Auray: events

Good to know about going out in Auray

Auray grew upstream on its river, at the point the tide still reaches. Saint-Goustan, with its quays and timber-framed houses at the water's edge, was a trading port long before it became the place everyone strolls; the upper town, around the church, holds the shops, the covered market and everyday life. A cobbled street drops steeply from one to the other.

The town is also a way into the Gulf of Morbihan and towards the Quiberon peninsula, which stretches its season: things pick up in spring and carry on well into autumn, when the area is still busy. For the rest of the year the programme moves indoors, to halls, libraries and local associations, which are strong here in a part of Brittany where traditional music and dance never faded. Market mornings fill the centre and draw in the villages around.

In practice: the station, on the line from Rennes and Nantes to Quimper, makes it easy to come without a car. Down in Saint-Goustan the quays are narrow and spaces scarce, so park in the upper town and walk down — bearing in mind that the climb back up is a steep one.