Things to do in Brest
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Brest
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months, with the best odds of settled Atlantic weather, all boats running and the sea most swimmable by September.
Fullest and liveliest months, with Les Jeudis du Port on summer Thursdays and school holiday pressure on Oceanopolis and ferries.
Worst months, wind, rain and short grey days, with island crossings reduced, cave boats stopped and cliffs unpleasant.
Roadstead scallop season runs roughly autumn to spring, so an October food trip eats the port at its best.
What's on
- Fêtes maritimes internationales de Brest July, every four years, 12 to 17 July in 2024, next expected 2028
A week of traditional boats from around the world, tall ships visitable and a final parade of sail.
- Les Jeudis du Port Thursday evenings in July and August
Free open air concerts and street performance on the Port de Commerce through the summer Thursdays.
- Astropolis Around the start of July, 26 to 30 June in 2024
A long running electronic music festival with free daytime events and ticketed all night sessions at Manoir de Keroual.
- Festival Européen du Film Court de Brest November
The European short film festival, the main cultural event of the dark season.
Best things to do in Brest
Océanopolis
A national ocean centre with Brittany, polar and tropical pavilions, penguins, sharks and an otter trail.
Musée national de la Marine
Naval history inside a fortress used for 1700 years, with ship models, figureheads and rampart views over the roadstead.
Les Ateliers des Capucins
A vast former naval workshop turned covered public space with a media library, cinema, exhibitions and cafes.
Le 70.8, un musée pour l'océan
An interactive museum of ocean technology, offshore energy, biotech and deep sea exploration for teens and adults.
Tour Tanguy
A medieval tower holding dioramas of old Brest, showing street by street the city that existed before the war.
Téléphérique de Brest
A three minute urban cable car ride over the Penfeld and the naval base, linking Rue de Siam to the Capucins.
Jardin du Conservatoire Botanique National de Brest
A 32 hectare valley garden saving endangered plants, with tropical greenhouses holding species rare anywhere else.
Rue Saint-Malo
One short cobbled street of 17th and 18th century houses, a rare surviving fragment of pre war Brest.
Where to stay in Brest
Siam and the centre
first trip, everything on foot
Rue de Siam and Place de la Liberte put the tram, cable car, museums, station and most restaurants in walking reach.
Port de Commerce
harbour atmosphere and nightlife
The seafood quays and bars below the castle, livelier and noisier at night, on the road toward Oceanopolis.
Pointe Saint-Mathieu
coastal escape with a car
A lighthouse hamlet 25 minutes west with the GR34 at the door, a daily commute if Brest itself is the focus.
Think twice about
- Pontanézen and Keredern
Bleak post war estates far from every sight, with thin evening transport. A bad base, not a dangerous one.
- Immediate station perimeter late at night
Fine by day but empty and the least pleasant walk home in the centre late. Choose Siam a few streets south instead.
- Port de Commerce quayside in summer
A noise choice, not a safety one. The bar strip is the city party on festival nights, so light sleepers should sleep a street back.
Best restaurants in Brest
Restaurant Le M
Brest gastronomic address, acclaimed tasting menus working the Iroise catch, lobster and turbot included.
La Tentation Des Mets
A tiny, very highly scored French dining room at the top price band, still a connoisseur pick rather than a circuit name.
La Maison de l'Océan
The port volume seafood house, open seven days for oysters, crab and the full platter of fruits de mer.
Le Crabe Marteau
Whole local crab opened by you with a mallet, with sauces, potatoes and bread made for the purpose.
Ripailles
A small serious bistro cooking seasonal, healthy leaning French food at prices that undercut the port.
Paul Germain
Long established characterful French cooking with a host reviewers love, the mid tier pick for a traditional evening.
Les Maraîchers
Market cooking at the lowest price band with the highest score of any cheap pick in the city.
L'Embrun
A small high scored French restaurant near the Capucins cooking carefully at a cheap price band.
Outdoor things to do in Brest
Cap de la Chèvre
Wild southern tip of Crozon reached on the GR34 from Morgat, with heath, a semaphore and views over Douarnenez bay.
Pointe de Pen-Hir
Crozon signature headland, 70 metre cliffs above the Tas de Pois sea stacks, best saved for late afternoon light.
Phare de Saint-Mathieu
A climbable lighthouse beside a ruined abbey and semaphore, with GR34 cliff paths running in both directions.
Phare du Petit Minou
The closest wild coast to Brest, a lighthouse on its rock above a small cove, timed by photographers for sunset.
Ouessant
An 8 km island of moor, coves and lighthouses best circled by rented bike, from Lampaul to the powerful Creach light.
Grottes Marines de Morgat
Sea caves in coloured rock under the Crozon cliffs, seen only from the water on a seasonal boat trip from Morgat.
Golf de Brest les Abers
An 18 hole par 70 course through bocage and granite near the beaches, with views toward Molene and Ouessant.
Archipel de Molène
A full day fast boat trip through the Iroise Marine Park islands looking for grey seals, dolphins and seabirds.
Best hotels in Brest
Hôtel & Spa Oceania Le Conti Brest
An Art Deco four star spa hotel with an indoor pool a step from Rue de Siam, the best in town address.
Hôtel Oceania Brest Centre
The smart four star institution at 82 Rue de Siam, soundproofed and central for the station, castle and shops.
Hôtel Saint Louis
A simple two star by Rue de Siam that scores like a better hotel, for travellers spending on boats and dinners.
Le Barracuda & Spa
A harbour front hotel and spa on Quai du Commandant Malbert, a short walk from the castle and seafood quays.
ibis budget Brest Centre Port
Small, clean, basic budget rooms in the port district, about a 15 minute uphill walk to the centre.
Hostellerie de la Pointe Saint-Mathieu
Sea view rooms facing a lighthouse and ruined abbey, with a Nuxe spa and a starred restaurant downstairs.
ibis Brest Centre
A modern chain hotel at 13 Rue de Siam, two minutes from the cable car, reliable for groups needing identical rooms.
Is Brest expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €110 a person |
| Splurge | €240 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Océanopolis: a few days ahead
- Ouessant: weeks ahead
- Grottes Marines de Morgat: a few days ahead
- Golf de Brest les Abers: a few days ahead
- Archipel de Molène: weeks ahead
- Hôtel & Spa Oceania Le Conti Brest: weeks ahead
- Hostellerie de la Pointe Saint-Mathieu: weeks ahead
- Restaurant Le M: weeks ahead
- Book the Penn Ar Bed ferry to Ouessant in summer and on fine weekends, and put boat days early in a stay so weather can move them.
- Book Restaurant Le M days to weeks ahead and the Hostellerie starred restaurant when you book the room.
- Book Molène excursions, Morgat cave boats, Abers tee times and port seafood dinners on weekends a day or more ahead.
Is Brest safe?
- Brest is safe by French standards, with normal port care for belongings in the tram and at festivals. Emergency number is 112.
- The real risks are Atlantic weather, slippery GR34 cliff paths after rain and exposed headlands with no barrier at the drop.
- Do not photograph into the naval base. Brest is an active military port and signs restrict filming of installations.
Brest travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Expecting a pretty Breton old town. Brest was rebuilt after wartime destruction and its centre is functional rather than decorative.
- Treating Oceanopolis as a two hour filler. It is a half day, and rushed visits produce the disappointed reviews.
- Choosing the biggest port terrace instead of a named pick. Good and indifferent rooms sit side by side on the quays.
Getting around Brest: public transport and more
- Walk the centre, castle, cable car and port core of about two kilometres, and use the tram and Bibus buses for Oceanopolis five kilometres east.
- The cable car is ordinary public transport over the Penfeld, so use it casually between Rue de Siam and the Capucins.
- Rent a car for Crozon, Pointe Saint Mathieu and the Abers golf. The TGV from Paris takes about three and a half to four hours.
Who Brest suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Brest your trip
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