Rail route of the month: Nantes to Quimper, France – a Breton classic

In Brittany, modern regional trains with huge windows invite you to soak up the views. Our author’s final piece in her series takes in the line to Finistère

Many rail travellers just dash through France. The fast TGV trains gobble up the miles to be sure, but high-speed lines often defy the warp and weft of the landscape. Yet even on high-speed lines, there are some magic moments. I love the fleeting glimpses of Champagne vineyards between Paris and Strasbourg. On the high-speed line from Paris to Lyon, now over 40 years old, there are dramatic views of the Morvan massif as the railway climbs to almost 500 metres above sea level to skirt the striking granite landscapes of a region well off the regular tourist trails.

The high-speed lines are good for getting somewhere fast, but you need to branch off on to secondary routes to discover a very different France. The country is blessed with a fine network of rural railways. Last year the tourism authorities in Occitanie in the south of France won a Rail Tourism Award for their bold promotion of branch lines, nudging visitors out of their cars and on to trains to explore the gorgeous variety of landscapes which sweep from the Cévennes down to the Pyrenees.