Find here soon all the cultural points around today's stage.
In the meantime,you can return to the stage page to discover all the tourism information about the start and arrival cities of the stage!
Region: Brittany
Departments: Côtes d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan
Population: 3.42 million
Prefecture: Rennes
Surface area: 27,209 km²
Specialities: apples, cider. Galette (sausage). Far breton. Kouign-Amann. Chouchen. Breton whisky. Breton shortbread. Plougastel strawberries. Cotriade (fish soup). Andouille from Guémené. Paimpol coconut. Seafood and fish
Major sports clubs: Stade Rennais, Stade Brestois, En Avant Guingamp, FC Lorient (football). RC Vannes (rugby)
Major competitions: Tro Bro Léon, Bretagne Classic, Route Adélie, Boucles de l'Aulne (cycling), Arkea-Ultim Challenge Brest, Spi-Ouest France, Transat Québec-Saint-Malo (sailing), Jumping international de Dinard
Festivals: Vielles Charrues in Carhaix, Route du Rock in Saint-Malo, Transmusicales in Rennes, Festival interceltique in Lorient. Cornouaille Festival in Quimper. Fest-Jazz in Châteauneuf-du-Faou. Festival du bout du monde in Crozon. La Gacilly photo festival. Étonnants voyageurs in Saint-Malo. Festival des Remparts in Dinan
Economy: The region produces 12 pc of France's agricultural output, making it the second-largest region in France behind Nouvelle-Aquitaine: livestock farming (84 pc of the region's farms), primarily dairy production, pork (58 pc of French tonnage) and poultry (43 pc of French egg production). Brittany is France's leading fishing region, accounting for almost half of national production. Food industry. Tourism. Defence (French Navy). Telecommunications
Tourist attractions: Saint-Malo, Rennes, Vannes, Quimper, Brest, Dinan, Dinard, Concarneau. Pointe du Raz, Cap Fréhel. Brocéliande forest. Fougères castle. The alignments of Carnac. Belle-Île-en-Mer. Islands of Groix, Ouessant, Bréhat. Locronan. Gulf of Morbihan. Océanopolis
Websites and social networks:www.bretagne.bzh
Department: Morbihan (56)
Region: Brittany
Population: 750,863
Surface area: 6,880 km²
Prefecture: Vannes
Sub-prefectures: Lorient, Pontivy
Specialities: Oyster farming, Shellfish farming (Bouchot mussels from Pénestin), Scallops, Blue lobster, Andouille from Guémené-sur-Scorff, Cidre Royal Guillevic (Label Rouge), Breizh Cola, Whisky (Belle-île-en-Mer), Confectionery (Caramel with salted butter, Niniches, Carabreizh), Spice (Kari Gosse), Lorient cabbage
Sport: Football club de Lorient (Ligue 1), Rugby Club de Vannes (Pro D2), Garde du Vœu Hennebont (table tennis, Pro A), Lanester Handball (Nationale 1), Cep Lorient Basket, Lorient La Base - Skippers (Franck Cammas and Charles Caudrelier, Thomas Coville, Sam Davies)
Heritage: Megaliths (Carnac alignments, Gavrinis and Petit Mont cairns in Arzon, La Table des Marchand in Locmariaquer, Monteneuf megaliths...), Château de Suscinio (Sarzeau), Kerguéhennec Estate (Bignan), Château de Josselin, Guéhenno Calvary, Citadel of Port-Louis, French Resistance Museum (Saint-Marcel), wild dunes of Gâvres Quiberon, Atlantic islands (Belle-Ile-en-Mer, Houat, Hoëdic, Groix), Bay of Quiberon, Gulf of Morbihan (Ile d'Arz and Ile-aux-Moines, ...), the Lorient region, Brocéliande and its legends (Broceliande forest, Comper castle, centre of Arthurian legend, etc.)
Economy: food industry, agriculture and fishing, nautical industry (sailing valley), tourism, mechanical industry, cosmetics, shipbuilding, plastics, information and communication technologies...
Culture: La Gacilly and Vannes photo festivals / La Semaine du Golfe (old sailing ships) / Art in chapels (Pontivy, Blavet valley) / Pont du Rock Festival (Malestroit) / Belle-Ile On Air / La Madone des Motards (Porcaro) / Le Mille Sabords (Arzon) / Lorient Interceltic Festival / Arvor Fetes in Vannes / Vannes book fair
Websites and social networks:www.morbihan.fr / www.morbihan.com / www.instagram.com/morbihantourism/ / www.facebook.com/morbihantourisme/ / twitter.com/MorbihanTourism / www.youtube.com/c/morbihantourisme
Km 3.8
Arradon (Pop: 5,820)
Situated in the Gulf of Morbihan on the Roman road between Vannes and Locmariaquer, Arradon has a long history of occupation (dolmens, Gallo-Roman villas). A modest village built around the Pointe d'Arradon at the beginning of the 19th century, the town became a wealthy seaside resort at the end of that century. Its harbour provides crossings to the Ile aux Moines and the Ile d'Arz. The town is home to around fifteen castles and manor houses, the most important of which is the Château de Kerran, birthplace of the d'Arradon family. It is the birthplace of the yachtsman Eugène Riguidel, winner of the double-handed Transat in 1979, and the home of the yachtswoman Anne Caseneuve, a figure in the Route du Rhum, who set up her first nautical base here. Actress Denis Grey (1896-1996) is buried in the local cemetery. Arradon is also the birthplace of François Mahé (1930-2015), fifth in the 1959 Tour de France. The Breton rider, whose brother Joseph was also a professional, finished six of his thirteen Tours de France in the top 15 and wore the Yellow Jersey for a day in 1953. In 1961, he took second place in the Vuelta.
Château de Kéran
Construction: 15th century.
History: The north-east tower appears to survive from the 15th century, as does the north-west barn, although it has been altered. Together with the staircase and corridor in the south building, these buildings appear to form an inner courtyard around which the first building was constructed. The exterior volume of a 16th-century pavilion remains to the south-east of this courtyard. The main extension can be attributed to Jerome of Arradon (early 17th century) and features a wider building with dormer windows. The facade was remodelled and new windows added until the 19th century. The First Empire-style pavilion in the park was probably built between 1809 and 1816 by Luc-Edmond de Stappleton. Listed as: historical monument in 1973.
Gulf of Morbihan Regional Nature Park
Created in October 2014. 568 km of coastline. It is the 50th regional nature park in France. The surface area of the designated communes covers 70,347 hectares, with an associated area of maritime interest of around 17,000 hectares. The population of the 33 communes was 181,117 in 2016. The Park's emblem is a speckled seahorse. It is one of two seahorses that frequent the waters of the Gulf of Morbihan. Rare today, but once common, it symbolises the urgent need to preserve the Gulf of Morbihan, and the interaction between land and sea of the many challenges facing this area.
Gulf of Morbihan
An inland sea (20 km long and 15 km wide) dotted with islands and islets. Its Breton name, Mor Bihan, means "little sea". It opens onto Quiberon Bay through a narrow passage (1 km wide) between Locmariaquer and Portnavalo. As a result, there are very strong tidal currents. The tidal cycle is out of sync with that of the ocean (when the tide is high in Quiberon Bay and at the entrance to the gulf, the seabed continues to fill and the water level continues to rise). A third of the Gulf's surface area is made up of mudflats, which can be seen at low tide. The mudflats and marshes have fostered the development of a varied ecosystem, in particular the presence of eelgrass beds (aquatic plants), the second largest in France. It helps to stabilise the land, reduce water turbidity, promote oxygenation and phytoplankton production, and provides a natural shelter for reproduction. The Gulf receives water from the three main rivers of Auray, Vannes and Noyalo. The economy of the Gulf region has developed around agriculture and oyster farming, plus an industrial hub around Vannes. Tourism is also growing, as is pleasure boating. Breton legend has it that the islands of the Gulf were created by the tears of fairies driven from the forest of Broceliande. The fairies then threw their crowns into the forest, which became the islands.
Km 9.1
Ploren (Pop: 6,780)
Ploeren is one of the towns in the first ring of Vannes and was once a primitive parish that encompassed the present-day territories of Arradon and Île-aux-Moines. The town's elegant 18th-century Château du Mézo and its impressive grounds have been transformed into a luxury hotel.
Km 15.4
Plescop (Pop: 6,200)
Like all the surrounding communes, Plescop boasts a number of picturesque châteaux and manor houses, most of them privately owned, including the Château de Kérango, the former residence of the bishops of Vannes. Comedian Jean-Yves Lafesse (1957-2021), famous for his prank phone calls, is buried in Plescop.
Km 23.4
Grand-Champ (Pop: 5,400)
Largely located on the Lavaux moors, a natural region in the shape of a narrow granite ridge belonging to the Armorican Massif. Once divided between several fiefdoms, the town developed thanks to its agriculture and commercial vocation at the crossroads of several strongholds, including Vannes, Auray and Malestroit. The village has gone down in history as the scene of a fierce battle between Republican troops and the insurgent Chouans led by Cadoudal at the end of the 18th century. The devotional fountains of Loperhet (17th century) and Burgo (16th century), with their basins, are typical of Brittany. In 2020, following the withdrawal of Plumelec, Grand-Champ hosted the French road race championships. Audrey Cordon-Ragot won the road race on home soil, while Juliette Labous won the time trial. Arnaud Démare and Rémi Cavagna won the men's race.
Château de Penhouët
The seat of the ancient seigneury of Penhouët and successively owned by the d'Arradon (in the 16th century), Dreouet and Blévin families. The seigneury became a marquisate in 1620. The current château was built around 1756 by Blévin sieur de Penhoët (the date 1756 is engraved on the pediment). The gardens are attributed to Le Nôtre. The château has a private chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame and an orangery. Formerly owned by German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld (1933-2019), the château was visited by the Queen Mother of England, mother of Queen Elizabeth II, in June 1990.
Km 31.6
Colpo (Pop: 2,260)
Élisa Napoléone Baciocchi, first cousin of Napoléon III, founded the commune of Colpo where, encouraged by him, she created a modern farm which the imperial couple visited on 18 August 1858, and built the château de Corn-er-Houët, where she died in 1869 from a fall from her horse; her tomb is in the commune church. Colpo is also the birth and deathplace of Marcel Jézo, one of the best track sprinters of the 1930s. He owned a cycle shop in the village and the local stadium bears his name. His brother Sylvère had a career on the road and won the Boucles de l'Aulne in 1945.
Km 41.6
Plaudren (Pop: 1,950)
Numerous megalithic sites bear witness to the presence of man for a very long time (menhir du Coleho, dolmen de Men Gouarec, Quenouille de Gargantua...). Situated at the crossroads of the Vannes-Corseul and Rennes-Carhaix Roman roads, the Romans had an imposing camp, traces of which can still be seen at Guerneuvé. The figure of Cadoudal is also present here, notably around the Château du Nédo, replaced in the 19th century by an astonishing medieval-looking building. Plaudren is the village of Laurent Madouas, who took part in eight Tours de France between 1993 and 2000, finishing 12th in 1995. His parents ran a bakery here. His son Valentin, 27th in the last Tour and Olympic silver-medallist, is one of the great hopes of French cycling.
Km 65.1
Côte de Cadoudal
A must for the Grand Prix de Plumelec, Côte de Cadoudal, the hero of the Breton Chouannerie (Peasant Revolt), has been the venue for some of the biggest races on the cycling calendar, including the Tour de France for men. The climb has an average gradient of 6.2 pc over a distance of 1.7 km, with the altitude rising from 50 m at the Cadoudal manor house and the bridge over the Claie to 156 m in the village. Four stages of the men's Tour de France have finished at the top of the côte de Cadoudal: in 1982 (team time trial, victory by the Ti-Raleigh team), 1997 (victory by Erik Zabel), 2008 (victory by Alejandro Valverde) and 2015 (team time trial on stage 9, victory by BMC), as well as the prologue of the 1985 Tour (victory by Bernard Hinault). The 2016 European road championships, organised in Plumelec, finished at the top of the hill. Anna van der Breggen won ahead of Kasia Niewiadoma and Elisa Longo-Borghini. In the men's race, Peter Sagan dominated Julian Alaphilippe.
