Tourism in Brittany : discovering Lorient and the cité de la voile
Spice route and and the cité de la voile : Lorient history and culture
To go to Lorient several possibilities :
– Go staight to Lorient, to visit for example the second world war memory places : the base sous-marine and the cité de la voile Eric Tabarly, to discover the secrets of sailing.
– Make several stops…
Straight to Lorient: 44 km/36 mn
When leaving Dihan right , Auray direction. Then take Lorient when arrived ont he round about of the 4 voies. Take the Lorient city center exit.
Lorient city centrer has been totally destroyed during the second world war, so the construction are quite new. But it has today its charm. The bassin à flot area, near the boats is nice to have a coffee or a drink near the harbour.
In the center, we like La Truie et sa portée ( 10 rue de la Patrie, 02.97.64.19.16, http://www.la-truie-et-sa-portee.fr/ ). A really special and typical adress : la Tavarn ar roue Morvan or taverne du roi Morvan (1 pl. Polig Monjarret, 02 97 21 61 57 http://www.taverne-roi-morvan-lorient.com/): where you can taste the kig ha farz, listen to breton music and talk with locals.
The cité de la voile Eric Tabarly (02 97 655 656, Base de sous-marins de Keroman, http://www.citevoile-tabarly.com/ ) is an interesting visit to discover the world sailing.
For lunch, we like the Quai Ouest, nearby ( 02 97 65 42 58 http://www.quaiouest-lorient.com/).
We also like the Kernevel Harbour ( Larmor direction from Lorient) to eat mussels and ships in the Au tour du monde , the Kersauzon restaurant(02 97 65 54 18) or the Optimist (port de plaisance Kernevel, 02 97 84 61 82, www.loptimist.fr ), and have a drink in the villa Margaret (port de Plaisance Kernevel, 02 97 33 67 19).
In Lorient you can take the ferry for Groix island (another lovely place) and the well known Festival Interceltique (http://www.festival-interceltique.com/ )
To make stops :
Dihan-petite mer de Gâvres : 19,8km/26mn
Petite mer de Gâvres –Port-Louis : 13km/21mn
Port-Louis-Lorient : 17,6km/32mn
Ligne 15 http://www.ctrl.fr/
Left when getting out of Dihan.
The petite mer de Gâvres : Follow Erdeven, Belz (by the Pont-Lorois) then Hennebont.When you reach Plouhinec, take Gâvres direction. The distinctive characteristic of this inside sea of 350 hectares is that it emptyes completely when the tide is low.
Ressortir sur la D781 et continuer en direction d’Hennebont/Lanester puis sortir direction Port-Louis.
The all area of the Morbihan, especially Port-Louis et Lorient, are linked to the history of the spice route and the Compagnie des Indes.
Musée de la compagnie des Indes (Citadelle de Port-Louis, 02 97 82 19 13, http://musee.lorient.fr ) or discover the particular atmosphere in the closed town. From Port Louis you can join Lorient by batobus.
Ligne 11 : Port de pêche (Lorient) – La Pointe (Port-Louis)/ Ligne 14 du dimanche : Quai des Indes (Lorient) – Pen-Mané (Locmiquélic ) – La Pointe (Port-Louis)/Ligne estivale 15 : Quai de Rohan (Lorient) – Cité de la Voile (Lorient) – Kernevel (Larmor Plage) – La Pointe (Port-Louis). Informations : 02 97 21 28 29 ou www.ctrl.fr
