After my look around Recouvrance I crossed back over the river and found myself in the city’s main thoroughfare, the Rue de Siam. Originally called Rue Saint-Pierre, it was the location of an overnight stop in 1686 for three ambassadors sent by the King of Siam to meet King Louis XIV in Versailles. After arriving in Brest, their unusual appearance caused such a stir that they renamed the street after them.

Like the rest of the city centre, the Rue de Siam was rebuilt after the end of the Second World War, but that didn’t make it an unpleasant place to take the weight off my feet for a while, and at the bottom end of this pedestrianised avenue, there were any number of bars and restaurants that had outside tables enticing me to take a closer look. In the end, I didn’t choose any of them because I could hear the distinct sound of Breton music coming from a bit further up the street.

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Originally posted 2024-08-21 14:58:39.