Roscoff

Roscoff

Roscoff Location within Brittany region Roscoff Administration Country France Region Brittany Department Finistère Arrondissement Morlaix Canton Saint-Pol-de-Léon Intercommunality Pays Léonard Mayor Joseph Seité
Statistics Elevation 0–58 m (0–190 ft)
(avg. 6 m or 20 ft) Land area 6.19 km2 (2.39 sq mi) Population 3,648 - Density 589 /km2 (1,530 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 29239/ 29680 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 48°43′38″N 3°59′04″W / 48.7272°N 3.9844°W / 48.7272; -3.9844

Roscoff (Breton: Rosko) is a commune in the Finistère département of Brittany in northwestern France.

Roscoff is renowned for its picturesque architecture, labeled « Petite cité de caractère de Bretagne (small town of character) » since 2009. Roscoff is also a traditional departure point for Onion Johnnies.

After lobbying by local economic leaders headed by Alexis Gourvennec, the French Government agreed in 1968 to provide a deep water port at Roscoff. Existing ferry operators were reluctant to take on the relatively long Plymouth/Roscoff crossing, so Gourvennec and colleagues founded Brittany Ferries. Since the early 1970s, Roscoff has been developed as a ferry port for the transport of Breton agricultural produce, and for car-based tourism. Brittany Ferries' and Irish Ferries link Roscoff with the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland which provides a boost to the local economy.

The nearby Île de Batz, called Enez Vaz in Breton, is a small island that can be reached by launch from the harbour.