Bretagne

Brittany remains one of France’s most untamed and vast territories. We spent a lovely two weeks camping there in 2017, and we still only saw a couple of tiny corners. One of the striking things about the Brittany coast is that it conjures a sensation of standing on the edge of the world. You can stay in Brest as a hub for discovering the region. But step away from the mainland to visit one of the islands off the coast…and you’ll really feel like you’re standing on the precipice. One of the best islands to get this experience is Ouessant…

Presqu’Île de Crozon in the Brittany region turned out to be the perfect place to finally indulge our love of camping in France. Avid campers in California before moving to France four years ago, we had shipped enough camping equipment with us to stage an invasion of a small island nation. But since arriving, our jumble of family tents, sleeping bags, and campfire cooking equipment had sat unused and silently taunting us in a closet. In part, that was because we were having a hard time grasping the French camping scene. We were accustomed to either hiking into the wilds…