Lorient - and signs of war and conflict!

When choosing where to travel the reviews of Lorient were not particularly good. They mentioned that the Germans had constructed thick, concrete submarine pens during the second world war to protect their fleet and as the allied bombers could not penetrate them the surrounding town was destroyed to cut off the supply routes. As a consequence all the old buildings were destroyed and the architecture dates from the 1950's. This was however interesting in itself and the town was quite lively.

During the past few days we have come across lots of old gun emplacements and bunkers along the coast from Quiberon all the way to Lorient. The land is fairly flat in this area, with wide sandy beaches, and must have been a potential landing site for any invasion. There are also forts from centuries earlier when the British came to protect their interests against the East India company. These are now tourist sites whilst the ugly old concrete bunkers are covered with graffiti. Some of these are being painted with murals depicting water sports like surfing.

We arrived in Lorient late in the day after spending a long time along the coast and had some problems with navigating the city centre. There is a large military submarine manufacturing plant that straddles both sides of the river and we could not use the bridge between them. However, when we eventually did arrive at our destination it held quite a lot of interest and we could have stayed longer. The old submarine pens and docks, whilst grubby, were well worth viewing and the arts students have invigorated the docklands.

Submarine pen (open for visits)


Old fort just off the coast


2nd world war bunkers








After leaving Lorient we travelled to Pont Aven 'the town of painters'. This town was visited by Gauguin and to our surprise he stayed in our hotel when painting here. There is a famous school of painting named after this town and a marvelous art gallery that would be at home in any large city. The town has become a magnet for artists and there must be over twenty galleries in town. It is very unspoiled otherwise and has a river flowing through the centre. We ate at the old water mill, which is now a restaurant after walking around town and visiting the gallery.

Pont Aven











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Location:Rue Théodore le Hars,Quimper,France