The museum shows the folk arts and traditions of the region, costumes, craft industry, typical furniture…
But well, culture is not the only entertainement in Pont-l'Abbé: here is a small presentation of a place the natives like during the long summer evenings…
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 | Some of these sights are particularly interesting, such as the chapel of Languidou in Plovan, built in the 13th et 15th centuries; now there are only ruins left but the architecture remains beautiful, especially this rosace… |  |
| Or such as the chapel of Languivoa in Plonéour, built in the 14th and 17th centuries, whose particularity is the tower, which was destroyed by the king Louis 14th's order as a punishment for the Revolt of the Red Bonnets. In 1675, Colbert, Louis 14th's Finance Minister, decrees that all the official documents must be drawn up on stamped paper, i.e. taxed paper. The whole Brittany rebels, and the Red Bonnets of Cornouaille are among the most resolute protesters. But the repression is brutal, the rebellion leaders are hanged and some church towers are symbolically destroyed, like in Languivoa, Lanvern or Pont-l'Abbé (church of Lambour). |  |
The calvary of Notre Dame de Tronoën, in the middle of the arid moor of the Audierne bay, is certainly the most famous Bigouden religious monument. A calvary is a sculpted granite block, typically Breton, which displays episodes of the Bible on its sides: this allowed the priests to teach the parishioners, by commenting the sculptures like in an illustrated book. |  |
 | About museums again, you will find at Saint-Guénolé a neat prehistory museum which is a research center of Rennes 1 University. It presents vestiges found in the whole department of Finistère (western part of Brittany), from the Paleolithic era (400 000 B.C.) to the Roman Antiquity: prehistoric bones (like those ones, on the left), stone tools, ceramic objects, stone and metal weapons, megaliths, and anthropological reconstructions such as ancient graves. |
| And in Kérazan, a big manor of the 16th and 18th centuries, owned by the Institute of France since 1929, houses a collection of paintings and drawings dating from the 17th to the 20th century, of the Flemish, Dutch and French schools. |  |
As a conclusion about the Bigouden tourism, let me give you practical information.
The means of access are now very easy, no matter how you want to come.
A toll-free freeway links up Pont-l'Abbé to Quimper, and from there, to Nantes and then to the South of Europe, or to Rennes and then Paris and the North and East of Europe. The distance between Pont-l'Abbé and Paris is 580 kilometers (360 miles), and you'll make it in approximately 5 ½ hours without hurrying.
If you prefer planes, we take advantage of the Quimper-Pluguffan international airport (che gast!), not far away from Pont-l'Abbé (far enough, though!), which provides daily flights all year from and to Paris-Orly, and depending on the season, from and to London-Gatwick, Athens, and Annecy, Montpellier, Nice, Ajaccio… in France too. Of course, you'll be able to find buses to Pont-l'Abbé and other Bigouden towns at the airport.
Aéroport de Quimper Cornouaille
Kermaduit
F - 29700 Pluguffan
Inquiries at the airport: +33 2 98 94 30 30 (they speak English!)
Fax: +33 2 98 94 09 05
Concerning the railway, unfortunately there is no station at Pont-l'Abbé, but the TGV Atlantique (the world's fastest train!) will bring you from the Paris-Montparnasse station to Quimper in 4 hours and 10 minutes. Like in Pluguffan, you'll easily find buses to the Bigouden country at the Quimper station.
I won't give you the coordinates of the S.N.C.F. (the French railways), because they set up a general inquiries phone number for the whole country: it's expensive and not available outside the French borders. This is stupid. I advise you a travel agency in Quimper instead, it's an official S.N.C.F. agent and it's probably more efficient, more helpful and more English-speaking!
Agence Bretagne voyages
20 rue du Parc
F - 29000 Quimper
Phone: +33 2 98 95 61 24
Fax: +33 2 98 95 68 32
For ALL the tourist inquiries you may want to make, contact the Bigouden House of Tourism:
Maison du Tourisme du pays bigouden
Rond-point de Kermaria
B.P. 41
F - 29120 Pont-l'Abbé
Phone: +33 2 98 82 30 30
Fax: +33 2 98 82 32 18
They speak English too, and they're really nice and ready to help! If you have some questions, feel free to send me a mail, I'll answer it with pleasure, if I can…
I don't want to close this chapter without telling you about a wonderful pancake restaurant… First I didn't want to make any advertisement for any restaurant, hotel or camping site in particular, but this one deserves being described. This pancake restaurant is called Men Lann Du (which means "the stone of the black moor": this refers to the dolmen just opposite), and you won't find it in any travel guide, but it's full every evening in the summer, simply from word to mouth. So you'd better arrive soon (before 7:30 PM) or late (after 9:30 PM) if you don't want to wait too much… The surroundings alone are already worth being seen, this is a former farm, with traditional furniture and the typical clay ground (it has nothing to do with the French Tennis Open, it's quite black and hard!). About the cooking, of course you'll find delicious filled pancakes, seafood (I recommend the scallops) and salads too.
| Men Lann Du is located on the D785 road between Plomeur and Penmarc'h, approximately 2 km away (1.2 miles) from Plomeur. (It's easy to see on a road map because the dolmen is usually mentioned.) Crêperie Men Lann Du Men Lann Du F - 29120 Plomeur Phone: +33 2 98 82 01 06 (this time I'm not sure you'll find someone who's speaking English there!) |  |
After this tourist presentation of the Bigouden country, I'll give you some information about its economic activities, next page…
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