Founded in Quimper in 1845, the Société archéologique du Finistère decided the following year to create a museum and to start building its collections. These were to bring together remarkable elements from the whole of the Finisterian territory: objects unearthed by archaeological prospecting, statuary or monumental fragments saved from the destruction of buildings...
Since 1911, the Museum has been housed in the Palais des Evêques de Cornouaille, the most remarkable monument in Quimper after the cathedral to the south of which it is built. Two wings frame the Tower, built for Claude de Rohan (1507), one of the most beautiful architectural examples of the Renaissance in Brittany.
It was one of the first in France, from 1860-1870, to take an interest in regional ethnography and popular arts. The collection that began at that time, and which continues to this day, makes this museum the main conservatory of the history, ethnography and regional arts of Finistère.
Breton Departmental Museum
1, rue du roi Gradlon - 29000 Quimper
Tel: 02 98 95 21 60 - Fax: 02 98 95 89 69
Site : http://musee-breton.finistere.fr
Opening hours
January to June and mid-September to 31 December:
Every day except Monday, Sunday mornings and public holidays from 9am to 12.30pm and from 1.30 to 5 pm, Sunday from 2 to 5 pm
July to mid-September:
Every day from 9am to 6pm
Rates
Full price : 5,00€
Reduced rate 3,00€ (over 60 years old, students, groups of 10 people or more)
Free of charge Under 26s, students, unemployed. Free on Sundays from October to June