Tatty Macleod's Breton road trip

Tatty Macleod’s Breton road trip

Tatty Maclead grew up in Brittany. She moved with her family to Le Morbihan in 1994. It’s where she went to school, learned to ride a bike and spent all her holidays. She knows all the hotspots of this region, she was raised in them. She does want to highlight them and share them with the world. Partly because she is proud of where she comes from but also because it really is, objectively, lovely and you’ll have a wonderful holiday if you choose this as your next destination.

Suggestion for break in

3 days

Itinerary

I confess that in the construction of this itinerary I did, to my shame, discover how little of Brittany I actually know. There are so many places that have been under our noses for the last 30 years that we didn’t even take the time to visit. So the concept behind this trip was a combination of highlight and explore. Over these 3 days 2 nights we really were tourists in our own home. We kicked off in Southern Brittany in the department of the Morbihan and then made our way up north to the Côtes d’Armor. This trip took us coast to coast, from the Atlantique to the Channel.

French Markets, Old Towns and beaches

We started our adventures in Vannes, a medieval port town that I know well and already love. Growing up this is where you would come if you needed to do a “big shop” or if I had an exam for my ‘Baccalaureat’. It has a wonderful bustling market where you can find everything from organic veg, to kitchen knives to underwear. If you miss market day then don’t worry there is a fabulous covered market with lots of local produce to try out. Here we picked up some essentials for a picnic and wandered the cobbled streets. The unmissables in Vannes are; checking out the port, wandering round the old town and, of course, exploring the medieval city walls.
From Vannes we drove 20 minutes to Port Blanc where we took a short ferry to the island l’Ile aux Moines. This area is known as the Gulf of Morbihan which is a sea enclave peppered with little islands. The island itself is virtually car free so it feels very safe to explore by bike, we rented electric ones because we’re lazy but you could also do everything by foot. This was a real highlight of our trip and we spent our day here asking ourselves how we had never done this before. There are so many hidden creeks and little beaches to uncover, not mention the beautiful costal walks and wild nature. This is a must see.

©Auray - Saint-Goustan - Port de Saint-Goustan|Noémie Lefèvre

We finished our first day in a place I know very well and love, Saint-Goustan. This is a medieval port attached to the bustling town of Auray. It’s nestled on the river and will make you feel like you’re walking into a film set. Take a bit of time to explore the cobbled streets and discover the little art galleries before having a staple Breton dish; Galettes de Blé noir. We had our in my favourite Creperie, Le Y’ach. If the weather is warm enough sit outside in the sun and watch tho boats pass by; perfection.

Brasseries, Oysters and Fishermen

We kicked off day two with a pint. Literally- we visited one of the many local breweries La Dilettante and had a backstage guided tour of the factory and the beer making process. From there we drove to Baden where we had lunch in an oyster shack whilst looking out on the bay. Post lunch we drove all the way north to a different part of Brittany, an area known as the Côtes d’Armor, unlike the Morbihan this isn’t on the Atlantic coast and is instead on the Channel. Here we visited Paimpol a historic fishing town with the most fascinating story and ties to Island. We had a guided tour which I recommend to really steep yourself in the mythology of this place.

If we had a bit more time here we would have picked up the GR® 34 which is a coastal walking trail, it’s absolutely beautiful and definitely worth integrating in your trip if you can.

Galettes, Castles and Art centres

For our final day we woke up bright and early and headed inland to Pontrieux, a lovely little town on the Treux Estuary. Here we had a galette and crêpe making workshop at the “Crêperie des Lavoirs”, this was hugely fun and such an authentic look at how to actually make one of those paper thin discs of deliciousness. After a big breakfast composed of our (failed) crêpes we had a wander around the town which is famous for it’s many lavoirs (wash houses). You can even do a canoe trip up the estuary to have a look them all. Sadly though, we didn’t have the time as we had a lunch booked at Le Petit Jagu which we didn’t want to miss and I’m glad we didn’t because this was our favourite meal of the trip.

Our final stop on our Breton Road trip was the town of Guingamp. Mum loved looking round the 12th century Basilica but my highlight was the Gwin Zegal art centre. This is set in an old converted prison and it’s a gorgeous repurposing of the space. I loved ending our trip here because it perfectly captures modern Brittany. It’s marries together an old venue with contemporary art work- a reminder that La Bretagne isn’t just about the enjoying the past but also taking a look into the talent of the future.

Le Petit Jagu is beautiful, it’s nestled in the grounds of the La Roche Jagu castle & domaine. The food is delicious, everything is sourced locally and made in house- plus they have even have vegan options which is not an easy find in France! We fell in love with the atmosphere of this place and in hindsight I would have liked a full afternoon to explore it. There is something about having lunch whilst overlooking a medieval castle then wandering around the beautiful grounds that feels truly magical.

Focus on

These are the unmissable Breton dishes you must try at least once when you are there:

Galettes (make sure these are 100% buckwheat and get yourself a complete or andouille if you want a real local experience)
Kouign-amann: hard to explain but in a nut shell a lot of butter and a lot of sugar
Oysters- forget your fancy London 3 pounds a oyster experience. Here they are an unpretentious local staple. They are part of the landscape and will never taste better.

Tatty Macleod

Tatty Macleod is a comedian, writer and actor known for her witty take on French and British cultural differences. A graduate of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, she worked in theatre before focusing on comedy. With over 700,000 followers on Instagram and TikTok, her videos average 1.3 million views. She creates character-driven skits, cultural reflections, and topical commentary. In 2025 she completed a Sell-Out European tour with her show FUGUE. She has over 10,000 subscribers on Substack with her blog “Tatty en Terrasse” and was recently commissioned to write her first non fiction book. Her mum is known as DIY Liz and is a legend of the Bricolage world.

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©Loguivy - Plage De Roc'h Hir|Justine Hern - Bobine Magazine

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