Bonjour,
during the soccer tournament this summer, hotels far away from the host cities offered some great deals.- I used this for trips to Le Havre and Brest for sight seeing and checking out the tram networks.
Le Havre
Le Havre has two tram lines. Both end by the sea at "La Plage" station ("plage" is Frensh for "beach"
).
Downtown Le Havre has a pretty unique concrete architecture (UNECSO World Heritage). Most of the city had to be rebuild due to severe damage from World War II bombings. Trams in front of city hall
Between stops "St Roch" and "La Plage". In the backgound: The concrete architecture
Near "St Roch": Trams in the green on Avenue Foch
Downtown is dominated by the tower of St Joseph chruch. When I stood in front of it, I was remined of the "Tour Perret" in Grenoble. As I found out later: Auguste Perret was the architect of the church
Colourful light reflections on the inside
The altar sourrounded by folding chairs. Felt more like a theatre or cinema than a church. (These chairs produced some "nice" sounds, when everbody stood up during mass)
Upwards Vertigo: A peak into the tower
Back to the tram: Between the stops "Rond Point" and "Place Jenner" the trams run a in a tunnel. The ramp leading to the tunnel (between stop "Rond Point" and the tunnel)
Tram exiting the tunnel at "Place Jenner". The two lines diverge at this station
"Place Jenner" from above
A zoom test for my camera: Tram approaching "Mare au Clerc"
Apart from trams and busses the local transportation authority runs a funicular railway
Sunday morning in Le Havre: The TGV to Marseille leaves the station (surrounded by "Intercité Normandie" transets)
To warp up the stay in Le Havre, some mixed pictures. Seagull having breakfast
Looks like an assembly hall - but this is church St. Michel
I liked the organ-window-motif on the inside
Prefer some classic church architecture? Take a peak at "Notre Dame du Havre" cathedral
This building by Oscar Niemeyer is named "The Vulcan". It houses cultural institutions
Worth a visit: The green houses in the "Jardin Suspendu"
My take on Le Havre: I did not like the concrete architecture that much - but it was worth a visit nontheless
Brest
Brest has one one tram line with two branches at one end. The rolling stock order was bundeled with the one for Dijon to save money. Instead of burgundy-red the trams in Brest are painted yellow-green.
My favourite spot was between the stops "Liberté" and "Siam". The curve and the grade was a good combination
At "Liberté" some preparations are already made for expanding the network
The route passing through the main shopping disctrict: "Rue de Siam"
Can be seen from far: The "Pont de Recouvrance" - a vertical-lift bridge
When the bridge is lifted the tram network is divded into two parts. Trams will terminate at either sides of the bridge at "Recouvrance" and "Chateau" stop. No opening took place when I was there, but one was announced for the day after my departure
The main sights: The "Tour Tanguy" and the castle "Château de Brest" (all in all, Brest is not that beautiful)
All informations at the stops and in the trams were in three languages: Frensh, English and Breton
A TGV and a TER passing by the beach approaching Brest main station
TGV parade in the morning: Five TGV await passengers
The rubber-tired competitors in the parking lot in front of the station (Ouibus is a subsidiary of the SNCF)
The town of Morlaix is 30min train ride away from Brest. It is dominated by the railway viaduct
Little TER high up on the viaduct
The trip was a prime example for the Frensh TER-fare chaos. A normal fare ticket ("Prix rond") is more expensive than a TGV ticket. The TER fare only make sense, when you buy a "Petit Prix rond", because the return is free with this ticket. But: "Petit Prix rond" is only valid on some trains (marked as such in the timetable) and on all trains on Saturday. As the time of the TGV fit my planning better, I traveled by TGV.
You could walk along the lower level of the viaduct. The square in front of the town hall
Some signs in Morlaix were in Breton
The second trip was to St Brieuc. I started with a walk around the city center and passed by Saint Etienne cathedral
Next stop: The "Pont de Toupin"
Than I hopped on a bus for a little walk along the "Baie de Saint-Brieuc". (The ride was quite an adventure, because the bus was rather big and the roads rather small
).
Just relax and enjoy the view
In Boutdeville the "Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Saint-Brieuc" preserves the small-gauge heritage of the region
Trains, some clouds and lots of blue. Taken in St. Brieuc station while I was waiting for my train back to Brest
A TGV in the later afternoon sun
I like the dark paint scheme of TER Brétagne
Thats all from Brest. Brittany, is really a nice place for a relaxing vacation.
Hope you liked this little report. Looking foward to your feedback
Salut
Charly
during the soccer tournament this summer, hotels far away from the host cities offered some great deals.- I used this for trips to Le Havre and Brest for sight seeing and checking out the tram networks.
Le Havre
Le Havre has two tram lines. Both end by the sea at "La Plage" station ("plage" is Frensh for "beach"
).
Downtown Le Havre has a pretty unique concrete architecture (UNECSO World Heritage). Most of the city had to be rebuild due to severe damage from World War II bombings. Trams in front of city hall
Between stops "St Roch" and "La Plage". In the backgound: The concrete architecture
Near "St Roch": Trams in the green on Avenue Foch
Downtown is dominated by the tower of St Joseph chruch. When I stood in front of it, I was remined of the "Tour Perret" in Grenoble. As I found out later: Auguste Perret was the architect of the church
Colourful light reflections on the inside
The altar sourrounded by folding chairs. Felt more like a theatre or cinema than a church. (These chairs produced some "nice" sounds, when everbody stood up during mass)
Upwards Vertigo: A peak into the tower
Back to the tram: Between the stops "Rond Point" and "Place Jenner" the trams run a in a tunnel. The ramp leading to the tunnel (between stop "Rond Point" and the tunnel)
Tram exiting the tunnel at "Place Jenner". The two lines diverge at this station
"Place Jenner" from above
A zoom test for my camera: Tram approaching "Mare au Clerc"
Apart from trams and busses the local transportation authority runs a funicular railway
Sunday morning in Le Havre: The TGV to Marseille leaves the station (surrounded by "Intercité Normandie" transets)
To warp up the stay in Le Havre, some mixed pictures. Seagull having breakfast
Looks like an assembly hall - but this is church St. Michel
I liked the organ-window-motif on the inside
Prefer some classic church architecture? Take a peak at "Notre Dame du Havre" cathedral
This building by Oscar Niemeyer is named "The Vulcan". It houses cultural institutions
Worth a visit: The green houses in the "Jardin Suspendu"
My take on Le Havre: I did not like the concrete architecture that much - but it was worth a visit nontheless
Brest
Brest has one one tram line with two branches at one end. The rolling stock order was bundeled with the one for Dijon to save money. Instead of burgundy-red the trams in Brest are painted yellow-green.
My favourite spot was between the stops "Liberté" and "Siam". The curve and the grade was a good combination
At "Liberté" some preparations are already made for expanding the network
The route passing through the main shopping disctrict: "Rue de Siam"
Can be seen from far: The "Pont de Recouvrance" - a vertical-lift bridge
When the bridge is lifted the tram network is divded into two parts. Trams will terminate at either sides of the bridge at "Recouvrance" and "Chateau" stop. No opening took place when I was there, but one was announced for the day after my departure
The main sights: The "Tour Tanguy" and the castle "Château de Brest" (all in all, Brest is not that beautiful)
All informations at the stops and in the trams were in three languages: Frensh, English and Breton
A TGV and a TER passing by the beach approaching Brest main station
TGV parade in the morning: Five TGV await passengers
The rubber-tired competitors in the parking lot in front of the station (Ouibus is a subsidiary of the SNCF)
The town of Morlaix is 30min train ride away from Brest. It is dominated by the railway viaduct
Little TER high up on the viaduct
The trip was a prime example for the Frensh TER-fare chaos. A normal fare ticket ("Prix rond") is more expensive than a TGV ticket. The TER fare only make sense, when you buy a "Petit Prix rond", because the return is free with this ticket. But: "Petit Prix rond" is only valid on some trains (marked as such in the timetable) and on all trains on Saturday. As the time of the TGV fit my planning better, I traveled by TGV.
You could walk along the lower level of the viaduct. The square in front of the town hall
Some signs in Morlaix were in Breton
The second trip was to St Brieuc. I started with a walk around the city center and passed by Saint Etienne cathedral
Next stop: The "Pont de Toupin"
Than I hopped on a bus for a little walk along the "Baie de Saint-Brieuc". (The ride was quite an adventure, because the bus was rather big and the roads rather small
). Just relax and enjoy the view
In Boutdeville the "Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Saint-Brieuc" preserves the small-gauge heritage of the region
Trains, some clouds and lots of blue. Taken in St. Brieuc station while I was waiting for my train back to Brest
A TGV in the later afternoon sun
I like the dark paint scheme of TER Brétagne
Thats all from Brest. Brittany, is really a nice place for a relaxing vacation.
Hope you liked this little report. Looking foward to your feedback
Salut
Charly
