Campervan Holiday Vannes France

Campervan Holiday in Vannes France

Vannes, the capital of Morbihan. A town with art, history and a marina. Vannes is a fortified walled town with medieval gates and old cobbled streets. The Roman Catholic Cathedral Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Vannes stands in the centre of the town among the brightly painted half-timber houses. The Cathedral was built between the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, it is dedicated to Saint Pierre, He was the first pope, which is considered as a guarantee of its very great antiquity. The ramparts that surround Vannes are fortifications. They were erected between the 3rd and 17th centuries to protect the city. Just outside the walls are the Jardin des Remparts the gardens by the city walls. It’s a nice well-maintained garden to walk around. A good place to eat your takeaway lunch too.

Camping Gulf of Morbihan

We found a campsite to the south of Vannes Moulin de Cantizac, the heart of the Gulf of Morbihan. It was roughly six and a half kilometres to walk into Vannes. Leaving the campsite you head north on the road, and after around 900m you see a footpath on your left. Follow the footpath to the next road, it winds along the edge of a small treelined forest/field. Turn left at the end of the field then walk for about 200m. Now turn right into the farmyard and carry on towards the foreshore. Join the foreshore and turn right. You will follow this coastal path until it joins the marina/canal path.

The tourist information is on the left-hand side of the marina if you want to pick up any information. The walk along the foreshore was good, accompanied by good weather we did the walk twice. It is popular with cyclists, dog walkers as well as walking groups. Plenty of people to say Bonjour to.

A Walk to The Old Town

This walk will take you into Vannes and the old gates of the town. It will probably take you about one hour and fifteen minutes to walk. You could also take a bike on the route for about 20 minutes or so. On our return we caught the bus, this was the No7 and cost around one Euro. Catch the bus from Rue Joseph Le Brix and ask for Cantizac. This is a stop just after the campsite. The bus runs every Twenty minutes and the journey is about fifteen minutes.

We entered the Old Town through the arched gates and were greeted by cobbled streets and half-timber shops. We decided to stop for a coffee at Pâtisserie Cartron this was straight up the street and on the left, kind of across from the market. The coffee was good and I sampled a very small cake from a financier. A financier is a small French almond cake, flavoured with butter noisette, usually baked in a small mould.

Halles des Lices

The market hall. After our short break, we had a tour of the food market which was to the left, opposite the cafe in the heart of the historic centre. The market offers every kind of food from the land and the sea. There is a wide choice of family-run food stalls, cheese, meat, fish, vegetables, wine, tea and coffee. A few stalls selling ready-made meals and a couple of cafes. It is a large hall which is full of traders and shoppers. Wednesday and Saturday they hold an outdoor market too.

There is a second market nearby it’s a fish market close to the old gates called Halle aux Poissons. The fish market is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Vannes et sa femme

On the corner of Rue Rogue and Rue Noé, you will see the most famous couple in Vannes residing there. Mr and Mrs Vannes or Vannes et sa femme. These smiling sculptures date back to the 16th century, sculpted and painted on the corner of an old timber building which has become one of the most photographed things in the town. The two sculptures were given their names at the end of the 19th century, no one knows exactly why they were made. Some people think it was a commercial sign for a cabaret. You will spot the carvings quite easily as you will see groups of people peering into the air on this quirky corner street of Vannes.

The closest campsite to Vannes

The campsite we chose was to the south of Vannes Moulin de Cantizac, in the heart of the Gulf of Morbihan. The campsite has been a family-run site since 1962. It has 147 pitches spread over 5 hectares. It welcomes you all year round for mobile home rental or for motorhome stopover in Vannes-Séné. From April to October there are pitches where you can set up your own tent, caravan or motorhome. The village of Séné is a real paradise for anyone who loves exploring and outdoor sports including hiking, cycling, sea kayaking, horse riding, gathering seafood, surfcasting, sailing, stand-up paddle boarding, birdwatching or amateur photography. The site has a heated swimming pool which is good for relaxing in after a long walk.

The local village has a small Carrefour Contact supermarket, about a 20-minute walk away. There is a larger Carrefour, about 5 minutes by car. To the North East and 10 minutes by car is Centre Commercial Intermarché du Poulfanc. This has Intermarché Super and lots of outlets and places to eat. If you want to go to Vannes itself it is a delightful walk away (1 hour 15 minutes) a fair distance to stretch your legs and take some exercise along the coastal footpath. One reason we chose this site was for the walking. We like the fact that the site had nice staff, a lovely pool and good clean facilities. It was just the birds at dawn woke us up.

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