Sights

Rue de Siam (Siam Street) in 2006.

Brest is best known for its Pont de Recouvrance (Recouvrance Bridge, a massive drawbridge 64 m/210 ft high), the military arsenal and the rue de Siam (Siam Street). The castle and the Tanguy tower are the oldest monuments of Brest.

The Musée de la Tour Tanguy, in the Tanguy tower, houses a collection of dioramas that depict the city of Brest on the eve of World War II. The Musée national de la Marine de Brest, housed in the ancient castle, contains exhibits which outline Brest's maritime tradition, as well as an aquarium, the Océanopolis marine centre. The city also has a notable botanical garden specializing in endangered species, the Conservatoire botanique national de Brest, as well as the Jardin botanique de l'Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées Clermont-Tonnerre.

The city of Brest does not have much remaining historical architecture, apart from a few select monuments such as the castle and the Tanguy tower. This is due to heavy bombing by the Allies during World War II, in an attempt to destroy the submarine base the Germans had built in the harbour. In the 1950s, the town was hastily rebuilt using a large amount of concrete. In Recouvrance, the west bank of the town, there remains an authentic street of the 17th century, Saint-Malo Street.

A few kilometres out of town, there are more impressive landscapes, from sandy beaches to grottos to tall granite cliffs. Sunbathing, windsurfing, yachting and fishing are enjoyed in the area. Brest was an important warship-producing port during the Napoleonic wars. The naval port, which is in great part excavated in the rock, extends along both banks of the Penfeld river.

The Tanguy tower hosts a museum of the history of Brest; in the background, the Pont de Recouvrance (Recouvrance Bridge).

The castle hosts the Musée national de la Marine (National Navy Museum).

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Océanopolis, an aquarium which displays a large variety of marine species and includes one of the Europe's largest penguins aquariums.

the conservatoire botanique national.

Saint-Louis church of Brest, rebuilt after the Second World War, between 1953 and 1958 in a modernist style, is worth seeing for its stained glass.

Saint-Sauveur church in Recouvrance, designed by Amédée-François Frézier, the oldest church of Brest, built in 1750.

Monumental perspective from the Place de la Liberté opening to the rue de Siam (Siam Street), with the rade de Brest (Brest roadstead) in the background, and on the right, the steeple of Saint-Louis church dominating the rebuilt centre of Brest.