Les Halles de Quimper
Tucked inside a handsome 19th-century iron-and-glass hall on Rue Astor, Les Halles de Quimper is where local life smells of smoked andouille, fresh cider and just-baked kouign-amann. On Saturday mornings the stalls spill out onto the surrounding streets in a riot of Breton produce.
What to Buy and Eat
Look for the stalls selling charcuterie from Porc de Bretagne — the salt-cured jambon breton is sliced to order and worth every centime. Cheese counters groan with aged Camembert from nearby Normandy and local fromages frais flavoured with seaweed harvested off the Finistère coast.
The crêpières inside the hall serve buckwheat galettes on the spot; order one filled with andouille de Guémené, melted Gruyère and a fried egg for the definitive Breton breakfast. Wash it down with a small bolée of dry cider poured from a ceramic jug.
The Saturday Outdoor Extension
On Saturday mornings the market annexes Place Saint-François and Rue du Sallé, where maraîchers (market gardeners) from the Odet valley sell artichokes, strawberries and the fat Roscoff onions that Breton onion-sellers once cycled across to England.
Flower vendors cluster near the corner of Rue Kéréon, selling hydrangeas in every shade of blue — the colour practically synonymous with Breton gardens. Arrive by 9 am; by noon the best stalls are stripped bare.
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