Concarneau Property and Information

Apart from being an important French fishing harbour, Concarneau is also a beautiful fortified town located in Brittany - at the very south of the Finistere department. This charming seaside resort has a strong Breton character. Arts and history are an essential part of the town’s character. You will enjoy strolling in the Ville Close’s ramparts and discovering the fascinating past of Concarneau. Tourism is nowadays important in this town, guided tours of the fortifications, the harbour and the old city are available all year round. Many people claim that it is always raining in Brittany, but it is not necessarily true! Even if Concarneau’s beaches cannot be compared with Côte d’Azur’s ones, they are great places to relax in a quiet atmosphere not overcrowded with tourists. Do not miss the Musée de la pêche (Fishing Museum) and the Marinarium (zoological and physiological maritime laboratory).

Overview

Formerly a small fishing harbour, the Breton coastal town of Concarneau became a great marina and seaside resort that attract nowadays many French and foreigner holidaymakers. The fortified part of the town - called the Ville Close or Vieille Ville - is worth a visit. The ramparts were built during the 13th century in order to protect the town from any invasions. The marina and the fishing harbour are located on both sides of these ramparts. The fishing harbour offers a great show when fishermen come back from fishing. Concarneau’s popularity amongst Brits probably comes from the fact that the town has been occupied by British people for more than 30 years.

Concarneau Immobilier & Property Market Trends

Property prices in Concarneau are pretty expensive for a town belonging to the Brittany region, where housing prices are usually low. An explanation to this is probably the location of the town, on the Atlantic coast.

The square metre for a property to buy in Concarneau cost about €2,400 in 2009. The average price you will have to invest if you plan to buy a house has been decreasing since several years (-6% / year), it is now of €177,000. As far as ancient apartments are concerned, prices go from €1,600 to €2,100 / square metre. Contrary to houses, apartments’ prices have been soaring over the last years.

Almost 38% of the properties are 5-room houses or more. Out of the 10,580 properties in Concarneau, only 12% are holiday homes. Why not investing in real estate in this quiet area which allows going to the beach and discovering Breton outstanding landscapes and old traditions?

To get updated info about housing prices in the Dordogne, please browse our French Property Market Reports published in the News Section every month.

5 Reasons to Buy a Property in Concarneau

Concarneau, this small harbour where some fishermen came to live during the Middle Ages has become a great place to go! Deeply influenced by the Breton culture, with a long history behind it, impressive fortifications, beautiful surroundings, etc - let’s discover Concarneau.

• Easy access: by train, plane or road, Concarneau can be easily reached from everywhere! There are for example TGV high-speed lines leaving from Paris, Lyon and Bordeaux (with a connection in Quimper) and daily flights from Paris to Quimper (Quimper’s airport: 24km from Concarneau), Lorient (airport 50km from Concarneau) or Brest (airport 100km from Concarneau).

• Breton gastronomy: given the activity of Concarneau’s fishing harbour, the gastronomy is of course deeply influenced by the sea. You will be delighted by the tasty fish (monkfish, sole, etc.) and delicious seafood platters composed - amongst others - of oysters, crabs, shrimps, prawns and lobsters that have been cooked in a traditional way. If you prefer sweet food, you can also taste the galettes and crêpes bretonnes, Breton cakes such as the famous Kouign-Amann. Each taste will be satisfied in Brittany!

• Festivals and events: Concarneau is a very lively town, there are plenty of festivals all year round. You can attend music concerts, exhibitions and dance shows in unexpected places such as the streets or the marina. The most famous events are the Festival Livre et Mer (Book and Sea Festival, literature about sea life), the Vieilles Coques (Marina celebration: gathering of old boats) and the Festival des Filets Bleus (honours the region’s cultural heritage…).

• Arts: Concarneau is a Ville d’Art et de Culture (Arts and culture town), many artists from the entire world came here from 1880 to express their talent. With 4 exhibition rooms and artworks of artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, the art gallery Gloux is worth a visit if you are keen on arts.

Property Styles and Architecture in COncarneau

The town managed to keep a rich architectural heritage from its long history. A stroll in Concarneau will allow you to stare at its fortifications, half timber houses and gabled houses.

• Maisons à Auvent: these houses are a traditional property style of the Finistere department. Of a rectangular shape, the maisons à auvent have one or several small foreparts located in the extension of the gable of the house. The canopy is part of the property and forms an enclave on the side of the common-room.

• Stone Houses: you will find in Concarneau’s town centre stone houses full of character. The front of these properties is in stone and the other sides are usually made of concrete. The slated-roof is composed of fenêtres de toiture (also called chien assis: windows that come out of the roof).

• Longère Houses: as in many towns of the Brittany region, these rural properties have a thatched or slated roof, a rectangular shape and their back always faces the dominant wind direction. Almost always one-storey and in length, many flowers decorate these Longere houses.

Click here for more info about Architecture in Brittany.