Cheap Days Out 

Make the most of the euros and have some cheap days out. This page is a summary of all the places we reckon you can have a trip out with a family of four in Brittany for around ten pounds or so - two adults, a child and an infant. Obviously this doesn't include your lunch and nibbles- just the cost of the trip

The Beach: Carnac

This is a bit of cheat really as the beach is obviously free, but as there's so much of it you can never see it all. Go to Carnac you can have a great day out and spend virtually nothing. Even the parking's free !! See the 'Beach' page for more info. Our children love rock pooling at Damgan and Carnac and searching for crabs keeps them happy for hours. It's also a very cheap pastime

Children's Boat Hire

At St Malo de Beignon not far from our gites, children can go out on an eight acre lake specially designed to be as safe as possible. There are miniature ferries, tug boats, steamers and Mississippi paddle boats. Afterwards take a walk around the lake and buy an ice cream or cold drink in the shop

The River Oust

Go to Malestroit, hire a canoe and take a leisurely trip up the river. You can rent by the hour, half day or full day

Carrentoir Lake

Nip up the road to Carrentoir and the children can play on the sandy beach there. Afterwards they can go on the swings, see saws and assault course whilst you get a drink or have lunch at the restaurant overlooking the lake. Afterwards hire pedallo's and go for a trip around the lake

Cider making

Why not take a trip along to the Maison du Cidre at Ploermel and see how cider was traditionally made ? Old straw presses are used to crush the apples. There's also a large museum of cider at Le Hezo which is worth a visit

Sweet Making

At La Maison d'Armorine in Quiberon there is an 'artisanal' sweet maker where old fashioned sweets and chocolates are still made in the traditional way. You can see the sweets being hand crafted and actually help with the work. Buy a bag of your favourites to bring home

Glass Blowers

The glass blowers at Damgan is free and extremely interesting. Wander round the shop and buy some unique hand made items- prices are very reasonable and everything's high quality. There's also another glass blowers in La Gacilly and one at Rochefort-en-Terre

Sculpture Park

Located at Bignan near Josselin Kerguehennec Sculpture Park and contemporary art centre is definitely worth a visit and it's free. Basically it is a large chateau set in hundreds of acres of gardens with numerous sculptures dotted around. It is the premier centre for the arts in Brittany

The sculptures are all by contemporary artists and range from the bizarre looking thing in the photo below to stone carvings and an odd creation of a thousand red plant pots. It probably sounds a bit alternative and indeed it is. In addition, there is a rolling art exhibition in part of the chateau, again of modern art. We recommend that you take a picnic, the grounds are a beautiful place for lunch and there's a tea shop as well

Megaliths

Monteneuf (just a minute from our gites) is famous in Brittany for its 'standing stones'. There are dozens of the mysterious huge megaliths in a small area just outside the village. The stones, which range in size from 100 kilos to over 30 tons, are made from massive schist

In addition, an authentic 'bronze age' village has been created around them to give the feel of mediaeval Brittany. A network of marked paths especially for walkers and cyclists leads off from the stones and you can disappear into the forest for hours. Click below to see a short movie.

Wood Sculptures

Each year Reminiac holds a wood carving exhibition. People arrive with tree trunks, chain saws, chisels and planes to create something unique. You can walk round the village following the 'trail of the sculptures' You'll see all the creations of the previous years works - there are a lot

Outdoor Lidos

This is a really low cost option for a fun afternoon out. The outdoor swimming at La Gacilly consists of two large pools with diving boards and a jacuzzi. The deep end of one of the pools goes right down to 14 feet, the small one though is no deeper than four feet, so better for non swimmers

There's a large seating area around the pools (both terrace and grass) and they supply sun loungers and park benches for free so if you don't want to go in yourself you can just take it easy, read a book and let the children have all the fun on their own. We recommend taking a picnic. Best of all is the entrance price- it's very cheap !

Perfume factory

At La Gacilly you can take a guided tour of the Yves Rocher factory in English and see the perfume being made. Afterwards, take a walk around the extensive gardens where the exotic plants for the perfume are grown. On the way out don't' forget to stop off at the factory outlet shop and snap up some bargains Also at La Gacilly is the open air photo exhibition. This is said to be the biggest in Brittany and is a great trip. It's free go and look

Penerf Taxi Boat

Go to Penerf which is just past Damgan for a trip on the boat-taxi. You can go right across the bay for just a few euros each. It's really tranquil and you get amazing views from the boat. Once you get to the other side spend an hour or so strolling around the working oyster farms then catch the boat back again. It leaves every thirty minutes or so

Snail Production

Visit the Espace Escargots at Le Croisac and see how these Brittany favourites are bred and raised, ready for your plate. It's a novel experience, well presented and our children really enjoyed seeing all about it. We also bought a very nice bag of snails for dinner

Boules

All the supermarkets sell boules. Pop up to the local park at Reminiac -walking distance from the gites- and spend the afternoon trying to beat the French at their own game ! Or if you prefer you could just sit around and watch the locals show you how the pro's do it

Children's Playgrounds

There's quite a few of these around. e.g. At Reminiac, Monteneuf, Guer and Malestroit

Josselin Chateau

With its three majestic towers this chateau dominates the valley of the River Oust. The striking gothic design is well worth a look You can take a guided tour which go hourly and learn about its fascinating history -there's English tours as well as French

Pedallos at Ploermel

For less than a tenner you can hire a pedallo or go on a small sail boat for an hour at the huge Lac au Duc at Ploermel. There's also giant water slides where you pay a just few euros for the kids to swoosh down

Malestroit Market

On Thursday morning take a trip to the large market in Malestroit town square. There's loads of fresh food for sale. Check out the numerous fish and cheese stalls. Buy some enormous heads of Brittany garlic and then visit the crepe stall. Four takeaway crepes are less than two euros, stop at a pavement cafe for a coffee or coke, eat the crepes and soak up the atmosphere

Picnics

There's loads of nice spots with benches to stop off at for a picnic in the summer sun and what's more it's free ! Plus the French are really into picnics. They tend to turn up with cool box, hamper and even a table cloth. They don't bother making up the sandwiches beforehand but just grab a baguette and a packet of ham or cheese, a bottle of red wine and put it all together when they arrive- nice and simple

Churches and Chapels

Brittany is covered in medieval churches and tiny chapels. There are  literally thousands to discover nearby. Just drive out in any direction

General stuff

It goes without saying that visiting all the local towns, walking and cycling are all free. See those pages for more info