Lorient is really not well known off the beaten path even if has nice things to see especially as it relates to the sea. The city of Lorient means in breton An Oriant or the Orient as the companies that sail to the new world , the Americas were done here and across the bay at Port Louis (see post), Let me tell you again as we were by there today more of the curiosities of Lorient, part II !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The harbormaster or Capitainerie is located in the marina or port de plaisance at 14 Bd Adolphe Pierre , I have mentioned plenty on this wonderful port and its sights, Let me tell you a bit more on the harbormaster facilities found here as in many Breton ports, sublime ! The marina is located in the heart of the city and the harbor. During a stopover, discover a city of Art and History of the 20C and enjoy all the advantages of a dynamic center with many shops, restaurants and walks. An elevator ensures exits and launching thanks to the dock and the team ensures the installation of your boat on the cradles. The end of the development of the harbor master’s office installed in the old building built for the museum ship Thalassa (see post Jacques Cousteau!) has helped it a lot. It takes the quality of the services up a notch. It shows modern shower cabins and toilets, with neat wooden decor. Also installed a sauna whose use is included in the price of the stopover. Lorient is undoubtedly one of the few ports to offer such comfort ! In the reception hall, a lounge with the daily press and an internet corner, with free WiFi, will allow you to stay connected with the news. Also, provided a laundry area with machines and even a table and an iron. to redo. A drying cabinet is available for raincoats or wet duvets Through partnerships we also offer free bus tickets, reduced rates for museums such as the Cité de la voile, the submarine Flore !! Great stop for any boater and great area for the visitors.
An emblematic monument of the city in the days of the Navy, the Tour de la Découverte is once again open to the public to go back in time and discover the maritime signaling of the 19C and the time ball which allowed sailors to adjust their navigation instruments before to go to sea. Built for the first time in 1737 on the site of the reservoir, the Tour de la Découverte was destroyed twice by lightning in 1751 and 1784. In 1786, it was rebuilt on the Faouëdic hill by the architect Philippe Guillois who then equips it with a lightning rod. It is a watchtower to signal the approach of ships and monitor possible smuggling maneuvers on the coast of the island of Groix. Also called reconnaissance tower or signal tower, it was equipped during the 19C with a dome which housed a signaling projector allowing optical communications between the maritime establishments of Lorient.
We come here to shop too. We went to attack La Trinitaine store and for a surprise we finally entered the Stockmani store just before reaching city center. This is a discontinue series store with brand name items, at discount prices. The Stockmani Lanester store: https://www.stokomani.fr/pages/boutique-stokomani-lanester-56600
We went for a nice late lunch at brasserie Le Carré (taking over from La Rotonde) at rue du Port near the place Aristide Briand for a nice burgers, rumsteak steaks, connellonis, chicken curry salads, pear in rum ice creams, and grimbergen beers all for 22 euros per person ,good. The official Brasserie Le Carré: https://www.restaurant-le-carre-lorient.com/
We went right into the harbor, the passenger boat terminal, the pleasure marina, and the roads to the ile de Groix. The gare maritime (see post) to the île de Groix is nice and the island is gorgeous Groix island that is,see it with the compagnie Océane: https://oceane.breizhgo.bzh/en/line/ile-de-groix/
As we had left home for Lorient, we had workers doing our garden, 1000 m2 of it! We got rid of the old trees, plants, flowers etc; now we took off the roots to level the terrain and finally in the spring we will redo the garden with Breton motifs, lots of gravel and stones. My dear late wife Martine wanted a semi tropical garden with Breton symbols. At the same time we are redoing our front open terrace (we have an enclosed one too), we took a hit this week as the man who is doing this work was just diagnose with cancer. He seems like a real nice guy and very helpful to us. Unfortunately, we needed to take someone else as the nice guy could not finish, sadly. A moving tribute to cancer patients that also took my dear wife Martine, too early ! RIP
The city of Lorient on its heritage: https://patrimoine.lorient.bzh/histoire/architecture/
The Lorient South Brittany tourist office on Lorient : https://www.visit-lorient-brittany.com/unmissable/lorient/
There you go folks, a nice way to do some walking around beautiful Lorient,and past the afternoon with the family, Do see my other many posts on Lorient in my blog, Again, hope you enjoy this brief post on curiosities of Lorient ,part II as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 