Brest: The city at the end of the world

"Great seaport, the most excellent in Brittany, from which it seems that Brittany took its name" wrote Charles Estienne in "La guide des chemins de France", published in 1552. 500 years later, Brest is still a great port with the wind in its sails.

Brest cannot be tamed at first sight. It's a city that takes time to discover. Prolonged by the vast blue ocean, it is almost at the other end of the world. In any case, that's what every traveller feels when they pass through the city. Brest is divided between two worlds that have thirst in common. On the one hand, there are a thousand and one bars where you can quench your thirst by the water or in the heart of the city and its marine history.

Brest is first and foremost a city of the sea, with a strong maritime vocation. Brest's harbour offers a multitude of panoramas - soothing, wild and breathtaking - both on land and on the water. On the other hand, people come to Brest to quench their cultural thirst for monuments and historic sites, museums and bookshops, churches and natural sites. Finally, its architecture is rooted in history, particularly from the Second World War and the medieval period.

Considered France's second-largest military port, Brest is surrounded by water and protected by its 180km2 harbour. All its main attractions are centred around the sea: the Brest fortress, the national naval museum, the Océanopolis aquarium to discover mysterious creatures, and a boat trip along the coast to breathe in the fresh iodised air.

Couples and families alike can enjoy water sports, swimming on the beaches of the harbour and strolling around the marina. Every four years (in mid-July), the Brest International Maritime Festival brings together nearly 1,000 sailing ships from all over the world, around 9,000 sailors and thousands of musicians.

When you're not sailing in Brest, you can relax in its green spaces, such as the National Botanical Conservatory, one of the largest in Europe, which preserves endangered species. The Océanopolis is a giant museum dedicated to the world of the sea, where more than 1,000 marine animals live side by side.

With the influx of students, the population has become younger and the face of the city has changed: restaurants and bars open onto the sea, several pedestrian areas, a new commercial port, a new urban cable car, a modern and artistic Capucins district. In short, Brest is moving at top speed.