Quimper, Prefecture in Finistère, France
Quimper is a prefecture in the Finistère department of Brittany, spreading where the Steir and Odet rivers meet. The old town consists of narrow cobbled lanes lined with half-timbered houses, while the Saint-Corentin Cathedral rises above the rooftops with its Gothic towers.
The settlement grew from a Roman outpost called Coriosopitum and became the capital of the Cornouaille region in the 5th century. During the Middle Ages the town expanded around the cathedral and developed into a religious center of western Brittany.
The name Quimper comes from the Breton word kemper, meaning confluence, and the old town streets still bear Breton names that recall trades and local customs. Many houses display carved timber facades with rural motifs, and on market days the squares fill with stalls selling cider and kouign-amann.
The main train station connects to Paris in roughly four hours by TGV, while local buses serve the Finistère department. The old town is easy to explore on foot, and most points of interest lie close together along the riverbanks.
Since 1690 the town has produced faience pottery, and workshops still paint each piece by hand with bright colors and traditional Breton patterns. The cathedral is the only one in France with a slight deviation in the axis of its choir, which earned it the nickname crooked cathedral.
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