Local Information

Bienvenue a Silfiac / Welcome to Silfiac

The village of Silfiac from above.

Please enquire for further details about any of the information on this page.

Silfiac is a small village with four hundred and fifty inhabitants spread over a large area. Nevertheless, it is a tight-knit community which has recently acquired a name for being environmentally-friendly.

Silfiac is led by the mayor, Serge Moelu. Every year the mayor invites residents to 'les voeux du maire'. This is a ceremony, usually in January, where new inhabitants are welcomed and introduced and where the mayor outlines the year's achievements and proposals for the future in the commune.

Activities and Clubs

There is an elder persons club, 'Le club de loisirs' in Silfiac which runs occasional trips, regular dances and other activities, and has both French and English members.

Silfiac has its own pool team, 'Silfiac Tigers' and play at the Bar/Tabac Mane Gwenn.

Yoga takes place each week except for during the school holidays at the salle polyvalente in Silfiac.

Fishing

Fishing is plentiful in and around Silfiac. One is allowed to fish in the lake at Pont Samouel after acquiring a permit from the Bar/Tabac Mane Gwenn or from the Creperie at Pont Samouel. Boating is prohibited and swimming not authorized but anglers can fish from the banks for the trout, carp, perch etc. with which the lake has recently been re-stocked. Catch is limited to eight fish per permit, per day.

Businesses in Silfiac

It is hoped that you will find the opportunity to support our local businesses. Without support they will not be able to continue and Silfiac will be a poorer village for their loss.

Chez Vero

Bread shop/grocers/bar open every day except Monday. Newspapers available on Wednesdays. In the window are brochures and lists of what is on in Silfiac and nearby areas whereas activities and entertainment due to take place in the bar itself may be advertised on a board within the bar. Gas is also on sale here.

Bar/Tabac Mane Gwenn

Open every morning except Wednesday for drinks, tobacco, stamps and newspapers. Gas is also available here. Special activities and musical functions taking place in the bar are advertised on the blackboard by the front door. The bar also has its own successful pool team, Silfiac Tigers, made up of a mixture of both French and English nationals.

Le Relais Armericain

Open lunchtimes and evenings for meals. Le Relais Americain has a menu du terroir, a menu composed from very local ingredients in addition to an a la carte menu. At weekday lunchtimes there is a set daily menu at a very reasonable cost.

La Creperie at Pont Samouel

Open for traditional Breton crepes throughout the summer and at weekends during the winter, made from locally-sourced ingredients. The creperie also organizes special events on a regular basis, such as cookery courses, exhibitions and musical evenings.

Le Village de Vacances at Crenihuel

A recently-opened holiday village, set in thirty four hectares, Crenihuel has the capacity to accommodate large numbers and has its own childrens club, swimming pool, restaurant and bars. Although usually open for residents of Crenihuel only, Silfiac residents are able to hire the conference and dance facilities through prior arrangement.

Garage de l'argoat

Open throughout the week, closed Saturday afternoons, lunchtimes and all day on Sundays, the garage is able to do car repairs and organize testing for the carte grise, in addition to providing diesel and petrol. Large bottles of gas may also be bought here.

Pontivy

At the junction of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest you will find the commune of Pontivy, named after the monk (Ivi, the patron saint of Pontivy) who built a bridge ("bridge" meaning "pont" in French) over the river Blavet in the seventh century. The area was subject to some name changes - twice named Napoleonville in the nineteenth century and once Bourbonville - before ultimately settling on Pontivy. It was during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte that Pontivy (or Napoleonville as it was then known) underwent a transformation which saw it become a modern city. Testimony to the success of the transformation was a doubling of its inhabitants ("Pontivyens") in just one hundred years. Indeed, at the 1999 census Pontivy had a population of over 13,000.

This historic commune of the Morbihan department has links around the world, being twinned with Tavistock in Devon, England, since 1958, Wesseling in Germany since 1972, Ouelessebougou in Mali since 1986 and Napoleonville in Lousiana, USA, since 1989.

The scenery is spectacular, boasting a sympathetic synthesis of the natural and the man-made. Valleys, hills and plateaus offer outstanding and varied views, with the river Blavet playing a major part in the landscape, running as it does through the town. The last commercial barge made its way to Pontivy in 1964. Today the waterways have a vested interest in walking, hiking, canoeing and fishing, as well as the marina. Some of the boats are floating restaurants, while others are available for hire, enabling you to take a boat trip yourself.

The Château des Rohan is one of the major historical attractions. Surrounded by a moat and overlooking the town, it was built in the fifteenth century by the lord of Josselin, and is open for tours and exhibitions. It is still owned by the Josselin family. Situated below the castle is the very tourist office, on place de Gaulle. The Napoleonic influence in this part of the town is obvious, with the regimented streets and cobbles.

The "old town" has timbered buildings that seem to hang over the streets. Here you will find a plethora of shops and restaurants.

There is a pleasant mix of the old and the new in Pontivy today, with many of the new buildings - the gymnasium, the schools, the swimming pool - sitting in harmony alongside architecture dating back to the fifteenth century. There are regular music events throughout the year, and the town boasts a huge array of shops and restaurants - some of the best are hidden on the side streets. Every Monday there is a market with a wonderful array of products on sale, where even if you do not want to buy anything, you can go and see a real slice of French life. In Brittany there are two dialects- French and Breton. Aware of its roots, there are regular celebrations of Breton culture in Pontivy and, alongside place names in French, you will see the Breton equivalent throughout Pontivy as well as other parts of Brittany.

Thanks to Chris Fahey for some of these photos