Walled city of Concarneau
TourMaG.com - What are the assets of Concarneau?
Véronique Jeannès: “The city is entirely turned toward the sea making it very pleasant to live in. From the city-center, we can easily go everywhere! We can quickly reach the cornice and the beaches but also to the walled city, an unmissable monument of Bretagne with over 1 million visitors annually.
The Walled City bears this name as it is surrounded by ramparts that close it off. It can only be accessed through one bridge. It is the cradle of Concarneau as it dates back to the 15th century and was built on a rocky islet.
In general, we benefit from a rich heritage but the beach resort sector is also very attractive thanks to sailing, race departures, boat rentals, beaches of course… But the advantage of Concarneau is that the city is lively all year long, not only in the summer. For example, this is the case of the Thalasso of Concarneau that remains very active even in the off-season, even though it has been around for only a year.”
TourMaG.com - What do tourists enjoy most about Concarneau?
Véronique Jeannès: “We are a city of art and history. We have a history service that organizes guided visits of Concarneau and enables to explore in details the walled city and more… The Concarneau harbor also has a very interesting history.
Currently, it is still a major European harbor thanks to tuna fishing, however tuna boats are not based here, they’re on the African coasts or the Seychelles, but the armaments originate from Concarneau.
Visitors really enjoy the guided visit of the fish market, that can be done on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 am. We explain the world of fishing to visitors, how sales work, where the fish go and the entire selling process. It is truly fascinating for those who are not familiar with the world of fishing.
We also offer tours including one called the sardine fishing tour that goes around several neighborhoods of the city, and this year, city authorities had the great idea of marking this tour with blue sardines around the city. People can easily orient themselves while visiting the city.”
TourMaG.com - Where do most foreign tourists who visit Concarneau come from?
Véronique Jeannès: “In descending order, the highest numbers of foreigns visitors range from Germans, English, Belgians, Italians and Spanish.
The Germans fell in love with our city thanks to the novelist Jean-Luc Bannalec, a German who changed his name…
He lives in Concarneau part of the year and he wrote a mystery novel that takes place in the Concarneau region.
The book quickly became a best-seller in Germany, to such an extent that one of the biggest German TV stations turned it into a television movie that became highly successful.
Consequently, In recent years, many tourists started coming to Concarneau following the release of the films. Some German tour-operators even organize tours in the footsteps of the commissionner Dupin, the hero of Jean-Luc Bannalec’s novel.”
Véronique Jeannès: “The city is entirely turned toward the sea making it very pleasant to live in. From the city-center, we can easily go everywhere! We can quickly reach the cornice and the beaches but also to the walled city, an unmissable monument of Bretagne with over 1 million visitors annually.
The Walled City bears this name as it is surrounded by ramparts that close it off. It can only be accessed through one bridge. It is the cradle of Concarneau as it dates back to the 15th century and was built on a rocky islet.
In general, we benefit from a rich heritage but the beach resort sector is also very attractive thanks to sailing, race departures, boat rentals, beaches of course… But the advantage of Concarneau is that the city is lively all year long, not only in the summer. For example, this is the case of the Thalasso of Concarneau that remains very active even in the off-season, even though it has been around for only a year.”
TourMaG.com - What do tourists enjoy most about Concarneau?
Véronique Jeannès: “We are a city of art and history. We have a history service that organizes guided visits of Concarneau and enables to explore in details the walled city and more… The Concarneau harbor also has a very interesting history.
Currently, it is still a major European harbor thanks to tuna fishing, however tuna boats are not based here, they’re on the African coasts or the Seychelles, but the armaments originate from Concarneau.
Visitors really enjoy the guided visit of the fish market, that can be done on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:30 am. We explain the world of fishing to visitors, how sales work, where the fish go and the entire selling process. It is truly fascinating for those who are not familiar with the world of fishing.
We also offer tours including one called the sardine fishing tour that goes around several neighborhoods of the city, and this year, city authorities had the great idea of marking this tour with blue sardines around the city. People can easily orient themselves while visiting the city.”
TourMaG.com - Where do most foreign tourists who visit Concarneau come from?
Véronique Jeannès: “In descending order, the highest numbers of foreigns visitors range from Germans, English, Belgians, Italians and Spanish.
The Germans fell in love with our city thanks to the novelist Jean-Luc Bannalec, a German who changed his name…
He lives in Concarneau part of the year and he wrote a mystery novel that takes place in the Concarneau region.
The book quickly became a best-seller in Germany, to such an extent that one of the biggest German TV stations turned it into a television movie that became highly successful.
Consequently, In recent years, many tourists started coming to Concarneau following the release of the films. Some German tour-operators even organize tours in the footsteps of the commissionner Dupin, the hero of Jean-Luc Bannalec’s novel.”
Bridge of the walled city of Concarneau (photo: SHD)
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Concarneau Tourism Office
Quai d'Aiguillon BP 529 29185 Concarneau Cedex
Phone. +33 (0)2.98.97.01.44 - Fax +33 (0)2.98.50.88.81
accueil@tourismeconcarneau.fr - www.tourismeconcarneau.fr
Finistère Tourism
www.finisteretourisme.com
Getting to Concarneau?
By train
Paris-Montparnasse, Lyon and Bordeaux direct TGV train
(bus connection in Rosporden or Quimper)
www.voyages-sncf.com
By airplane
Daily flights:
- Paris-Quimper (Quimper Airport is 24 km away)
Phone. +33 2 98 94 30 30 - www.quimper.aeroport.fr
- Paris-Lorient (Lorient Airport is 50 km away)
Phone. + 33 2 97 87 21 50 - www.lorient.aeroport.fr
- Paris-Brest (Brest Bretagne Airport 100km) phone. +33 2 98 32 86 00 - www.brest.aeroport.fr
Driving
Paris is 540 km away (highway and express way), exit Coat Conq.
By boat
Roscoff Marine station- 150 Km
www.brittany-ferries.fr
Quai d'Aiguillon BP 529 29185 Concarneau Cedex
Phone. +33 (0)2.98.97.01.44 - Fax +33 (0)2.98.50.88.81
accueil@tourismeconcarneau.fr - www.tourismeconcarneau.fr
Finistère Tourism
www.finisteretourisme.com
Getting to Concarneau?
By train
Paris-Montparnasse, Lyon and Bordeaux direct TGV train
(bus connection in Rosporden or Quimper)
www.voyages-sncf.com
By airplane
Daily flights:
- Paris-Quimper (Quimper Airport is 24 km away)
Phone. +33 2 98 94 30 30 - www.quimper.aeroport.fr
- Paris-Lorient (Lorient Airport is 50 km away)
Phone. + 33 2 97 87 21 50 - www.lorient.aeroport.fr
- Paris-Brest (Brest Bretagne Airport 100km) phone. +33 2 98 32 86 00 - www.brest.aeroport.fr
Driving
Paris is 540 km away (highway and express way), exit Coat Conq.
By boat
Roscoff Marine station- 150 Km
www.brittany-ferries.fr
