Brest is a city on the west Atlantic coast of France. It has a long history of navigation. There are very large tides here.
Get in
By plane
- 1 Brest Bretagne Airport (BES IATA) (To the north-east of the city. A bus shuttle service connects the airport to the closest tram station (Porte de Guipavas). The fare is the same as other trams and buses of the bibus network.). Regional airport used mainly by Hop! - Air France for its domestic routes (Paris-CDG, Paris-Orly, Lyon, Marseille, Nice), but also by Easyjet (Lyon), Ryanair (Marseille), and other companies for regular routes (Bordeaux, Toulon, Barcelona) or special services.
Ryanair has also flights from Luton, Dublin, Exeter, Manchester Airport, and Southampton.
By boat
Brittany Ferries operates a daily route between Plymouth (England) and Roscoff (about 55 km to Brest) and a weekly route between Cork (Ireland) and Roscoff.
By train
The SNCF provides TGV route to Paris (8/day) and regional trains routes to Saint-Brieuc and Rennes or Quimper, Lorient, Vannes and Nantes.
By car
Brest is linked with Saint-Brieuc and Rennes (N12) and also Quimper, Lorient, Vannes and Nantes (N165) by toll-free divided highways.
Get around
See
- Océanopolis, ☏ +33 298 34 40 40. This giant aquarium has 3 thematic pavilions (polar, tropical and temperate) that offers a discovery of the world's oceans. Located at the Moulin Blanc port.
- 1 Brest Castle (Château de Brest), ☏ +33 298 22 12 39. The houses the Navy Museum, which has a collection of craft models, paintings and sculptures.
- The Tanguy Tower , located near the Recouvrance bridge, houses a permanent exhibition on the history of the town.
- Art gallery, 24 rue Traverse. Phone: +33 298 00 87 96.
- The Vallon du Stang Alar houses a famous botanic garden and greenhouses.
- Ateliers des Capucins, 25 Rue de Pontaniou. Les Ateliers des Capucins is the biggest covered public square in Europe.
Do
- Football: Stade Brestois 29 play soccer in Ligue 1, the top tier in France. Their home ground Stade Francis-Le Blé (capacity 16,000) is 2 km northeast of city centre.
Buy
Eat
Budget
All these are in the city centre:
- 1 Nectar'In, 43 Rue d'Aiguillon.
- 2 Les Maraichers, 7 Rue J-B Boussingault.
- 3 Crêperie Les Cocottes, 34 Rue Jean Macé. Savory crêpes.
- 4 Nachos - Fajita, burrito, tacos, bowl, 12 Pl. de la Liberté.
- 5 Crêperie Saint Michel Mr Philippe Pasquier, 53 Rue Yves Collet.
- 6 La Cantoche, 51 Rue de la Porte.
- 7 New School Tacos, 4 Rue de Glasgow.
Mid-range
Splurge
- 13 Le M, 22 Rue du Commandant Drogou.
Drink
The Blind Piper Pub is one of many Irish pubs in Brest. It's located in the block southwest of the Liberté square. They serve their Kilkenny fresh, with the expected Irish pub ambience.
Sleep
Connect
As of June 2022, Brest has 5G with all French carriers.
Go next
- The islands Molène and Ouessant, in the mer d'Iroise
- Douarnenez