After several posts on Brest it was time to tell you how to get around it, However, time passes and things are change, so therefore,here is my updated post on getting around Brest in the Finistére dept 29 of my lovely Bretagne. Hope you enjoy the post as I
As is the history of my Bretagne no road tolls here. Needless to tell you, this road warrior only been here by car, the rest is for info only, but you may ask me ok, There are two wonderful highways that I take every day literally. These are the RN 12 to Rennes, Paris and Northern Europe; and the RN 165 to my house, Nantes, Bordeaux and Southern Europe. The N165 or voie express as we call it by my neck of the woods is awesome really nice even if in Summer we get those visitors that make it crowded, well there are side roads to avoid this. From my town you can initially take the N165 direction Lorient/Brest. At Lorient take the exit 43 ring road D465 direction Larmor-Baden, and then take right on the D765 direction Quimperlé. Connect with the D783 direction Pont Aven/Concarneau than direction Quimper. Here take again the N165 direction Brest. Only taken in Summers to avoid the tourist hordes. Otherwise ,you can go straight on the N165 to Brest.
There are park and relay parks near tramway stations also facilitate access to the city center by public transport. Please note, on Saturday morning, parking is free on streets and in 2 enclosed car parks in the city center, however, is market day so come early. The streets of downtown Brest have around 4,000 paying spaces as close as possible to shops, services and equipment to ensure good vehicle turnover, and more than 10,000 free spaces. This system is supplemented by 750 places in the blue zone (Commercial port, Recouvrance, Pilier Rouge, Place de Strasbourg, as well as in the town centers of the districts of Saint-Marc, Bellevue, Saint-Pierre and Cavale Blanche, Lambézellec, Europe -Pontanezen). The pl de la Liberté, (my dear late Dad Elio always ahead) Coat ar Gueven, Jaurès and Les Capucins parking garages are open to the public during opening hours. Exit is possible 24 hours a day. Liberté is very central our favorite.
Then you have the train station or gare de Brest. It was put into service in 1865 . It is now at about 3h15 from Paris Montparnasse . The train station has a passenger building, with ticket offices and waiting room, open every day. It is equipped with automatic machines for the purchase of tickets. It is an “Accès Plus” station with amenities, equipment and services available to people with reduced mobility. In the station, there is also a press shop and a buffet. Brest is also, served by TER Bretagne trains which run on line 1 (Rennes – Saint-Brieuc – Brest), line 11 (Landerneau – Brest), line 21 (Saint-Brieuc – Morlaix – Brest) line 22 (Morlaix – Brest), and line 31 (Brest – Landerneau – Quimper).
There are plenty of bus lines in town and out but again never taken them here, this is for info only. The Bus network in Brest is call Bibus and good for bus, tramway ,and cable car rides.There is line A of tramway, Line C of cable car, and bus lines 1-6 local in addition to other lines connecting neighboring towns from line 10-19, and the lines of commercial zones 20-26, Right next to train station is the bus station of Brest. The main retail boutique of Bibus is at 33 avenue Clemenceau, from Mondays to Saturdays from 9h30 to 18h30. public transport takes you here with stops/arrêts Liberté, Multiplexe, and Hôpital Morvan. Inter-regional lines are operated by several companies which offer journeys from Brest to Rennes, Nantes and Paris in particular.
The téléphérique de Brest (-see post) or cable car on the line C of the local transport network call Bibus links the two banks of the river Penfeld that separates the districts of Siam and Capucins. It is the first of its kind in France and started in 2016. Each of its cabins can transport up to 60 persons at the same time. A wonderful ride indeed recommended just for fun! See Bibus network for schedules etc. Shown tramway instead below.
And why not there is an airport here again never taken just for info. Aéroport Brest Bretagne airport, the leading regional airport provides 11 daily connections to Paris and also serves the main French cities on a daily basis: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux, Lille, Toulouse, Nice. With more than 28 international connections, Brest quickly connects all major European cities: London, Brussels, Barcelona, Rome, Venice ,etc. Aeroport Brest Bretagne is located 9 km northeast of Brest. A shuttle links it several times a day to the Porte de Guipavas tramway station in about 20 minutes from the city center. Thjs is line 20 see Bibus network.
The SNCF station of Brest : https://www.garesetconnexions.sncf/fr/gares-services/brest
The TER Bretagne of Brest : https://www.ter.sncf.com/bretagne/se-deplacer/gares/brest-87474007
The Bibus bus / tramway network :https://www.bibus.fr/calcul-ditineraire
The OMIO intercity bus network from Brest : https://www.omio.com/buses
The MobiBreizh network all modes transports in Bretagne : https://www.mobibreizh.bzh/en
The Brest Bretagne airport : https://www.brest.aeroport.bzh/compagnies-aeriennes
The City of Brest on public transports : https://www.brest.fr/au-quotidien/se-deplacer-stationner/se-deplacer-dans-la-metropole-2352.html
There you go folks, now I feel better on telling you how to get around Brest !! Worth the detour for a city that is a seafarer heaven and good ambiance even if relatively new due to destruction in previous wars. Hope you enjoy the post as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
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