{"id":19987,"date":"2016-09-29T14:29:14","date_gmt":"2016-09-29T14:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/brittany-on-a-boat-from-melesse-locaboat-blog\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T21:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T21:00:54","slug":"brittany-on-a-boat-from-melesse-locaboat-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/blog\/brittany-on-a-boat-from-melesse-locaboat-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"A getaway break starting from our new base at Melesse in Brittany"},"content":{"rendered":"\nMelesse, Locaboat\u2019s base, is located right in the heart of Brittany beside the Canal d’Ille et Rance. It\u2019s the perfect starting point for exploring the region\u2019s rich cultural heritage. Step aboard your\u00a0P\u00e9nichette\u00ae<\/sup> and Brittany<\/a>\u00a0is all yours!\n

Rennes, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance<\/h2>\nAs you cruise down the Canal d’Ille et Rance drop anchor in\u00a0Rennes<\/a>, Brittany\u2019s capital. It is listed as a Town of Art and History, and you\u2019ll love its picturesque old centre. All the way from the Rue Champ-Jacquet to the Place des Lices you\u2019ll find impressive, medieval half-timbered houses. The H\u00f4tel de Blossac, the theatre in the Place de la Mairie, and the Palais de Saint-Georges are just some of the majestic examples of Renaissance architecture. This really is a place of contrasts! As far as gastronomy is concerned, the pancakes at the\u00a0Cr\u00eaperie Ouzh-Taol\u00a0<\/a>are a real treat. It is reputed to be the best in town. Try their delicious salted caramel cr\u00eape before you re-board your self-drive boat.\n\nThe pretty mooring-dock, with its old bridge, is just a five-minute walk from the historic centre and there are plenty of shops nearby.\n

Guipry and Bourg des Comptes<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs you head south of Rennes, you could visit the small village of Guipry with its unusual, tiny church shaped like a boat \u2013 not to be missed! \u00a0In Bourg des Comptes, you can see both ch\u00e2teaux and beautiful homes, as well as stopping off for a pancake at the cr\u00eaperie above the lovely village.\n

The market in the square at the port of Betton<\/strong><\/h2>\nBetween Rennes and Melesse, you could stop off in the village of Betton. If it\u2019s a Sunday morning, you can visit the market in the Place du Port to buy food for a picnic to enjoy while touring the village. There are also restaurants and shops in Betton.\n

The Maison du Canal Museum in H\u00e9d\u00e9<\/strong><\/h2>\nAs you head back northwards, you could stop in the delightful town of H\u00e9d\u00e9 where you\u2019ll find the\u00a0Maison du Canal<\/a>museum. This former lock-keeper\u2019s house, in the Napoleonic style, exhibits two centuries-worth of technical, economic and social history. Its displays of antique instruments, models, tools and various other authentic pieces will give you great insight into the history of the canal. Open in September, October, May and June from 14:00 \u2013 18:00, every day except Tuesday.\n

Heritage and history in Tint\u00e9niac\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\nContinue northwards and drop anchor in\u00a0Tint\u00e9niac<\/a>: a village with a wealth of history. Excavations carried out in 1989 revealed the remains of a village of the Carolingian period, with its network of ditches forming the boundaries of several sites: dwellings, common areas and cultivated patches. Tint\u00e9niac is thought to have been occupied since prehistoric times and then by the Romans during their conquest of Gaul. It\u2019s a real pleasure to wander through the little back streets that are steeped in the history of this colourful village. Take some time to visit the Tool Museum beside the Canal d’Ille et Rance and discover the trades and working methods of the local craftsmen.\n\nYour route, when you set off from Melesse, is a mixture of canals and rivers set in a natural landscape that\u2019s rich in wildlife and plants. You\u2019ll find that the lock-keepers are charming and very enthusiastic. The region also boasts a wealth of water-mills and dams all along your route. It all adds up to a getaway break with a wealth of cultural heritage, when you set off from Melesse\u00a0aboard your\u00a0self-drive boat<\/a>.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Melesse, Locaboat\u2019s base, is located right in the heart of Brittany beside the Canal d’Ille et Rance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[345],"tags":[208,339],"class_list":["post-19987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bucket-list","tag-brittany","tag-melesse"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19987"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19988,"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19987\/revisions\/19988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.riverly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}