Brest is not a heritage destination in the conventional sense — most of the old city was bombed flat in 1944 — but it has its own considerable pleasures. The Château and the Tour Tanguy preserve medieval fabric. Océanopolis is one of the best oceanographic museums in Europe. The Cours d'Ajot promenade and the view over the Rade de Brest are extraordinary. The Recouvrance neighbourhood has genuine character. And the light, when it comes through after Atlantic rain, is the particular Breton light that painters have been trying to capture for two centuries.