Why Visit La Gacilly, Brittany, France?

I have a real treat for those of you interested in the arts, especially photography. If you too love charming French towns, with granite houses, twisty side streets, and a bit of eccentricity thrown in, then La Gacilly is for you!

Situated in the Morbihan department of France, and about 60 kms from Rennes and Vannes, this lovely town is home to an annual photography festival that is, quite literally, larger than life.

I had the pleasure of visiting this town three years in a row and sincerely hope to continue to make it an annual excursion.

As you have probably surmised, I love photography. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I am of the firm belief that it is an accurate statement. We can transcend time and distance through photography. We see beauty and misery, feel joy and sadness, all from a single moment captured on film. We understand that through photographs, we can visit a country thousands of miles away, almost smell spices from a picture taken in a market in Istanbul, and hear the chatter of those photographed sitting on a Parisian terrace.

While photography books are lovely to look at, I can safely say that looking at a photograph many thousands of times larger than a regular print, is simply breathtaking.

The annual photo exposition runs from June to the end of September. Photographers from all over the world partake in the event.

According to Explore France:

“Created in 2004, the La Gacilly Photo Festival aims, edition after edition, to alert and make people think about the future of our planet. It offers its visitors a free immersive and wandering experience in the heart of some thirty open-air galleries in large format. The best of contemporary photography is presented there, in colour or black and white, on canvases sometimes approaching 70 square metres. Thousands of images are displayed on the built heritage of Brittany, which is transformed for a summer into a green museum defending the cause of our planet.”

Source: https://www.france.fr/en/happening-now-in-france/gacilly-photo-festival-brittany

I love the stark contrast between the colors of the photographs and the woodsy backdrop, don’t you?

Photographs are exhibited throughout the town, enabling visitors to meander about and dart into the variety of eclectic shops that line the streets.

If time allows, stay for a bit to eat and an evening stroll. The town is less crowded and I find it simply enchanting.

There are a variety of restaurants, one to suit everyone’s tastes. On this particular evening, my friends and I ate at a pizzeria where both the staff and food were wonderful.