ROCHEFORT-EN-TERRE, commanding a high eminence 17km south of Malestroit, may be a prettified and polished version of its neighbour, but it ranks nonetheless among the most delightful villages in Brittany. Every available stone surface, from the window ledges to the picturesque wishing well, is festooned with colourful geraniums, a tradition that originated with the painter Alfred Klots, who was born in France to a wealthy American family in 1875, and bought Rochefort's ruined Château in 1907. Perched on the town's highest point, the castle is now open for guided tours (April & May daily 10am–noon & 2–6.30pm; June & Sept daily 10am–noon & 2–7pm; July & Aug daily 10am–7pm; Oct Mon–Fri 12–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–noon & 2–6pm; €4), though not until you go through its dramatic gateway do you find out that in fact that gateway is all that survives of the original fifteenth-century structure.Rochefort's modern tourist office, in the central place des Halles (June & Sept Mon–Fri 10am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm, Sat & Sun 2–6pm; July & Aug Mon–Fri 10am–12.30pm & 2–6.30pm, Sat & Sun 2–6.30pm; Oct–May Mon–Fri 10am–noon & 2.30–5pm, Sat 2–5pm; tel 02.97.43.33.57), displays a list of expensive chambres d'hôte in the neighbourhood, and operates the three-star municipal campsite, Le Moulin Neuf, in the chemin de Bogeais (tel 02.97.43.37.52; closed mid-Sept to Easter). The one hotel stands alongside the tourist office: Le Pélican (tel 02.97.43.38.48; €40–55; closed mid-Jan to mid-Feb) offers reasonable rooms and good food, with dinner menus starting at under €15.
| 