The ‘capital’ of the Morbihan smells of holidays. Its quays are lined with seafood restaurants and sunny café terraces full of tourists indulging in farniente – taking life easy.
Vannes is a fascinating city: much of its long history is echoed in its well-preserved monuments and humbler buildings.

The 19th-century wash-houses along the moatlike river Marle look far older. They have been skilfully landscaped into the attractive park below the ramparts, overlooked by the striking 15thcentury Tour du Connétable, one of several towers still standing. Seven massive portals penetrate the city walls, also in remarkably good shape. Vannes’ prize position, cradled in the Golfe du Morbihan, explains its particularly defensive architecture.

The pedestrian precinct is a tangle of medieval half-timbered houses, with the daub in between the wattle painted in jolly icecream colours. On the corner of one of these, the amusing mascots of the city, known as Vannes and his wife, grin down at you. In this cobbled warren, enticing boutiques and restaurants beckon the gourmet and the window shopper and on Wednesdays and Saturdays the market sprawls outwards from the Place des Lices.

A favourite with migratory birds and yachtsmen, this sheltered spot, with its views over the alleged 365 islands in the gulf, has been enjoyed by man for more than 2000 years. The indigenous Vénètes were fisherfolk and sailors. The Romans came, bringing their rule as well as their techniques for winemaking and salt extraction. Vannes was called Darioritum at the time.

From the 3rd century colonists from Ireland and Britain sought new territories here while their monks brought religion and set up abbeys, churches and monasteries. The bishop’s palace, built in the 5th century, is symptomatic of Vannes’ importance as a religious centre.

A golden era
An episode in the 17th century ensured the survival of the city and considerably embellished it. Under Louis XIV, members of the Breton parliament in Rennes were suspected of supporting the revolt against the taxes imposed by Colbert to help finance the war against Holland. This led the king, in 1675, to order the transfer of the parliament from Rennes to Vannes. It was a logical move: Vannes was one of Brittany’s oldest cities and, on several occasions during the previous century, the Parliament had already sat here.

Fine edifices date from this golden age, which was to last 15 years. A flurry of new building attempted to cater not only for the magistrates, judges and barristers, and their retinues, but also for the services and tradesmen their presence engendered: tailors, printers, builders and so on, who flocked to the temporary capital. Vannes’ merchants, who shipped cereals, iron and honey from inland Morbihan, saw the economy boom at a time when other towns were in a depression. The population soared, half of Rennes’ exiles ending up here. Even when the parliament returned to Rennes, the numbers in Vannes remained fairly stable.

The actual parliament house was built in the rue Saint-Vincent. Here and around the church of Saint-Patern, you can still see the fine houses belonging to members of parliament, their granite walls and slate roofs contrasting with the wattle and daub of the 12th and 13th century.

Vannes has two main museums, the history and archeology museum, in the Château Gaillard, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts, housed in the 13thcentury Musée de la Cohue, once the covered market place, then a law court and later the parliament. It has a stunning permanent collection of local landscapes from the 18th century on.

There are events throughout the summer, special exhibitions in the museums, historical fêtes and the open-air jazz festival. Breton folk music is very much alive and kicking, as you’ll see during the Fêtes d’Arvor. More classical tastes are catered for in the evening concerts called Nuits musicales du Golfe.

Around and about
There are two marshland reserves for birdwatchers, at Séné and Pen-en-Toul at Larmor- Baden (open in summer only).
Away from the coast, the Pays de Vannes has some wonderful scenery, dotted with charming villages – Saint-Avé with its 15th-century chapel, Meucon with its cider fête in November, the picturesque Ploeren, to mention a few – and fine manorhouses, such as at Theix. At Elven, the fortress of Argoët possesses France’s highest octagonal keep. Before he became King of England, Henry VII was imprisoned here for a few months.

The woodlands with their characteristic ‘sunken’ lanes are inviting for riders and ramblers. The immense reserve at Trédion, like a Breton microcosm, with its château, megaliths, rivers and ponds, is a haven for walkers and fishermen.

A town on a fortified site surrounded by deep valleys, Rochefort-en-Terre stands on an outcrop of shists. Famous for its 16th- and 17th-century residences and for its display of geraniums throughout the village, this small settlement is equally renowned for its château and collegiate church of ND de la Tronchaye and well deserves its label of ‘little city of character’.

Islands in the inland sea
It’s very simple to hop on a boat to one of the islands, or to take a day or half-day cruise around the gulf, with guided commentary or lunch on board if you like. Motor launches leave frequently from two embarkation points – Conleau and Séné – and offer a variety of options.

Which island to choose? All are worth the visit and each has its particular charms. You can hire bicycles and ride around the sleepy villages and megaliths on the Île aux Moines, or spend the day exploring the smaller, equally charming Île d’Arz. Visit its 12thcentur listed church and the tidal mill of Berno which has been restored and still grinds flour (open in season or by appointment the rest of the year).

The immense cairn on Gavrinis is the most famous, comprising a 12-metre passage and a semi-circular chamber. The sun’s rays only fall on the entrance once a year, during the winter solstice. The walls inside are engraved with mysterious symbols some of which have not yet been deciphered. On Er Lannic, the double cromlec’h, 72 menhirs in the shape of a figure 8, is semi-submerged with one half only visible at low tide.
As with most seafaring communities, legends abound – so mind the mermaids.