Brittany, Two bases for a week each

What towns do you want to visit? Brittany is large, and even with two bases you could end up with a lot of time in the car. You will have a car, I assume.

Yes, we always rent cars in Europe. I am just starting the research so looking for advice as to which towns to choose as bases.

I loved the retro beach town vibe of Dinard for something a bit different, plus its very close to Saint Malo. If you want your other base on the Cote de Granit Rose, you will still be a bit of a hike from some beautiful places in Brittany. Maybe consider a base of Douarnenez? That would have you close to Locranon (CHARMING!) Quimper, Carnac, Pont Aven

I'd suggest a base north and south. I liked Dinan, in the north, but they had a fire in the center recently and I'm not sure how much was destroyed? I haven't visited Dinard. St. Malo is worth a morning or afternoon to visit but I wouldn't make it my base.

I like Vannes for a base in the south. I was surprised how large the medieval center is plus it has a nice port area. A smaller version is Auray if you want to avoid larger towns. I'd really suggest a stay in the south to see the megaliths around Carnac. My favorite is Cairns de Gavrinis which can only be accessed by ferry tour from Larmor Baden (a relatively short drive from either Vannes or Auray)

In the West, my favorite small town was Locronan. I didn't visit the pink granite area. If you're going there from Dinan or Dinard, I'd suggest Ft. la Latte. It was built in the 1300's. It's been used for a lot of purposes but now shows as the medieval clifftop fortress it was originally built to be. Nearby is the lighthouse at Cap Frehel. It's okay. I'd recommend it for avid birdwatchers because the cliffs are covered with seabirds, some fairly rare.

If you're there in the summer, I'd try to attend a pardon. It's a local fair with traditional clothing, music, food and dancing. They're in virtually every town, big and small, on different dates late May through early September.

Have you read "The Little French Bistro" by Nina George? I just finished it and it made me put Brittany on my list of future trips. It is not a great book, but is a good read.

Thanks for all of your helpful posts! We may combine Brittany with a return trip to the Pays Basque as well.

The fire took out one stunning building in the central squre.

If you choose one base in Dinan or Dinard, you could visit some places along the pink granite coast over the day.
For the second base, to get an overview of the diversity of Brittany, you could choose a place on the south coast (near Vannes, Auray, maybe Quiberon depending on the season you travel...) or at the extreme western end called "Finistère" (near Quimper).

I stayed in Dinan and went to St. Malo and Dinard as a day trip. Dinan is a nice town with a medieval center, a nice walk down to the river, and big parking lots on the exterior. Dinard felt less historical but has some beautiful Belle Époque era homes. To me the choice between these 2 would come down to whether you want to stay on the coast or not.

I also stayed in Vannes, it has a medieval center and a harbor. However if I was doing it again I'd stay somewhere actually on the beach. Vannes has about a 1/2 toi 1 mile walk to the bay and even that isn't really a sandy stretch of beach.

Thanks for the suggestions. Dinard or Dinan and Vannes sound like a good combination with a few days in Rennes too.

We always use Cancale is a home base when we visit - we were able to visit Saint-Malo, Fougeres, Dinan, Dinard, Fort La Latte and Cape Frehel even the Ile de Brehat and Mont St Michel effortlessly from there. If you are a foodie, Cancale is a fantastic spot, especially if you like oysters. Here is more info: https://misadventureswithandi.com/cancale-france/. We've used Cancale as a home base on at least 3 trips!