation while making the most of everything the region has to offer.
Here is our pick of the unmissable events and festivals to enjoy in Brittany.
The Art Rock festival in Saint-Brieuc
Every year over the Whitsun bank holiday weekend, Brittany comes alive with the Art Rock festival. Held in Saint-Brieuc, in the Côtes-d’Armor, it has welcomed some of the biggest names in rock since 1983. The festival was founded by the Wil Rose association with a simple aim: to bring different art forms together, blending music, dance and theatre, and to host artists from every background, from musicians, singers and actors to dancers, visual artists and performance artists.
Its popularity has grown enormously, and the crowds get bigger every year. Since 2014, the festival has drawn at least 70,000 people annually.
So if you fancy a colourful festival during your cycling holiday in Brittany, come and join the fun at Art Rock in Saint-Brieuc, which runs for three days and three nights.
The ‘Étonnants Voyageurs’ festival in Saint-Malo will keep you on your feet
Not one for music festivals? If you are more the type to curl up with a good book and browse a literary fair, then build the Étonnants Voyageurs festival in Saint-Malo into your Brittany trip.
This international literature festival has run since 1990 and is usually hosted at the Palais des Congrès in Saint-Malo. Each year it welcomes around 60,000 visitors and 200 writers from across the world over three days, with readings, debates and literary cafés held in venues all around the town.
It is not all about books, though. You will also find film screenings, live performances and exhibitions on the programme.
This cultural festival usually takes place in May, and if you want to make the most of it and wander between the different meeting points, why not explore the town on two wheels.
The Vieilles Charrues festival in Carhaix
Out exploring by bike with friends and keen to take in one of the best festivals in France? Come to Brittany for a cycling holiday that brings you to the Vieilles Charrues festival in Carhaix.
If you love music, whatever the genre, the Vieilles Charrues festival is for you. It runs for four days over the third weekend of July in Finistère. Founded in 1992, the festival originally focused on electric music. Today the line-up spans a whole range of styles, from rock and pop to electro, hip-hop and rap.
Its success comes down to an impressive capacity of 70,000 festival-goers a day, four stages, the sheer variety of music on offer and the big-name headliners who take to the stage at the Vieilles Charrues each summer.
The Route du Rhum, a magnificent Breton event
Every four years, Saint-Malo hosts a truly large-scale event: the Route du Rhum. A solo transatlantic sailing race, the Route du Rhum draws hundreds of thousands of spectators to watch the start of each edition. First held in 1978, the race runs from Saint-Malo in France to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe. If you are planning a walking trip in Brittany over the autumn half-term, do not miss the start of the Route du Rhum. During the event the whole town buzzes with energy, with celebrations on every street corner and all along the coast. To get the very best view of the start, head to the Pointe du Grouin at Cancale (just east of Saint-Malo). You will not regret it.
