The Places

PAYS DE REDON

Redon is almost unique in France at the junction of three Departments Morbihan, Ile et Vilaine and Loire Atlantique.  Although little more than punch way above its station as the population in this area of the three departments look to Redon for local services.  It is almost a Department of its own.

Public transport is in the form of SNCF which provides fast trains to Paris and rural services in the area.  Some services are replaced with SNCF Buses.  The town has a limited bus service and in many villages the services is on Monday mornings only for the market.

Visiting a village in France can take you back to those good old days in the UK.  You will find each village, no matter how small, will have its own Mairie with paid staff being responsible for Planning, Sports Facilities, supporting the local school.  Villages in France are really quite different to UK Villages of today where everything that affects the local community is dealt with miles away in large District Council Offices.

Other features which are novel to the Brits.  Every village has its own immaculately kept public toilets and often more than one, my own village has two, often the toilets are part of the village church, with its own telephone box some of which still accept coins.  Speed humps to slow the traffic down and be warned some of the speed humps can be quite large.  Pavements as we know them in the UK are hard to find in villages and where they exist they are surfaced with gravel which is a nightmare for the handicapped and are also often blocked by parked cars or telegraph / electricity poles.   Even the smallest villages seem to manage at least one bar / restaurant, hairdresser, baker for fresh bread every day and often a small not so super, supermarket.  Missing from most is any semblance of a bus service.  Some manage a few buses every day but often there is only one a week to the market in Redon.  All but the tiny villages will have a pharmacy and post office, though the later are becoming part time.

Another unusual feature is that the village appears to die an hour or so before dusk.  In the winter it canefeel very lonely to drive through a village at 3pm on a November afternoon with all the

a village with a population of less than 13,000 it packs a shutters closed except perhaps the Boulangerie.    It is not that all the residents have taken to their beds or that it is a village of holiday homes.  French homes don't generally have curtains and closing the shutters provides privacy as the lights in the houses go on and shutters also help to keep the warmth in and in hotter parts of France they help to keep the heat out.

Maybe you have that image of French cuisine which the kids are taught at school is the best in the world.  Sadly those days have gone if they ever existed at all.  If you are searching for a Plat du Jour for a few Euro in a local bar you must expect that it is likely to be as inedible as the food prepared by Edith in Rene's Café. The chips are likely to be covered in some glutenous slimly mess, the vegetables frozen, tinned or boiled to death, while the slice of meat would be better used for re-soling your shoes.  If you manage to eat it without losing your teeth it will settle in your stomach so heavily it will have the feel of spent nuclear rods.  If you are expecting a delicious home made desert, think again.  You are more likely to get a Cornetto.

There are of course exceptions with several fine restaurants around at rather fine prices but there are quite a number of Workers Restaurants often only open at lunch time.  At these you can get a 4 course meal including wine for 10 or 11 Euro.  It will not be a gastronomic delight but it will be good clean and usually tasty food.  Try La Couree in Redon just by the Nantes Brest Canal.  Best get there at noon.




 
 
 
 
     

Morbihan

Tréal
Carentoir
Quelneuc
La Chapelle Gaceline
La Gacilly
Cournon
Glénac
Le Fougerêts
St Martin sur Oust

Peillac
St Vincent Sur Oust
St Jacut Les Pins
St Perreaux
St Jean La Potterie
Allaire
St Gorgon
Béganne
Rieux
Théhillac

Loire Atlantique

St Nicolas de Redon
Fégréac
Avessac
Plessé
Guéméno-Penfao
Pierric
Conquereuil
Massérac

Ile et Vilaine

Loutehel
Campel
Bovel
La Chapelle Bouexic
Les Brulais
Maure de Bretagne
Mernel
St Séglin

Lohéac
St Malo de Phily
Guipry
Lleuron
Pipriac
St Ganton
St Just
Sixt sur Aff
Bruc sur Aff

Bains Sur Oust
Renac
Langon
Sainte Marie
Redon
La Chapelle de Brain

St Anne sur Villaine
Grand Fougeray
La Doinelais
St Sulpice des Lande

pays de redon map