Finistère is a French department made of many parts, it has tranquil beaches alongside rocky dramatic coastlines, medieval towns full a charm and history, fertile countryside and open and wild moorland, this route discovers just a few of these places as it travels around the coast and north to the ferry port of Roscoff.
The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth. In England, a similar area in Cornwall is called Land's End.
The similarities with Cornwall don't end there:
Cornouaille is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany. The name is derived from the same root as Cornwall. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall. Celtic Britons and the settlers in Brittany spoke a common language, which later evolved into Breton, Welsh and Cornish.
After leaving the Ibis Budget hotel you will head west. The first significant thing that you'll see after just 25 minutes is the Cornouaille bridge over the Odet river. They named the bridge as a nod to the historic settlement of Cornouaille.
Although the bridge isn't as stylish as the one you'll use later, the views to the mouth of the Odet and upstream are memorable.

Continuing west and after passing the ruins of a 13th century chapel at Plovan, you'll soon be on the beautiful coast of Finistère. The picturesque harbour of Pors Poulhan is a lovely place to stop for a breath of fresh sea air and a photo.
Next comes the harbour of Audierne. You're never far away from WWII history when you travel this coast. The battle of Audierne Bay, which took place on 23 August 1944, was an engagement between German and Allied naval flotillas. Three Allied warships, which had already established control of this part of the coast of Brittany and were lurking off Audierne when they intercepted and sank eight German vessels of an armed convoy. This was the conclusion of 'Kinetic', an Allied undertaking to intercept shipping and hinder any German effort to support its forces besieged in Brest.
It's all peaceful today in Audierne and I have suggested a lunch stop at small waterside restaurant called Café du Quai where we enjoyed some lovely seafood.

Next comes Pointe du Raz. Wild and windy, France’s equivalent to Land’s End is one of Brittany’s most popular natural sites. An imposing granite headland which juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. Man’s fascination with the promontory goes back to Neolithic times, something that continues to this day. There is a car-park fee of 8€ and a walk of just over 1 kilometre to reach the Pointe du Raz semaphore, a former lighthouse whose original building dates back to 1838. It was not until 1892 that it was transformed into a semaphore. This communication station with ships passing between the bays of Audierne and Douarnenez is also an important weather station. Two lighthouses La Vieille (The Old Lady) and her companion lighthouse Tourelle de la Plate—also known as Petite Vieille (Little Old Woman) now protect shipping from these dangerous waters.

A short distance from Pointe du Raz stand two windmills. The smaller of the two is a post mill, erected on an upright support, so that the body of the mill can rotate to face the wind. This type of windmill gradually disappeared during the 1960s. The larger tower mill was built in 1830. There were once numerous mills in the Cap Sizun region, but all that is left today are a few ruined towers.

Heading east now and you'll pass the port of Douarnenez, which was the centre of a large sardine industry in the early 20th century. Dourarnenez is the only settlement of importance on the shore of the large bay which is the reason the bay Douarnenez was named after this important town.

The route now passes the medieval village of Locronan and you have the option to visit it. The village is one of the very select clubs of “Small Towns of Character” and “Most beautiful villages of France”, and with good reason. Elegant houses with sculpted dormer windows surround the square. The neighbouring streets are also lined with charming buildings. To preserve the authenticity of the historic heart, cars must remain outside, but it is still worthy of a visit.

Dominating the Bay of Douarnenez, the long-backed Menez-Hom hill was sacred to prehistoric people and inspired Breton legends. It also has a chapel with secrets!
On the hill’s southern slope, the chapel of Sainte-Marie-du-Menez-Hom is surprisingly ornate for such a rural setting. Taxes raised at the annual fairs held here helped pay for it. Don’t miss the extravagant decorations inside. A plaque also recalls how, in the Second World War, a number of British and American airmen whose planes had been shot down over France were hidden here until they could be put aboard a boat across the Channel – all made it back to England safely. Both the chapel and plaque are marked on the route.

The small village of Argol is off the beaten track but is worth a coffee stop for its fascinating living museum of old trades and the admirable triumphal arch of the enclosure of the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul church.
Now comes what I would class as the piece de resistance for this route, the Térénez bridge. We like to bag special bridges and this one is special!
Historically, today's Térénez bridge is the third to span the river Aulne, after those built in 1925 and 1952. Destroyed during the Second World War, then rebuilt with materials of lesser quality, the bridge you can use today was finally inaugurated in 2011.
Its technical sophistication and aesthetic appeal make it the world's first curved cable-stayed bridge. It was awarded the World Infrastructure Award in 2013, and received the International Concrete Federation's prize for the most beautiful structure in 2014.
On foot, by bike or by car, you can stop at the abutments of the old bridge, now converted into a belvedere. These spots are ideal for admiring the architectural feat that is the Térénez bridge.

Crossing over the Aulne river takes you into the Armorique Regional Natural Park. Created in 1969, the Armorique Regional Natural Park reaches from Brest to Carhaix and from Le Faou to Landivisiau, sheltering a whole host of natural and cultural heritage. This landscape is typical of what the Bretons called ‘Argoat’: with few trees, you have a 360° view across mysterious moorlands, dotted with rocks.
Standing out of this mysterious landscape at 381 metres is Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts. Not to be confused with the more famous Mont Saint-Michel, this old, dormant volcano was originally named Menez Kronan, after the Druid god of life. It’s one of the seven sacred hills of the ancient Armorica region of France. The summit was once the site of an old Celtic temple dedicated to worshipping the sun. The chapel perched on Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts is largely unused, although druids do occasionally gather and hold ceremonies nearby.

From here it is just a 30 minute ride to Morlaix where I suggest you refuel and buy some provisions as the B&B hotel has no restaurant. The rooms are not the best, but they were cheap and we could park our bikes right outside. And with only 16 miles or 25 minutes to the ferry port of Roscoff, it made catching the early morning ferry easy.
I hope that you have enjoyed this tour.
All routes used for this tour will be available as an MRA route collection and I will include a link for that below.