Brittany Road Network and Travel

For the last decade, accessing Brittany has become easier and easier.

Brittany's road network comprises 1,120 km of national roads, 54 km of motorways and 16,860 km of local roads.

The traffic is constantly increasing, 85% of the flows being made by car. Around big cities as Rennes, Brest, Lorient, Saint-Brieuc and Vannes, 110,000 cars transit each day. In the last decade the traffic has been growing by 20% on average.

In the big cities cars are used for 64% of transport, public transports account for only 10% of the time. Road traffic is increasing every year, except in Rennes where the underground is a huge success (+40% users between 2000 and 2004).

The quality of the roads is outstanding, even the less frequented ones. Roadsigns are displayed in two languages (French & Breton dialect) in the west and the south of Brittany.

Most cities have free motorways surrounding the city centre. Besides, it is important to know that most Brittany motorways are located along the coasts. The hinterland is mainly composed of national and local roads in terms of transport links.

If you like typical French villages, you will enjoy driving on local roads in Brittany. You will find out numerous Breton cottages with lovely gardens. It is really worth the trip! Of course, we advise you to spend holidays and visit Brittany region during summer. Even if this region is not renowned for its warm and sunny weather, you will for sure have more chance to have a good weather in August than in December. If you are looking for tranquility, the major Breton islands are some ideal destinations: Guernsey and Jersey at the north and Belle-île at the south of the region. In this case, you will pay around £130 to take the ferry (price for 2 people + 1 car) from Plymouth, Weymouth, Bournemouth or Portsmouth. Click here to see our page on travel to Brittany by sea. Here are some prices, duration and distance indications to reach some Breton cities from London and Paris:

	Duration	Number of miles	Fees
London - Rennes	around 9 hours (including 3 hours of ferry)	385 miles	£42
London - Lorient	around 9h30 (including 45 min of ferry)	487 miles	£104
Paris - Brest	around 6h30	366 miles	£85
Paris - Vannes	around 5 hours	285 miles	£72

Other possibilities also exist to go to Brittany: you can take the eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais and then drive to the city where you want to spend your holidays.
If you find out info about Car Rentals in France, click here.