Top Things to do in Brest
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10 Things to Do in Brest That You Shouldn't Miss
Discover the best top things to do in Brest, France including Jardin du Conservatoire Botanique National de Brest, Musee national de la Marine, Parc de la Penfeld, Les Ateliers des Capucins, Cours Dajot, Telepherique Urbain, Vallon du stang Alar, Tour de la Motte Tanguy, Oceanopolis, Compagnie maritime Penn Ar Bed.
Restaurants in Brest
1. Jardin du Conservatoire Botanique National de Brest
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 345 reviews
Reviewed By Hemmo1968 - Colchester, United Kingdom
A real find. Extensive park and Gardens. Well cared for and a nice restaurant as well. Not quite close to Kew Gardens as some claim but well worth spending a couple of hours here to relax.
2. Musee national de la Marine
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 511 reviews
The Musée national de la Marine is located inside the Brest castle, an impressive medieval fortress.
Reviewed By ukmummy - UK
This is a lovely castle with a (probably very) interesting collection and great views. However people aged under 26 are admitted free but do NOT get an audio guide. As the majority of the explanations on the exhibits are (not unreasonably) in French, this is most annoying for non-native French speakers.
Despite being English we have reasonable French but were told it was NOT POSSIBLE to pay for an audio guide for each of the party. This is despite there being plently of guides available at the time. The woman who served us was unhelpful and abrupt. Such a shame that someone who is not interested in working with people has a job in an attraction!
Had we have both been given an audio guide this would have been a lovely afternoon but we missed almost all the information as it was too time consuming to each listen separately and it was too noisy to be able to both listen, at the same time, by trying to hold the audio guide between us. The admittance might be free for under 26 year olds but it was an exceptionally poor and disappointing experience.
It would be so easy for the museum to revolutionise the visitor experience by simply offering (even for a charge) a visitor guide to EVERY (especially non-native) visitor!
3. Parc de la Penfeld
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 157 reviews
Reviewed By David C - Paris, France
It is difficult to imagine such a quiet and nice parc so close to Brest center. You may spend a couple of hours in that parc, discover rare and uncommon plants from all over the world that surprisingly grow well in Brest
4. Les Ateliers des Capucins
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 118 reviews
Reviewed By Olga S
Incredible place. Old army factory converted in a leisure space for citizens of Brest. People can run, skate, there is a fantastic public library where both children and adults can play board or electronic games such as gameboy, wii... There is also a piano which anyone can play and if course the cable car to cross to the other side of the river is a must.
5. Cours Dajot
Overall Ratings
4 based on 124 reviews
Reviewed By Savimacguill - Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Brest n'est pas une belle ville mais c'est un des endroits les plus jolis. Pour se promener, faire un jogging ou emmennner ses enfants se défouler. Is it your first time in Brest? Well the city isn't nice but I love this place for a walk to jog or to bring the kids. It's not far from the rue de Siam for your shopping and quite close to the train and coaches stations.
6. Telepherique Urbain
Overall Ratings
4 based on 166 reviews
Reviewed By Callum29200 - Solihull, United Kingdom
A nice idea to get a good view of the Penfeld and military base particularly on a sunny day, but the ride is very short. We took some good photos from the cabin and the window in the floor.
The Cappucines workshop on the other side is interesting to look at, especially since my father-in-law used to work there before the renovation. However, it looks like there is a lot of work still to be done with a new library and cinema under development.
Tips:
- The ride is free if you combine it with a tram/ bus ticket on the BiBus network.
- Be aware that the facility has a terrible record of breaking down! After having used the cable car, I was told it had broken down the week before and one of the doors opened mid-journey!
7. Vallon du stang Alar
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 47 reviews
Reviewed By Gunty2
We are staying in Brest for a week on vacation and saw the reviews of this. It really is charming, the plant life sits well in the natural landscape. Well designed and maintained.
8. Tour de la Motte Tanguy
Overall Ratings
4 based on 149 reviews
Reviewed By Rick D - Washington DC, District of Columbia
The tower was closed when I tried to visit on a January afternoon, but offered little appeal as a view point. The castle across the harbour can be seen much more easily from the bridge above the tower or from an observation walkway about a quarter of a mile past the tower.
9. Oceanopolis
Overall Ratings
4 based on 2 reviews
One of Brittany's main tourist attractions, this aquarium is known as the biggest open-air aquarium in Europe.
Reviewed By Michael J
We went here during our holiday in Brittany. We chose to go on what was probably the wettest day we have ever experienced but as Oceanopolis is indoors, it didn't matter much!
The aquarium is without doubt the best we have ever seen - coming from Ireland, the bar isn't that high, but we were still impressed.
There are two main exhibition areas: tropical and arctic. The arctic is more of an exhibition, being obviously limited in the animals it can have (no whales unfortunately), so to that end, I would advise visiting this exhibition first and then the tropical exhibition as there is so much more to see! At the beginning of the tropical exhibition you can choose to go down stairs or a lift - there will be a queue for the lift and you must join this queue! The lift has a full length glass window into one of the lager displays and you can see a wide range of fish, which is great for small kids (mine LOVED it).
The only drawback is that the end of the exhibition puts you at the far end of the exhibition and you have to walk back to the main entrance on the outside of the building - if it's raining, you're going to get wet. Unfortunately as well, there are some outdoor Exhibitions which we didn't see because of the rain, but the place is otherwise well thought out.
The food is great also in the restaurant and reasonably priced.
10. Compagnie maritime Penn Ar Bed
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 64 reviews
Reviewed By Philipp G
The trip and the island was nice but with around 35€ to pay for the transportation a bit too expensive for a students budget
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