The “Nouvelles Galeries Anglaret”

Place Saint-Corentin, the heart of historic Quimper, is surrounded by a collection of beautiful buildings—and right at its center, of course, stands the majestic cathedral. Like a crown around it, several remarkable sites catch the eye, and this elegant corner building is one of them. It marks the moment Quimper stepped into modernity over a century ago. In 1901, the city began embracing a new retail era by opening its first department stores. On the town’s main square, the shop that made the cut was the “Bazar du Finistère.” In 1911, it was renamed “Nouvelles Galeries Anglaret” by its new owner: G. Anglaret, a local postcards publisher. Inspired by the grand department stores of Paris and beyond, the building was designed with style and sophistication. Its entrance featured a glass canopy, the departments were spread out over multiple floors around a central gallery, and a large, open hall allowed shoppers to admire the ceiling above. Down at street level, generous windows showcased the store’s displays to passersby. Sadly, toward the end of the 1990s, a devastating fire swept through the building. On the bright side, during the restoration work on the façade—which, miraculously, survived—ceramic tiles and decorative earthenware, all crafted in Quimper of course, were rediscovered. Today, the name “Nouvelles Galeries Anglaret” may have given way to the Bouchara boutique, but the charm and elegance of the original structure still shine through.