La Gacilly: small village, big photo festival

La Gacilly is a charming small village in Brittany, the northwest French region, worldwide famous for its big photo festival, that takes place here every year. But also, La Gacilly* **is a place where “Yves Rocher*”, a real cosmetic empire, known for being a pioneer in the modern use of natural ingredients in cosmetics, was created and since then the company has been run from the village. If you are a botanical lover, then La Gacilly is also a perfect place for you. Here, you can visit a magnificent botanical garden with some 1100 species of plants.

Cosmetic empire

Certain Yves Rocher founded his cosmetics company in La Gacilly, his hometown, in 1958 and soon it became a worldwide famous brand. In La Gacilly, you can visit the headquarters of the company, where you can see a botanical garden with some 1100 species of plants, including the medicinal and aromatic plants, but also the plants used for cosmetic and perfume purposes. La Grée des Landes is an eco-friendly spa hotel opened by* the *Yves Rocher company. This incredible place offers you many relaxing treatments by using the company’s natural products, and the restaurant uses the organic and local products and has a beautiful panoramic view on the botanical gardens. This place is not only situated in the heart of a beautiful natural environment, but it is also very respectful to the nature. That is why La Grée des Landes is equipped with the green roofs, photovoltaic panels, wood boiler and doing the rainwater harvesting. And here, you will find even the bat nesting boxes!

It is all about photography

La Gacilly is worldwide known for its photo festival that takes place every year from June to September. Created in 2004, the largest outdoor photographic festival in France is focused on the environment. During the festival, several hundred large format photos are exposed, taken by famous artists but also by amateur photographers. The principal aim of the festival is to make the audience think about the future of the planet. As you will need at least an entire afternoon to visit this exhibition, the best way to get rest and relax after your visit is to have a glass of cold cider and a delicious buckwheat pancake at the “Crêperie Le Mouchoir de Poche”, one of the best pancake restaurants in La Gacilly.

Practical Information

La Gacilly - small village, big photo festival is a place that you can access easily by car or even a train from Rennes. If you would like to visit the photo exhibition without getting too much tired, then you can rent an electric bike in the village (15 euros for 2 hours). The entrance to the photo exhibition is free of charge. However, you can support this event by giving a financial donation. Also, there is a possibility to rent a small electrical boat (no license required) and have a pleasant cruise on the Aff River.