The Route nationale 165 is a highway in western France. It connects the towns of Brest and Nantes. It is also numbered European Route 60. The majority of the route is autoroute

Autoroutes of France

The Autoroute system in France consists largely of toll roads, except around large cities and in parts of the north. It is a network of worth of motorways. Autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through a combination of autoroutes are shown with an added autoroute logo...

 standard.

Route

The road commences at Brest

Brest, France

Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...

 docks passing the visitor attractions Oceanopolis and Botanical Gardens. Thereafter the road turns south crossing the River Elom on a modern bridge the Pont de l'Iroise. The older Pont A. Louppe now closed to vehicular traffic lies on the seaward side.

The road passes the town of Plougastel Daoulas and alongside the coast (a series of submerged valleys) in the Parc Naturale D'Armorique. The road passes the town of Châteaulin

Châteaulin

Châteaulin is a commune in the Finistère department in the region of Brittany in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:...

 and a junction with the N164 to Rennes

Rennes

Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.-History:...

 and the N12

Route nationale 12

The Route nationale 12, or RN12, is a trunk road in France connecting Paris with Brittany. The road forms part of European route E50.-History:...

. The former route taken by the N165 is now numbered by the RD770. The road enters the town of Quimper crossing the river Odet. The road now forms the towns eastern by-pass.

The road continues south east with the old road now the RD783 to the south and after the town of Quimperlé

Quimperlé

Quimperlé is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.-Geography:Quimperlé is in the southeast of Finistère, 20 km to the sest of Lorient and 44 km to the east of Quimper...

 it becomes the RD765 where the road crosses the River Laïta. The road passes the Airport of Lann-Bihoué and forms the northern by-pass for Lorient

Lorient

Lorient, or L'Orient, is a commune and a seaport in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.-History:At the beginning of the 17th century, merchants who were trading with India had established warehouses in Port-Louis...

 over the Rivers Scorff

Scorff

The Scorff River flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast in Lorient.The Scorff rises north of Langoëlan, in the Morbihan department, and flows through the towns of Guémené-sur-Scorff and Pont-Scorff. From there its bed enlarges to form a ria, submitted to the...

 and Blavet

Blavet

The Blavet river flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast near Lorient. The river is canalized for most of its length and is navigable for smaller craft. It is part of Brittany's canal system and became more important when the western half of that system got cut...

 past Hennebont

Hennebont

Hennebont is a commune in the Morbihan department in the region of Brittany in north-western France.-Geography:Hennebont is situated about ten miles from the mouth of the River Blavet, which divides it into two parts: the Ville Close, the medieval walled town, and the 17th century Ville Neuve on...

 and a junction with the N24

Route nationale 24

The Route nationale 24 is a highway in western France. It connects the city of Rennes with the Atlantic port of Lorient. The road is approximately 149 km long.-Route:...

 to Rennes. The old road continues as the RD765 through the town centre of Lorient and Hennebont rejoining the new road after Landévant

Landévant

Landévant is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France.-References:* * -External links:* *...

.

The road continues south east to the town of Vannes

Vannes

Vannes is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France. It was founded over 2000 years ago.-Geography:Vannes is located on the Gulf of Morbihan at the mouth of two rivers, the Marle and the Vincin. It is around 100 km northwest of Nantes and 450 km south west...

 on the northern shore of the Gulf of Morbihan

Gulf of Morbihan

The Gulf of Morbihan is a natural harbour on the coast of the Département of Morbihan in the south of Brittany, France. This English name is taken from the French version: le golfe du Morbihan...

. There is a junction with the N166. The old road is again numbered the RD765 passing through villages now by-passed by the new road.

The road by-passes the town of Muzillac and crosses the river Vilaine passing the town of La Roche Bernard. The former road is hereafter numbered the RD965. The road passes the town of Pontchateau at Savenay there is a junction with the N171 to La Baule and Laval

Laval, Mayenne

Laval is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France.It lies on the threshold of Brittany and on the border between Normandy and Anjou. Its citizens are called Lavallois.-Geography:...

. The road passes the Loire-Atlantique motor racing circuit before entering the City of Nantes

Nantes

Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....

 becoming the A844

A11 autoroute

The A11 autoroute is a motorway which connects Paris with Nantes via Le Mans and Angers. It is called L'Océane .- Regions crossed :The following list indexes the sites worth visiting within 14 km of the road.* Paris* Chartres* Le Mans...

.