The Berkeley Guides:
Berkeley Guide to Europe:
France:
Brittany
You can get an idea of what Brittany is all about just by looking at a map of France. A rugged peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic off the western coast, Brittany boasts wave-battered crags and smooth, sunny beaches, all accessible by hundreds of windswept footpaths. Off the coast, dozens of islands lure you into unexpectedly long stays. Inland, what was once a huge forest is now a world of rolling farmland and forgotten villages.
Brittany's geographic isolation mirrors its cultural separateness from the rest of France. Brittany wasn't even part of France until 1532, when Anne de Bretagne, duchess of Brittany, keeled over after having linked Brittany to France by marrying two French kings in succession. Since then, the relationship between France and Brittany has been rocky. The Bretons, descendants of 5th-century refugee Celts, have resisted the pull of French culture, preserving a language and customs all their own.
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