From the Morbihan department we continued further west into the Finistère department in the north-west corner of Brittany. After some recent coastal stops we had a change of scenery at the charming town of Pont-Aven which sits on the Aven river at the point where the tidal estuary meets the freshwater river. Pont-Aven is best known for the artists, including Paul Gauguin, who based themselves there in the mid-19th century and were known as the Pont-Aven school. The town continues to be an inspiration for artists and the is full of art galleries featuring all styles of art from Impressionism to aboriginal.
Before the arrival of the artists, Pont-Aven was known for milling and there were 14 water mills along the river. Very few of them remain today but two notable mills can still be seen – one which inspired a painting and the other, now a restaurant, that still has a working wooden wheel.
Today the town is very much a chocolate-box tourist attraction with the shops that aren’t galleries selling another Breton speciality – biscuits (galettes and pallets) – akin to a darker shortbread biscuit. Nonetheless it’s a very pretty place with lovely riverside walks out of the town in both directions.
From Pont-Aven we continued directly west to the coastal town of Audierne, again not expecting much from the potential parking area, particularly when we saw that Cirque Zappa was sharing the parking area. In fact we were overlooking the Goyen river and a short walk from another attractive town, port and coastline. And after doing their afternoon show, the circus was packed up within half an hour and en route to their next destination. The development of maritime navigation brought prosperity to Audierne in the 15th to 17th centuries when the town hosted almost one hundred 60t vessels. Merchants from all over Europe chartered ships with their crews who were knowledgeable about the Breton coasts to transport their goods. The impressive merchants’ houses can still be seen in the old town.
The town came back to life in the 19th century thanks to the sardine fishing industry, the development of sardine presses but mostly due to the start of canning factories. At the end of the 19th century Audierne harbour had nearly 500 fishing shops and around 20 canning factories. Today the town is mainly a resort town and pleasure port although canned goods still feature in many of the shops in the town. We enjoyed trying a local aperitif spread – a posh fish paste if you like!
The kind weather enabled us to walk out to the harbour area and a little way along the coast. Joe was even able to launch his boat in front of our parking spot and explore the port and river from a different perspective.
