LA VILLE MARIE IS SITUATED WITHIN THE COMMUNE OF ST MARCEL
La Ville Marie is a small hamlet situated outside the village of St Marcel on the Lanvaux moors. St Marcel, a charming village in it's own right has the World War II Brittany Resistance Museum - during the war the Resistance were prevalent in Brittany and known as 'Les Maquis' who played a major role in the liberation of Brittany. A visit to the Museum of the Resistance (1500 square metres) and its landscaped grounds will be one of many highlights of your holidays in this area. July and August :don’t miss the start of the guided tour in a genuine US army half-track, and take part in this fascinating excursion through time.
The restaurant in St Marcel called 'Le Relais du Maquis' carries their name and also serves some of the best food in the area. Only a '10 Euro Menu' during the week for lunch, but open for 5 star evening meals on Saturdays, but you must book as there is normally a wedding taking place there each Saturday due to it's popularity with the locals.
THE LOCAL TOWN - MALESTROIT
In Malestroit you will find enchanting restaurants, relaxing cafes and bars, mediaeval buildings and a wonderful market on Thursday morning. The Vestiges de Madeleines where the 100 Year War Treaty was signed here and you can visit the site. The town and the river are idyllic settings for exploring, painting or drawing. Here you will find several Boulangeries, Chemists, Parfumeries, Tabacs, Restaurants, Bars and Creperies and a large Hyper Casino supermarket, post office and all this less than 5 minutes drive from the house. Plenty goes on in the summer months including live music in the main square every Friday, with all types of music, culminating in the now famous Music Festival which begins in July and runs into the middle of August with Pig Roast, Crepe stalls, local Breton cider and many welcoming Bretons to meet. If you require more local information you can check out their tourist office at Malestroit.
VANNES, JOSSELIN, CARNAC AND THE SURROUNDING BEACHES
The nearest large town, Vannes (20 minute drive) is steeped in history and romantic mediaeval buildings with a walled city and ramparts. Lovely to sit by the port and an ideal starting point to explore the romantic historic past of Brittany with a wonderful Archaelogical museum and art gallery, cathedral and castle. Full of shops and restaurants, many specialising in Brittany's specialties - seafood. Close at hand are an insectorium, aquarium and butterfly house.
Some of the most popular beach areas include Damgan, Carnac, La Trinite Sur Mer, Larmor Plage and Guidel, and to the north of Brittany,the Cote Sauvage. A bit further on, you will find an abundant choice of beautiful white sandy beaches, fashionable seaside resorts and secluded rocky coves. Carnac, the internationally renown site -a prehistoric magical place with it's vast range of megaliths and menhirs. Find out more at the museum website. www.museedecarnac.com
There is some of the best coarse fishing in Brittany to be found here right close to the river Oust; a great choice of fish including salmon, bream and trout. Permits are easily obtained locally. Don't hesitate to ask us for further information. Follow the river towpath for many miles, stopping at the occasional bar or cafe along the way - ideal for walkers and cyclists who can also enjoy the Voie Verte to appreciate the countryside. The Oust area is full of lovely unusual walks to ramble and appreciate the countryside. Plenty of maps and tourist information are provided for you during your stay. Further afield is the exquisite Vallee du Scorff and Blavet river, with heron, kingfishers and wild boar on the prowl in the surrounding forests.
There are motor boat cruises around the islands in the Golfe du Morbihan, getting on and off where you please. Bike hire is available on some islands. Drive and visit the charming Breton villages overlooking the rivers or close to the sea. All over Brittany you are guaranteed that you will find some great seafood restaurants with stunning views out over the water.
Stroll along by the rivers edge, maybe take a picnic and really enjoy the peace and quiet. This is the best way to see the stunning birdlife - including egrets, kingfishers, spoonbills, and herons. Sailing is another good option to explore. It's easy to hire a dinghy, or even a small cabin cruiser and for the more adventurous there is canoeing and kayaking to enter the little creeks and inlets.
SHOPPING AND LOCAL TOURIST ATTRACTIONS
There are many historic towns, villages and castles to visit including Vannes, Josselin with its magnificent medieaval castle and puppet museum, Rochefort-en-Terre, Auray and St Goustan with it's charming port and bijoux restaurants, Hennebont - with it's famous market on Thursdays (the largest in Brittany) and Pont Aven, Quimper and Quimperlé in the Finistere region - all within easy driving distance. Meandering streets full of bars and lovely unusual gift and craft shops.
GASTRONOMIE
The seafood
The seafood platter is highly placed on the menu of the great classics of Breton gastronomy. It is a dish that stands out from the rest, a combination of a love for and an abundance of shellfish and crustaceans, and it is a dish for those who take the time to relish it.
Nearly every day of the week you will find a local market where you can sample the best of local produce: seafood especially oysters & large prawns (huitres et crevettes), crepes, cheeses, honey, locally grown fruit & vegetables and wonderful patisserie and of course the tradional Breton cider. Malestroit has a delightful market on Thursday mornings, typically French, with a wide variety of stalls and produce.
There are plenty of restaurants in the area covering all tastes and price brackets, from pizzas cooked in wood-fired ovens to traditional French haute cuisine. It’s difficult to not eat well in Britanny.
GOLF
There are plenty of Golf Clubs within an hours drive. The closest 9 hole course is 20 minutes away at Ploermel - The Lac au Duc. There is also a Spa and Beauty centre at the hotel attached to the course, The Hotel Roi Arthur.
For 18 hole courses, the nearest is at Baden, which is 35 minutes away. St Laurent (used for the French National Championship) is 50 minutes away and the Ploemeur Ocean Links an hour away.
CYCLING AND THE VOIE VERT
The now disused railway lines in Brittany have been converted for cycling. You will see many signs for the Voie Vert. It is very safe for children as it is exclusively for walking and cycling. Great for picnics and exploring the area and discovering the local wildlife, rivers and streams.
SAILING AND WATER SPORTS IN BRITTANY
Sailing in Brittany
Whether for competitions, regattas or simple sailing trips, Brittany is an ideal location for water sports and activities, thanks to its 3500 kilometres of coastline, broken up into creeks, inlets, roadways and bays, together with its many rivers and lakes. Today there are 120 sailing schools and 230 water sports centres. Throughout the year, from regattas to sailing instruction sessions, Brittany’s sailing schools and clubs offer a vast range of activities: single and double sailing dinghies, catamarans, sailboarding, funboarding, group and pleasure trip boats.
Other water sports and activities
In addition to sailing, other nautical activities are enjoying increasing popularity:
- Rowing on rivers and the sea: solo or as a team, rowing is possible on all types of water: rivers, canals, lakes and along the coast.
- Sea and river canoe-kayaking: rivers are classified according to their degree of difficulty. At sea, the wind speed and swell must be taken into account before embarking on any excursion.
- Sand yachting and speed sailing: these sports are carried out on the beach.
- Diving and undersea sports: to explore the depths of the Breton seas, the algae, fish and shellfish, centres awarded the " Plongée Label Bretagne" [Breton Diving Label] offer taster sessions, photographic and ecology courses, visits to shipwrecks, etc.
- Surf and bodyboard : Cap Fréhel, Dossen, Petit Minou, Palue, Torche, Guidel or the Presqu'île de Quiberon are acknowledged sports centres open throughout the year in Brittany for surfing, long board, body board, skim board, body surf etc. However, these technical disciplines require a good knowledge of the water, the type of wave “sand, rock, reef ”, of the wind “off shore, on shore”, of the currents and the ability to swim well in the sea.
NANTES BREST CANAL
A short drive from the house is the amazing Nantes Brest Canal which has tow paths on both sides of the Canal for safe walking and cycling. It passes through many charming Breton villages with cafes and bars and magnificent churches. In Malestroit you can hire Canoes and in Josselin you can hire larger boats to explore the canal even further.
HEALTH AND THALASSO
The birth place of Thalassotherapy, Brittany has an invigorating marine climate with bracing sea air, excellent for restoring fitness. Breton thalassotherapy centres, acknowledged for the quality of their facilities, offer all advanced body and health treatment techniques exploiting the benefits of the ocean water and seaweed. There is one very nearby in Carnac, who offer week courses or weekend breaks.
FURTHER AFIELD
There are some sensational towns and villages to explore all over Brittany. Up to the North is the lovely town of Morlaix with it's impressive viaduct, and if you follow the south coast to the West, you will reach Pont Aven – very popular with tourists, you can still get a flavour of the town where Paul Gauguin started his painting School. Quimper, Quimperle in Finistere are lovely towns and Quiberon, Larmor Baden, Damgan in Morbihan all have lovely walks and beaches to explore. La Trinite sur Mer is the hub of the yachting and sailing community.
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Tel: +33 297 270 463
Mobile:+ 33 675 503 653
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La Ville Marie, 56140, St Marcel, Brittany, France