Back at you with La Forêt Fouesnant. This is one of those lovely spot of the many in my belle France, that evenn living close and passing by close ,in fact have a picture of the church from July 2017 so we went by but never have gone in until now, and voilà une autre merveille de mon belle France.
This is again my idea of a weekend, we do our daily lives and we set up time to see the wonderful sights of my adopted country that I call mine by now. Every trip out is a discovery in beauty, no surprise the official tourist entities in our world give it the highest ranking since 1949! I like to tell you about my Bretagne/Brittany or Breizh which is the third most visited region of France.
Now let me tell you a bit on La Forêt Fouesnant to maybe entice you to come and see it yourselves; let me know.
La Forêt-Fouesnant is a town in the department 29 of Finistère, in the region of Bretagne. La Forêt-Fouesnant also has a marina, Port-la-Forêt, jointly with Benodet and Fouesnant. La Forêt-Fouesnant now forms the “Breton Riviera”, a new tourist destination. The town is a seaside resort in the southern part of the Finistère, located on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, and more specifically the Bay of the Forêt, between Cape Coz (which is part of the neighboring town of Fouesnant) and Concarneau, in which uncorks the ria de La Forêt-Fouesnant.
A bit of history I like
The town of La Forêt Fouenant was erected as a parish in 1851 and became common town only by law in 1873. On this occasion, the town grew its entire northern half and absorbed to the east the small parish of Locamand (or Loc-Amand) itself from a Benedictine priory awarded in 1069 to the abbey of St. Croix of Quimperlé and sold in 1623 to the Jesuit College of Quimper before being confiscated as a national property during the French revolution and falling into disrepair. In 1872, the General Council of Finistère examined the wishes of the inhabitants of the section of La Forêt Fouesnant in a town separate from that of Fouesnant, of which it had previously been a member.
Some interesting points me think to tell you, my choices.
Under the Law of Separation of Churches and State, in October 1907, the priests of the presbytery of La Forêt Fouesnant were expelled on the same day as those of Fouesnant and Benodet by sixty police agent (gendarmes) on horseback in order to enforce this law. An English aviator, James Francis John Sheridan, radio operator and machine gunner on the Beaufort No. L9807 shot down by a Me109 during an attack to the heavy cruiser of the nazi naval boat Admiral Hipper on February 15, 1941 , and he is buried in the town’s cemetery. RIP
Some of the things to see here in my opinion are( and some will need to come back myself)
The old port or Vieux port. Formerly known as the Port of Stank Al Lestreg (valley of the irises), the old port was the heart of the town’s maritime trade. Its strategic location and the importance of commercial traffic allowed the construction of docks and holds from 1850. Port-la-Forêt is the marina of the La Forêt Fouesnant , one of the largest in Brittany, sheltered by Kerleven beach and the tip of Cape Coz.
The prehistoric cairn of Kerleven (from 5000 to 3000 BC). The Church of Our Lady of Izel-Vor (lower sea in Breton), from the 16C and calvary in the parish enclosure. The Chapel of Peniti (or Penity, a penity being in the Breton language a hermitage or a small monastery), also known as St. Maudez Chapel (for St. Maudez became its the patron Saint in 1747) was built in 1723. It is located at the birth of the ria de La Forêt-Fouesnant, on its left bank, at the top of an escarpment. Mesmeur’s manor: on the left bank of the ria de La Forêt-Fouesnant, it is a classically styled mansion that dates back to the second half of the 18C, long belonging to the Family of Sylguy (Quimper’s nobility). The Stang Manor this manor, the oldest part which dates back to the 15C, was rebuilt in 1664, and remodelled in the 18C. The mansion became a national property during the French revolution and was purchased by a property dealer from Quimper, who sold it later on. Expanded several times over time, this mansion was transformed into a castle-hotel in 1937.
Some webpages to help you plan your trip to La Forêt Fouesnant are
Tourist office of dept 20 FInistére on La Forêt Fouesnant
Tourist office of south Finistére on La Forêt Fouesnant
For the boat lovers and I am one, love to be in them ,cruise on them,and be by them and lucky enough to have plenty here and a long tradition of seamen of all sorts. This is the marina port lovely and all facilities for non boaters alike.
Port-La-Forêt, 3rd Marina of southern Brittany, is the most important marina of the south Finistère, in the La Forêt Fouesnant . Since its creation in 1972, it has been experiencing intense activity, welcoming more than a thousand boats. Port-La-Forêt fits rather well into the landscape and has become a mecca for sports sailing.
Tourist office of La Forêt Fouesnant on the port and ocean side
Official Port La Forêt in La Forêt Fouesnant
Official Nautical center at the port of La Forêt Fouesnant
And with all this water around us, why not a beach, well this is an awesome beach right at the tip of idylic Glénan islands and it is just gorgeous, we will be back for the water next month.
Kerleven Beach or Plage de Kerléven is the large beach of La Forêt Fouesnant (1 km long). It lies at the bottom of the Foret Bay (one of the deepest bays in southern Brittany, very well sheltered from the winds). It has very nice fine sand with a south exposure on the sun, and very flat that can be done with foot fishing and stand up padels enthusiasts. The beach is very well equipped with a supervised area in July and August, a mini sailing center, a free children’s play area and a restaurant directly on the sand which is very nice. Even if there are several campsites in the area, attendance is still reasonable even in the middle of August. Note that this bay has been subject to green algae for a few years. This beach is regularly cleaned and seaweed is collected at low tide (tractor). These algae would not be harmful provided they were picked up quickly (spreading a gas). On the other hand, be careful because it slips! We found a sparkling beach as per photo. Several accesses, the main one at the end of the road route de Port la Forêt..
The webpages here as usual by me to help you plan are
Official tourist office of La Forêt Fouesnant on Kerleven beach
Favorite Plages tv on the beach of Kervelen
And there you go another gem in our lovely Brittany, beautiful Finistére and new found paradise of La Forêt Fouesnant only 83 km (about 52 miles) from home or about an hour easy ride. We will be back!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
