1 night in Dinan vs extra night in Paris

Your first paragraph is extremely accurate. Simply by seeing the Subject line in the master list, I thought of comparing it with "a night on MSM"!

I think MSM is far superior to a night in Dinan, but I don't normally support the legions of people who recommend spending the night at MSM. (I mean, I may have a bias ... ) I am glad I spent the night in Perouges. I'm willing to endorse a single night in Bruges. But I don't find Dinan large enough or sprawling enough or authentic enough (I don't mean the building ages, I mean the street "life" (Ironica typeface code) of buskers, vendors, jugglers, and so on) to warrant an overnight. It is surrounded by a concrete and brick modern city that does not warrant continuing the bike ride.

Of course, just one opinion.

awrzesinski - The town of Saint Malo is another gem in the Normandy region. I think it makes a great overnight stay. It's a lively town full of ambiance with many great restaurants. Dinan is a great choice but Saint Malo is quite a unique experience.

I liked a bunch of the small towns/cities in that area for day-trips: Dinan, Dinard, Fougeres, Vitre. And Rennes itself is nice. I can't address the bike riding opportunities. You could perhaps see one of them and then spend the night in Rennes.

Since another night in Paris makes no difference to you, I would suggest spending the night in Dinan. It’s a cool, interesting city with a beautiful historic center. I stayed at the Hôtel du Château Dinan which is on the edge of the center. It’s easy to drive to and they have parking available. A short walk will take you to the TI where they have a lot of info and Rick’s book has a nice walking tour of the city. Have lunch at Creperie Ahna (great daily specials) and try dinner at Le St. Louis just around the corner from the hotel.

Unless spending the night ON Mont St Michel is a real must for you, I would spend the afternoon and evening there, then leave as late as you dare (9pm, maybe 10 even) to St Malo. You can then stay 2 nights there, which gives you time for St Malo itself (lovely) and maybe a side trip to Dinan (arguably beautiful but not my cup of tea) or to the coast west of Dinard (impressive, esp towards Cap Frehel) if you're a fast traveller.

I like the idea of St. Malo -- it is an enchanting place. We visited in May and so it wasn't overrun by tourists but my side trip to Dinan didn't make me want to spend more time there; they are both tourist driven but someone Dinan felt more tourist trappy than St. Malo to me. I loved strolling the ramparts in the morning on my way to and from the bakery, walking out to the islands at low tide -- the whole place was magical.

It sounds like you don't really have an interest in Paris.

Hmm, you’ve giving me lots more to think about. Everyone seems more into St. Malo. Balso, that’s an intriguing idea. Drilling down on MSM, there’s every kind of opinion on the place and how to do it best. I guess I’m most intent on avoiding some of the tourist crush and seeing the place at sunset/evening so staying there made sense.

Also, not that I’m not into Paris. It’s just opportunity. I’ll be back to Paris, not sure when or if I’ll be back in this area of France again.

Then if you know you will come back to Paris but maybe not to Brittany, you should allow for one night in Dinan or St Malo. This choice depends on your taste for a coastal though historic city (St Malo) and a smaller city with a medieval area, along a river (Dinan). Both are beautiful and worth seeing in my opinion.
Since you have a car, you may still visit for 2-3 hours the place where you do not spend the night (St Malo - Dinan is a 40 minute drive ; both are located in Brittany by the way, not in Normandy).

I think it's a mistake to promote equivalencies between various sites, so understand that it's more of a general comparison: Have you been to any Fachwerkstraße towns in Germany? They have a lot of the visual flair of Dinan, but usually with zero buskers or jugglers. As long as you get A LOOK at Dinan, you won't regret so much if you don't sleep there.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/baltic-germany-fachwerke-landesgartenschau

Vitre and Coutances should also be mentioned as atmospheric and attractive historic centers. But they are not as "concentrated" as Dinan. There are time (not, "sight") alternatives in Normandy and Brittany, like megalithic stones, stone fields, steam trains, very old towns. Just because Rick likes Dinan doesn't mean it's the best sight for 100 miles around!

I also like St. Malo, but it's a dark, stone town that might seem less romantic to some visitors. I love the weight of history you feel there. And it's much bigger than Dinan, and in summer, has a bit more to do. But like Dinard, it is isolated (I mean, 15 minutes each way) on its own peninsula. It's not, remotely, "like" Dinan.

Thanks everyone for your thoughtful and thought provoking comments. I think I’ve actually come to good solution, and I’ll flip the order slightly. Driving from Bayeux, I’m going to pass MSM and go straight to Dinan. I’ll have most of the day and overnight there. The next morning I’m going to spend a few hours in St. Malo before taking the scenic coast road to MSM. It’s maybe more driving than I would like, but there’s plenty of quick stops on the way. I’ll figure on getting to MSM after 4pm. Since the shuttles buses run late, I’m opting to stay in La Caserne. I’ll have the night & morning to explore before changing my car to a train in Rennes. Then to Paris. Packed days, but worthy ones.

If you find yourself with some spare time after St. Malo then right across the river is Dinard. It is a beautiful Belle Époque era town with small mansions overlooking the water. Easy to stroll around and enjoy. I went there as a day trip from Dinan, if you are already in St. Malo you can drive over or perhaps take a boat across the river.