Discover Corlay: Equestrian Sports, Heritage and Weekly Market

Corlay combines a horse-breeding tradition with equestrian sports, historic buildings and a weekly market. This gives you a choice of different focuses when planning your trip: racing and equestrian facilities, the history of horses in Brittany, traces of the town’s past, or the market and its regional produce. Which of these shapes your stay may also be a deciding factor in choosing when to travel.

Equestrian Sports and Race Meetings

The Hippodrome du Petit Paris hosts three race meetings each year in June and July. The programme includes flat races and obstacle races, including steeplechase and cross-country. The annual Fête des courses is also presented at the hippodrome as a family-friendly event, making horse racing accessible to families. If you would like to plan your trip around a race, check the specific event dates.

The hippodrome’s steeplechase and cross-country courses follow the natural terrain and run through the countryside. Race distances can approach six kilometres. The Equipôle du Petit Paris has a training track for racehorses, show-jumping facilities and dressage arenas. It also has outdoor courses for carriage driving, endurance riding and eventing. Corlay’s equestrian theme therefore ranges from race meetings to training and various riding disciplines. For planning purposes, it makes a difference whether you want to focus primarily on race dates or on the history of equestrian sports.

Horse Breeding and the Maison du Cheval

Corlay’s horse-breeding tradition gave rise to the local horse breed known as the “race de Corlay” and connects the town with the history of riding horses in Brittany. The Maison du Cheval presents the history of horses in Brittany and houses a collection of horse-drawn vehicles. It is located within the enclosure of the old Château de Corlay. The Maison therefore focuses both on Breton equine history as a subject and on horse-drawn vehicles as a tangible collection. This offers two different points of interest for anyone curious about the role of horses in the region.

Chapel and Château de Corlay

The present-day Chapelle Sainte-Anne dates from the 15th century. Its choir is fitted with 17th-century wood panelling. The building and its furnishings therefore reflect different historical periods. At the Château de Corlay, the focus is on the surviving remains: these include a northwest tower, curtain walls and a pond, as well as an entrance gate with a double-leaf gate for vehicles and pedestrians. The chapel and château thus offer different perspectives on the town’s history, from the dated furnishings of a religious building to the surviving parts of the château complex.

Weekly Market and Regional Produce

The Marché de Corlay takes place every Friday and brings together local vendors and producers from the region. Its weekly schedule is therefore quite different from the race meetings held in June and July. If you would like to include both in your travel plans, check the specific market and event dates before your visit.

The market offers seafood, seasonal fruit and vegetables, hot galettes-saucisses, artisan-made cider, crêpes and regional cheeses. The selection depends on the season and the vendors. Friday is therefore a useful guide when planning a market visit; for specific products, allow for seasonal and vendor-dependent variations.

Cycling in Corlay

The Circuit vélo de Corlay starts at Place du Château in Corlay. This named starting point can help you plan a cycling trip; check the latest route information before setting off. This lets you make cycling a focus in its own right alongside equestrian sports and local history. Together with the weekly market and the races held each year in June and July, this offers several occasions to weigh up when choosing your travel dates.

Discover more destinations: Lanvellec, Plancoet, Hillion, Plouaret, Plourac'h, Gurunhuel, Plumaudan, Pléneuf-Val-André

For the wider travel guide: Côtes-D’armor.