Quimper: The Crooked Cathedral, the Faience Workshops and the Breton Museum
Brittany, France
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Gradlon's Horseman
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225
XP
+100 France
= 325 total
1 day
Quimper: The Crooked Cathedral, the Faience Workshops and the Breton Museum
225 + 100 XP
Quimper's cathedral of Saint-Corentin has a choir that swings about 10 degrees left of the line of its nave, and the legendary king Gradlon rides in stone between its two spires, put there in 1858 to replace a statue pulled down in 1793. Beside it the former bishops' palace holds the Musée départemental breton, created in 1846 by the Société archéologique du Finistère, the fine-arts museum keeps paintings of the Pont-Aven school, and down at Locmaria the Henriot workshops still hand-paint the town's faience.
Required Activities
1
of 5
Stand in the nave of Saint-Corentin and sight down it to see the choir swing about 10 degrees to the left, then go outside and find King Gradlon on his horse between the two spires — every 26 July a Quimpérois used to climb up behind him, hold a glass of wine to his lips and throw the empty glass down to the crowd
2
of 5
Take the workshop tour at the Faïencerie Henriot in Locmaria, where Quimper faience has been made since 1708, and watch a decorator paint a piece freehand, then walk down the quay to the Musée de la Faïence in the Porquier house of 1797 for its 2,500-piece collection
3
of 5
In the Musée départemental breton, in the old bishops' palace, find the Bronze Age gold belt torsade from Irvillac and the Iron Age gold collar from Tréglonou, then go up to the bishops' own 18th-century panelled rooms where thirty mannequins carry the costumes of the Bigouden, Quimper, Fouesnant and Douarnenez countries
4
of 5
In the Musée des Beaux-Arts at the foot of the cathedral, find Émile Bernard's Portrait de l'artiste au turban jaune, Sérusier's Bois sacré of 1891 and Gauguin's L'Oie, then the room given over to Max Jacob, who was born in the town
5
of 5
Climb the wooded Mont Frugy straight up from the Odet quays and pick out the two cathedral spires and the roofs of the old town below you
Stand in the nave of Saint-Corentin and sight down it to see the choir swing about 10 degrees to the left, then go outside and find King Gradlon on his horse between the two spires — every 26 July a Quimpérois used to climb up behind him, hold a glass of wine to his lips and throw the empty glass down to the crowd
Take the workshop tour at the Faïencerie Henriot in Locmaria, where Quimper faience has been made since 1708, and watch a decorator paint a piece freehand, then walk down the quay to the Musée de la Faïence in the Porquier house of 1797 for its 2,500-piece collection
In the Musée départemental breton, in the old bishops' palace, find the Bronze Age gold belt torsade from Irvillac and the Iron Age gold collar from Tréglonou, then go up to the bishops' own 18th-century panelled rooms where thirty mannequins carry the costumes of the Bigouden, Quimper, Fouesnant and Douarnenez countries
In the Musée des Beaux-Arts at the foot of the cathedral, find Émile Bernard's Portrait de l'artiste au turban jaune, Sérusier's Bois sacré of 1891 and Gauguin's L'Oie, then the room given over to Max Jacob, who was born in the town
Climb the wooded Mont Frugy straight up from the Odet quays and pick out the two cathedral spires and the roofs of the old town below you
Before you go
Guided tours of the Faïencerie Henriot run from May to September, on weekdays only, cost about 5 euros and take 25 people at a time with no booking; outside that season the shop is open but the workshop is not. The cathedral and the Musée départemental breton are open all year.
The Henriot workshop tour is an April-to-September thing, weekdays only, at fixed afternoon times — there are no workshop visits between October and March, though the shop at Locmaria stays open Monday to Saturday all year. The separate Musee de la Faience next door runs 7 April to 26 September and is shut on Sundays and public holidays.
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Challenge Location
XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
France country bonus
+100 XP
Potential total
325 XP
Country bonus earned on completion of your first challenge in France.
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