14 Sights in Brest, France (with Map and Images)

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Welcome to your journey through the most beautiful sights in Brest, France! Whether you want to discover the city's historical treasures or experience its modern highlights, you'll find everything your heart desires here. Be inspired by our selection and plan your unforgettable adventure in Brest. Dive into the diversity of this fascinating city and discover everything it has to offer.

Sightseeing Tours in Brest

1. Océanopolis

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Océanopolis is a scientific culture centre dedicated to the ocean, located in Brest, near the Moulin Blanc marina. The shape of the first building, the temperate pavilion, is reminiscent of a crab. A public facility, it is the property of Brest Métropole and is managed by a semi-public company, Brest'aim.

Wikipedia: Océanopolis (FR), Website

2. S 622

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Seehund, also known as Type XXVII, was a midget submarine built by Nazi Germany during World War II. Designed in 1944 and operated by two-man crews, it was used by the Kriegsmarine during the closing months of the war, sinking nine merchant vessels and damaging an additional three, while losing 35 boats, mostly attributed to bad weather. The French Navy used four captured boats after the war until 1953.

Wikipedia: Seehund (EN), Website

3. Église Saint-Louis

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The Church of Saint-Louis in Brest is a modern-style monument erected during the reconstruction of Brest, after the Second World War on the ruins of the old church of the same name, built between 1686 and 1785. The church is dedicated to Saint Louis, King of France. The work of the architects Michel, Lacaille, Lechat, Perrin-Houdon and Weisbein, it is the largest French church rebuilt after the war, and was listed as a historical monument in 2018.

Wikipedia: Église Saint-Louis de Brest (FR)

4. Église Saint-Martin

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Saint-Martin is the name of the districts in the city centre of Brest, north of the historic heart of Brest on the left bank, Brest itself. The district owes its name to its church, the Saint-Martin church. Until then, it was referred to as the Annexation district, as the district was built on land in Lambézellec, at the time a neighbouring municipality. These lands were acquired by Brest in the middle of the nineteenth century, when there was a lack of space in Brest, a city surrounded by ramparts until the Reconstruction. Saint-Martin was little affected by the bombings of the Second World War, and has seen its urban fabric dating mainly from the nineteenth century well preserved, unlike the historic heart of Brest.

Wikipedia: Saint-Martin (Brest) (FR)

5. Abeille Bourbon

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Abeille Bourbon is a high seas emergency tow vessel, 80 metres (260 ft) long with a tractive power of 200 tonnes-force (2.0 MN), a crew of 12, designed by Norwegian naval architect Sigmund Borgundvåg. She was christened by Bernadette Chirac on 13 April 2005 in the presence of sponsor Jacques de Chateauvieux. She is based in Brest, France.

Wikipedia: Abeille Bourbon (EN)

6. La Carène

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La Carène

La Carène is a contemporary music venue in the city of Brest in Brittany. The place opened its doors in March 2007, at the commercial port, in an imposing building with architecture by Jacques Ripault.

Wikipedia: La Carène (Brest) (FR), Website

7. Naval Monument

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The Naval Monument, more commonly known as the Pink Tower, is an American memorial erected in the 1930s on Cours Dajot in Brest to commemorate the action of the American Navy in Europe during the First World War. Destroyed by the Germans during the Occupation, it was rebuilt identically in 1958. It has been listed as a Historic Monument since July 2015.

Wikipedia: Naval Monument de Brest (FR)

8. Fort du Questel

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Questel Fort is a redoubt in Brest. It is a fortified structure of the Vauban type. It forms a closed square, with the main entry point placed on the least exposed side. This large quadrangle, 100 meters wide, is located between Fort Keranroux and Fort Penfeld, and is also part of the same fortifications as Fort Montbarey.

Wikipedia: Questel Fort (EN)

9. Le Fourneau

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Le Fourneau is a national centre for street arts and public space, part of a national professional network made up of factories, companies and festivals. It is an establishment for artistic creation and production in the public space based in the commercial port of Brest, France.

Wikipedia: Le Fourneau (FR), Website

10. La Consulaire

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La Consulaire This photo was taken by Eusebius (Guillaume Piolle).Feel free to reuse it, but always credit me as the author as specified below. / CC BY 3.0

La Consulaire is the name of a very large Algerian Barbary artillery piece which famously defended Algiers harbour. It was looted by the French during the Invasion of Algiers in 1830, on 5 July, and taken as a trophy to Brest, where it is still displayed.

Wikipedia: La Consulaire (EN)

11. Lighthouse Le Portzic

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The Portzic Lighthouse is situated on the north-eastern extremity of the Goulet de Brest and is the nearest lighthouse to the town of Brest. It is a 35 metres (115 ft) tall octagonal tower. On the seaward side of the bottleneck entrance to the goulet, the lighthouse faces the Pointe des Espagnols.

Wikipedia: Portzic Lighthouse (EN)

12. Tour Tanguy

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Tour Tanguy S.DÉNIEL / CC BY-SA 2.5

The Tour Tanguy, Bastille de Quilbignon or Tour de la Motte Tanguy is a medieval tower on a rocky motte beside the Penfeld river in Brest, France. Probably built during the Breton War of Succession, it faces the château de Brest and is now accessed by a road off the square Pierre Péron, at one end of the pont de Recouvrance. It now houses the Museum of Old Brest, a museum with a collection of dioramas that depict the city of Brest on the eve of World War II.

Wikipedia: Tour Tanguy (EN)

13. Canot de l'Empereur

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The Emperor's Canoe is a ceremonial canoe built for Napoleon I and reused by Napoleon III. It was kept in its home port in Brest, then transferred in 1943 to the Musée de la Marine in Paris. 73 years after the end of the war, it was returned to Brest where it is exhibited at the Capuchin workshops.

Wikipedia: Canot de l'Empereur (FR)

14. Jardin des Explorateurs

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Jardin des Explorateurs

Recouvrance is the section of the city of Brest, France, on the right bank of the River Penfeld. The popular and historically-Breton quarter is in contrast to the largely-Francophone quarter of Brest-même or Brest-proper, on the left bank.

Wikipedia: Recouvrance, Brest (EN), Website

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Disclaimer Please be aware of your surroundings and do not enter private property. We are not liable for any damages that occur during the tours.