We will be spending 3 days in Vannes after being in Concarneau for 3 days. I primarily want to see/experience the Gulf of Morbihan. I also plan to go to Carnac. Other than that and exploring the city itself does anyone have thoughts about place to go; places to eat, etc? I've made a list that includes walking the ramparts, visiting the marina, Carnac and checking out the Saint-Patern neighborhood and possibly the market on Saturday.
Thanks in advance for any input.
M.E.
I assume you will have a car. Public transport is not great.
Restaurants: Le cafe au port in Benodet. Really good seafood. We like Benodet.
Towns: Pont-Aven is Very nice. Several painters spent time there. Lorient is interesting with a huge U-boat depot from WWII.
Just looked at Benodet and it does sound lovely. I will add that to our itinerary while we are in Concarneau rather than in Vannes. May make a loop of it through Locranon. I'll head the opposite direction to Pont Aven on another day, possibly the market day. Still looking for more interesting spots in the Vannes area though.
M.E.
We didn't spend much time there in our 2m in Bretagne. Have you considered Nantes instead of Vannes? Bigger town, great ducal museum, interesting cathedral.
I did forget to mention Hennebont which got some mention in the Michelin Green book. Also the Chateau de Josselin which we did not visit unfortunately. That's close to the Foret de Broceliande.
Hello, I'll be visiting Île aux Moines and also Suscinio Castle. You can get there on foot from Sarzeau without a car.
Three restaurants we enjoyed during our stay in Vannes were Empreinte, Creperie Chez Fogg's and the Awen Brew Pub in the marina, which I see is in your plans.
I don't have recommendations in Vannes itself - lovely town to explore for a couple of hours, but no more, IMO. However, the area is beautiful and full of interesting sights.
On your way to/from Carnac, consider stopping in Auray, the St Goustan neighborhood along the river is very pretty. And make sure to go all the way to Quiberon as well! The west coast of the peninsula is stunning.
Beautiful beaches abound; the ones around Sarzeau stand out (e.g. Landrézac), or those around Étel. Étel, which could be worth a stop, I never had the time but it looks interesting.
Inland, Rochefort en Terre is a beautiful village, livelier and more interesting than Locronan IMO, with lots of art galleries. And if you feel like visiting a castle, perhaps on a rainy day, you could go to Josselin.
June, 2025 we stayed in Carnac at Hotel Tumulus, not in Vannes, but the two towns are close to each other. One day we took the boat to the Gavrinis cairn and then had a late lunch in the Port Goustan area of Auray. After lunch we visited the Lochmariaquer neolithic site which we enjoyed much more than the Carnac one.......... The second day we did a day trip to Saint Cado for lunch at Madame Mouette (Seagull) then spent the afternoon in Pont Aven. When we left Carnac, heading north to MSM and then Saint Malo, we stopped at Rochefort-en-Terre, the most beautifully beflowered village we have ever seen.
Also looked up the Cafe du Port and it is actually in Sainte Marie. That's even better because there is a small ferry that will take you from one side of the river to the other. Definitely sounds like a must do for us. Thanks for the restaurant suggestion.
I also looked at the restaurant suggestions for Vannes and the one Michelin restaurant sounds great - and not too expensive.
I'll also do some follow up on suggested places to visit and look into some sort of boat excursion to actually be on the Gulf.
Merci all. We leave in 10 days!
I second Le Café du Port in Sainte Marine! My company's HQ is not too far away and we often take clients there, it has been consistently good for years!
But I wouldn't rely on the ferry, it's more convenient to drive over the (scenic) bridge to Sainte Marine, it's worth driving all the way to the fort and to Kermorvan beach on the Sainte Marine side, and the ferry does not cover dinnertime.
It's true that the café at the port of St Marine is very nice, especially on a sunny day when you can sit outside, but it's still 120 km from Vannes, which is almost two hours via Quimper, I think.
It's true that the café at the port of St Marine is very nice, especially on a sunny day when you can sit outside, but it's still 120 km from Vannes, which is almost two hours via Quimper, I think
Indeed - OP also said they were staying in Concarneau, hence the digression 🫣. I certainly wouldn't recommend travelling all the way there from Vannes!
Ah, okay, in that case, that's very good advice. We could also talk about Île-Tudy, which isn't too far away.
I highly recommend Gavrinis.
Yes I will be heading to Sainte Marie from Concarneau so not a lot of distance to cover. Will combine this with a visit to Locranon. Good to know that the drive around is better than the ferry. Also good to know that others like this restaurant also.
Many thanks to you all
the side trip to Auray's port and Quiberon are good add ons to the outing to Carnac/
My problem is I have been reading many of Bannalec's books set in Brittany and I want to see everything!
Again, many thanks!
M.E,
Hi M.E.
Below is our recentish and photo-dense TR. We rented in Vannes after doing the same in Quimper. The Vannes section comes right near the very end. It is a looooooong and quirky combo of humour, music, tips and more. Over on Fodors I go by 'zebec'.
I am confident that there will be something useful for those who are Vannes-bound.
I am done. the end
https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/lappel-de-mer-a-southern-brittany-tr-also-paris-1723447/
We too are fans of the Bannelec books, and also the Bruno chief of police (set in the Dordogne). Of course, these are all fiction. I am interested in re-reading the "King Arthur murders" now that I went to the Grail Church.
