The Special Military School of Saint-Cyr

25 January 2014 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Universities, Colleges, Academies Reading Time:  4 minutes

Guer - Camp Coëtquidan - Ecoles de Coetquidan © Nitot/cc-by-sa-3.0

Guer – Camp Coëtquidan – Ecoles de Coetquidan © Nitot/cc-by-sa-3.0

The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, literally the “Special Military School of Saint-Cyr”) is the foremost French military academy. It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr. Its motto is “Ils s’instruisent pour vaincre”: literally “They study to vanquish” or “Training for victory”. French cadet officers are named “saint-cyriens”, or “cyrards”. The École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr is located in Coëtquidan in Guer, Morbihan department, Brittany.   read more…

Morlaix in Brittany

21 May 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Morlaix with its viaduct in the background © Thesupermat/cc-by-sa-3.0

Morlaix with its viaduct in the background © Thesupermat/cc-by-sa-3.0

Morlaix is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France with a population of 15,600. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhanging houses constructed of stone and timber. Many have religious and secular sculptures on their façades. A tidal river that almost completely dries out at low tide reaches the town of Morlaix where there is a lock into a marina.   read more…

Auray in Brittany

30 April 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Port of Saint Goustan © Varus111/cc-by-30

Port of Saint Goustan © Varus111/cc-by-30

Auray is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in northwestern France. Inhabitants of Auray are called Alréens.   read more…

The port city of Brest

26 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

Rue Saint-Malo maisons © Moreau.henri

Rue Saint-Malo maisons © Moreau.henri

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon. The city is located at one of the occidental edges of continental Europe, hence the expression «Europe from Brest to Brest». Counting 142,722 inhabitants, Brestois and Brestoises (2007 sensur), Brest is the main metropolitan area (reaching 300,300 inhabitants) of Western Brittany, only third behind Nantes and Rennes in the whole Brittany, and the 22nd populous city of France; moreover, Brest provides services to the one million inhabitants of Western Brittany. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the préfecture (regional capital) of the department, Quimper, is much smaller.   read more…

Rennes in Brittany

22 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Republique Square and Palace of Commerce © Pline

Republique Square and Palace of Commerce © Pline

Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department. From 1954 onward, the city developed extensive building plans to accommodate upwards of 220,000 inhabitants, helping it become the third fastest-growing city in France, after Toulouse and Montpellier.   read more…

The Rance Tidal Power Station

23 May 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Green Technologies Reading Time:  7 minutes

Aerial view: Saint-Malo on the right, Dinard on the left © Tswgb

Aerial view: Saint-Malo on the right, Dinard on the left © Tswgb

The Rance Tidal Power Station is the world’s first tidal power station and also the world’s second biggest tidal power station. The facility is located on the estuary of the Rance River, in Brittany. Opened on the 26th November 1966, it is currently operated by Électricité de France, and is the second largest tidal power station in the world, in terms of installed capacity. With a peak rating of 240 Megawatts, generated by its 24 turbines, it supplies 0.012% of the power demand of France. With a capacity factor of approximately 40%, it supplies an average 96 Megawatts, giving an annual output of approximately 600 GWh. The barrage is 750 m (2,461 ft) long, from Brebis point in the west to Briantais point in the east. The power plant portion of the dam is 332.5 m (1,091 ft) long. The tidal basin measures 22.5 km2 (9 sq mi).   read more…

The seaside resort of Dinard in Brittany

7 May 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

View towards the Atlantic Ocean © Joergsam

View towards the Atlantic Ocean © Joergsam

Dinard is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. Dinard is on the Côte d’Émeraude of Brittany. Its beaches and mild climate make it a popular holiday destination, and this has resulted in the town having a variety of famous visitors and residents. The towns of Pleurtuit and Saint-Malo are nearby and the Dinard Pleurtuit Saint-Malo Airport is about 4 km south of Dinard. In modern history Dinard was first settled by Saint-Malo’s shipping merchants who built some of the town’s magnificent houses in the town- however very few survive. In the late 19th century American and British aristocrats made Dinard popular as a fashionable summer resort, and they built stunning villas on the cliff tops and exclusive hotels such as the Le Grand Hotel on the seafront during the French “Belle Epoque”.   read more…

The port city of Saint-Malo on the Emerald Coast

2 April 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Port of Sablons © Pline

Port of Sablons © Pline

Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine. The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season. With the suburbs included, the population is about 135,000. The population of the commune more than doubled in 1968 with the merging of three communes: Saint-Malo, Saint-Servan (population 14,963 in 1962), and Paramé (population 8811 in 1962). Inhabitants of Saint-Malo are called Malouins in French.   read more…

Theme Week Brittany – Vitré

25 February 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Historical city centre © Electzik

Historical city centre © Electzik

Vitré (Breton: Gwitreg) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in north-western France. Vitré, a sub-prefecture until 1926, is the seat of a canton of around 17,000 inhabitants (2006). It lies on the edge of Brittany, near Normandy, Maine, and Anjou. The town has been designated a ville d’art et d’histoire, a town of artistic and historic significance, by the Ministry of Culture in recognition of its rich cultural inheritance. Vitré is the 37th French city with the most historic buildings and has 14% of the historical monuments of the department.   read more…

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