Where Gauguin Came for Sweetness and Light

Paul Gauguin was most fortunate to have had Madame Marie-Jeanne Gloanec as his landlady when he lived at her modest pension in this small town in southern Brittany off and on between 1886 and 1896.

On one occasion she was even kind enough to take one of his paintings as payment for the board he couldn’t pay.

Madame Gloanec, however, was more benefactor than art connoisseur. She soon made a doormat out of Gauguin’s painting.

Gauguin and other members of the Pont-Aven School (Pierre Bonnard, Emile Bernard, Maurice Denis, Paul Serusier) were drawn here by the marvelous Breton light, brilliant yellow gorse and pastoral scenes of the Bois d’Amour (“Woods of Love”) nearby.

Pont-Aven had such an attraction for Gauguin that he returned here four times, three from Tahiti and once from Arles and his tumultuous relationship with Vincent van Gogh.

The Aven River flows down to an estuary on the Atlantic Ocean, once driving many flour mills along the way. So many that Pont-Aven became known as the town of “14 mills and 15 houses.”

Although Madame Gloanec may not have known much about art, she knew enough about business, eventually building a large hotel on the main square.

Getting here: Air France flies nonstop to Paris. American, Pan Am, TWA, Delta, Continental and a clutch of foreign carriers offer service with stops and changes. Air Inter will fly you from Paris to Quimper or Lorient in an hour, both 22 miles from Pont-Aven.

A round-trip LAX-Paris ticket costs between $890 and $940 U.S., based on advance purchase, month and day of week flown. Air Inter charges $148 one way for the Paris-Quimper or Lorient leg.

French National Railroads (call (213) 451-5150) has a variety of rail passes for travel throughout France. Quimperle (nine miles) is the nearest station to Pont-Aven.

How long/how much: Give Pont-Aven and the surrounding countryside several days. Lodging costs are moderate, dining from high moderate to expensive.

A few fast facts: The franc recently sold for 5.05 to the dollar, about 20 cents each. Best times to visit are May-June (when flowers are beautiful) and September-October for the foliage and absence of crowds.

Getting settled in: Hotel des Ajoncs d’Or (1 Place de l’Hotel de Ville; $38 to $46 double occupancy), named for the yellow gorse flowers, is on the town square. While bedrooms are on the small side, baths are sparkling and the new wing has bright rooms all done in delft blue.

Take breakfast in a sunny room or on the flowered terrace. Fare is usually a choice of Breton crepes or the usual croissants and brioche.

Le Moulin de Rosmadec (just off the main street; $84 double occupancy) is a 15th-Century mill on a small stream that flows between the hotel and its restaurant in the town’s most beautiful setting.

Bedrooms are large, bright and decorated with antiques and great charm. There’s a feeling of elegance and the patina of age throughout the mill, but only five rooms, so make reservations well in advance.

Hotel Roz-Aven (on the river at port; $56-$96 double occupancy) is another charmer of warm Breton stone that dates from the 18th Century. Choose from bedrooms in traditional (one with old beams and wood paneling) or relatively modern style.

Although a Breton breakfast of crepes is the only meal served, plans call for a dining room with seafood specialties to be opened later this summer.

Regional food and drink: You won’t get far in Brittany without running into crepes, either the thin ones made of white flour or the slightly thicker galettes made of buckwheat. The thin type is always served with a sweet filling of jams, berries, honey or liqueurs, while galettes could be stuffed with anything in the kitchen from mushrooms to a game ragout. Both very addictive, particularly when served, a local custom, with the region’s cider.

Breton cooking, apart from the crepes and seafood, usually gets short shrift from other Frenchmen, being regarded as rustic at best. However, we found interesting and imaginative dishes at everywhere.

Brittany’s only wine of note are the muscadets, which come from along the Loire River near Nantes. The Loire muscadets and are light, off-dry, honeysweet in fragrance, have a nut-like flavor and go very well with the region’s abundant seafood.

Good local dining: Le Moulin de Rosmadec’s restaurant, sporting a Michelin star, is the most beautiful and romantic place in town. The bar is a work of art, with decorations of beret ribbons from French military units of wars gone by. A huge fireplace, ancient beams, copper pots, fresh flowers and a variety of antiques add to the mill’s charm.

Meals run from $22 to $48 and offer such as Belon oysters, lamb estragon , sole in a champagne sauce and several tempting desserts. Patrons can dine outside in a flowery garden beside the mill stream.

The dining room at Hotel des Ajoncs d’Or is much simpler in decor, but the colorful pottery and wooden bar give it a certain style and elan. A $15 menu here might include fish soup, mussels or six oysters, followed by a main course of steak or fish, then salad and dessert.

Chez Candide (on the main street) is a creperie in one of the town’s oldest buildings, with heavy, dark wooden tables and benches. Try its ham or cheese galettes for $2, or shoot the works with a banana, chocolate and whipped cream crepe for $4.50.

Going first-class: Chateau de Locguenole (23 miles in Hennebont; $119-$232 double occupancy) is a baronial manor house that has been in owner Madame Alyette de la Sabliere’s family for more than five centuries. The kitchen has two Michelin stars, which the restaurant has had for 16 years.

There are 30-foot Aubusson tapestries on dining-room walls, original period furnishings, family portraits, a huge pool and a spacious lawn bordered by stately trees leading down to the river.

The superb food and service in the chateau’s dining room costs $62 per person, and the wine list is formidable.

On your own: First stop at the Pont-Aven Museum on the main square. Make sure to take in the short audiovisual presentation on the town’s past and artists of the Pont-Aven School. There are photographs of Gauguin and the old town, plus an impressive selection of art.

Walking around town, visitors will go past several of the old mills, innumerable art galleries and shops with fine selections of handsome Breton ceramics.

Walk or drive up to the Bois d’Amour, noting the signs that identify spots that inspired painters.

Near the Bois is a delightful 16th-Century country chapel. Simple inside, it has a wooden statue of Christ that was the model for Gauguin’s Yellow Christ.

There’s a perfect spot for a picnic near the chapel, so stock up on food and wine before your hike.

For more information: Call the French National Tourist Office at (213) 271-6665 or write (9454 Wilshire, Suite 303, Beverly Hills 90212) for a brochure on Brittany, hotels in the region, plus a map offering points of interest in northwest France.