Brittany Property Guide & Information

The Brittany region is a peninsula in the north west of France, located between the Channel in the north, the Celtic Sea in the west and the Bay of Biscay in the south. With its 27,207 square meters, Brittany is stretched over 4 departments: Cotes d’Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine and Morbihan. The Loire-Atlantique department was originally part of Brittany but has been attached to the Pays de la Loire region since 1941. Its reunification is however still subject to matters. The region has stunning coasts, and provides housing for more than 3 million inhabitants, which ranks it at the 7th position in France in terms of population.

Overview

Brittany is a highly typical region of France as regards culture (dance, music, costumes), landscapes (ponds, cliffs, dunes, mudflats, coastal marshlands), architecture (typical houses), sport and games (football, cycling, sailing, gouren, Breton ball, puck/quoit game) and so on.

Music is nowadays the most obvious aspect of the Breton culture; numerous festivals and festoù noz, traditional dance with traditional costumes, creative musicians… occur each week-end. Brittany is part of the Celtic culture.

Brittany is the first agricultural region of France. Indeed, fishing represents 45% of the national consumption and the regions holds at least 5 commercial harbours: Lorient, Saint-Malo, Concarneau, Le Guilvinec and Douarnenez. The Rail d’Ouessant - a sort of motorway for ships - was created in order to ease the maritime traffic and avoid collisions and the coast pollution in the event of sinking. Not to mention that the Brittany region is also favourable for oyster-farming, mussels culture and aquaculture activities. Moreover, Brittany is the first region of France as regards pork and poultry breeding.

Being a peninsula, Brittany holds a panoply of maritime and coastal environments where many Nordic and Southern fish species live.

Brittany Immobilier & Property Market Trends

The property market in Brittany is dynamic; this region holds a record in France for the number of property owners - it is part of the Breton culture. The general trend in Brittany is clear: the smaller the town is, the more it grows. In other words, as properties in Vannes and Rennes can be costly, new buyers tend to find a property in remote towns (about 20-30km from large towns or cities). Houses in touristy places are today sought-after by people looking for a second home. Another peculiarity of Brittany is the number of individual houses (57% of the accommodation in the French region).

A property in France is sold €3,197 / sq m. Brittany is part of the cheap regions of France, with an average of €2,050 /sq m. Properties there are thus affordable compared with other French areas.

To get updated info about housing prices in the Dordogne, please browse our French Property Market Reports published in the News Section every month.

5 Reasons to Buy a Property in Brittany

• Economy: Brittany is at the first rank of the French regions as regards agriculture and fishing. Furthermore, it is one of the main sectors in France concerning tourism, telecommunications, automobile and shipbuilding. However, the third sector is unmistakably the sector which upholds the employment in Brittany with 60% of working people. Since Brittany holds the lowest unemployment rate of the France, you will easily find a job in one of the diversified sectors it offers. Most people moving in the Brittany region are attracted by the dynamism of the region.

• Region connected to the world: Brittany possesses no fewer than 6 airports - Brest, Rennes, Lorient, Dinard, Lannion and Quimper - which connect it to Great Britain and Ireland. You can also take the French high speed train from Rennes to Lille or Lyon or the regional lines which serve the region. Ireland and Great Britain are easily reachable by sea; traveling by ferries is common in Brittany and, contrary to travels by air or by train, it allows you to carry your car, motor home, bike…

• Typical culture: Brittany is worth a visit, especially for lovers of the Celtic culture who will be extremely satisfied with the Brittany region: music, dance, costumes, Breton games… and the whole in an amazing landscape (dolmens, cliffs, dunes, sea amongst others). This is a relaxed environment, where you always have an activity to do, a fest-noz to attend, a town to visit...

• Gastronomy: amongst the regional specialities, we can quote the kouign amann (a cake made of butter), the crepes, the Breton “galette”, the harshtum, the far Breton, the palet (a biscuit), the kig-ha-farz (a speciality made of meat) and the cotriade. Furthermore, its closeness to the coasts allows Brittany to be rich in seafood and fishes. Brittany is also famous for its cider (a local drink is a mix of cider and blackcurrant cream), beers, chouchenn (hydromel) and the Breizh Cola.

• Climate: climate in Brittany is pretty mild, especially along the coasts. However, you may find more wind in the North of the region. As a result, despite the prejudices many people have as regards the Brittany climate, the weather is pleasant. Indeed, temperature in winter is never very low and in summer it is not very high. In other words, you will never be too cold or too hot.

Property Styles and Architecture in Brittany

• Fishing cottages: along the Breton coast, you will find many cottages where fishermen used to live for many centuries. Here are some of the features of a fishing cottage: chimneys are high and made of stones, roofs are slated, walls are made of granite, windows are of small dimensions.

• Longère houses: a longère is a long and narrow house typical from the West of the France made of local material (granite is used throughout Brittany). The back of the house faces the dominant wind direction. The particularity of a longère is that all the outbuildings are laid out in a row. Also, it does not possess a courtyard.

• Chaumières/Primitive houses: the name chaumière comes from its roof covered with thatch. In order to be watertight, houses need a sloping roof. This is why the chaumières must be narrow (in depth), even if it means that they will be wide. Thus, these typical houses are composed of a series of rooms communicating the one with the others, each possessing a window and a door leading outside. Nowadays, chaumières are in general used as guest houses. As chaumières are rare, they became sought-after.

Click here for more info about the Architecture in Brittany.