Brief Brittany

I'd stay in Vannes, a wonderful Breton town of 55,000, on the Golfe du Morbihan. Its pleasant old town has half-timbered houses, cafes and street markets. From Vannes, It's a 1/2-hour drive to Carnac. Also nearby is the Quiberon Peninsula, from which you can ferry to Belle-Ile and rent scooters to explore the island. Ferries also run from Vannes to Belle-Ile.

Thanks maryc,

Vannes is one of the places I was considering. It sounds nice.

I stayed in Vannes this past fall. It was ok, but I don't know if I'd stay there if I was planning the trip again. There is a historic section to walk around in, but at nite the interior of it is pretty dead and the dining is down by the harbor. Which brings up the 2nd point. If you look at a map you'll see they have a channel to the bay but the main part of the town itself is not actually on on the Golfe du Morbihan.

For the most comprehensive guide to the towns in the region you can take a look at the Michelin Green Guide to Brittany.

So now I'm finalizing my ideas and building an working itinerary.

I'm finding myself squeezing nights out of Loire and Normandy in favor of Brittany and Paris. Right now my only must sees in Normandy are renting a car (and seeing the center) in Rouen, the Bayeux tapestry and Mont St Michel.

I'll have to decide whether to end a day in Rouen, get an early start for a day stop in Bayeux to see the tapestry then move on to an evening visit of Mont St. Michel (and stay a night nearby). Alternatively I can get to Rouen early and see the center as a day stop then move on to Bayeux for a night. If I do the latter, it will make Mt. Saint Michel a morning stop, leaving before the crowds and ending the day down near St. Malo (to start Brittany).

Here are my finalists for Brittany:

St. Malo - I know, touristy. It has a lot to see, however, so I may stay nearby and visit during one day. I'm considering staying in Saint Servan and visting Dinan also as a day trip from there.

Drive west with a stop at Fort La Latte on the north coast, as a day stop, then stay in the area of Saint Thegonnec/Guimiliau/Lampaul Guimiliau to see some small towns/parish closes.

Drive south to Locronan, then east to Concernau.

Keep going east to Pont Aven then to Carnac.

Still east from there to Auray then Vannes.

North east to Rochefort en Terre plus a possible stop in Clisson.

After that I'll be into the Loire. I'll likely keep the car all the way to Chinon, then trade for a bike for no more than three days - so approximately six days to get through the above itinerary - depending on the pace, my only multiple night stop will be Saint Servan. If I do a second multiple night stop, it will probably be in the Carnac/Vannes area.

I haven't mapped this out with Via Michelin yet. I won't drive more than four hours a day, and prefer to keep it to three total. So I'll have to see where the logical stops will be along the route.

This circular itinerary is good. It looks like you've done a lot of homework. None of the driving is too long but you might want to go make a quick hook up to the coastal area and Treguier between St. Malo and Lampaul. Enjoy. It's a beautiful area.

Be sure you have a GPS. There are so many tiny roads everywhere in every direction. Every foot path became a departmental road, it seems. If you miss a turn, you're in the twilight zone.

I was going to try to do this using CoPilot on a smart phone. Maybe I should consider packing a real GPS unit?

Treguier looks really interesting. I think I'll add it.

Thanks,

I would second Treguier, Penvenan, Perrous-Guirec, Lannion area (Cote de Granite Rose). Short drive from MSM and Saint Malo, beautiful coastline, great food and drink (cidre). The Penvenan Marche on Saturday morning lots of fun.

I don't know about the smart phone app; never tried one. We used to use maps but now have a GPS. The country roads are like a web rather than straight lines that intersect.

We spent 9 days this past September driving Normandy and a few days in Brittany. Liked Rouen more than expected; I hadn't seen a sound and light show for many years but the Rouen cathedral display was incredible. For seafood, try Cancale especially noted for their oysters. Drove in, slurped dozens on the sea wall and moved on. We couldn't figure out between Dinan or St Malo so stayed at the Hotel Manoir des Rigourdaine. It is in Rick's book. Modern, pleasant owner, well situated between St Malo and Dinan in a beautiful riverside setting for easy access to both ( maybe 20 mins by car either way). We found easy parking lots in both Dinan and St Malo for our day visit. We all much preferred Dinan to St Malo. Regret that we couldn't fit in Carnac ourselves. We spent about half a day in MSM seeing the town and Abbey, and it was crowded, but no different than any major sight IMO so that was no biggie for us. Honestly? The best bit was looking at it from the causeway parking lot. The Loire valley is gorgeous. Sounds like a great trip. Safe travels, Brad.

One thing that gives me pause on the smart phone is the possibility that I'll be too far from the towers. I've never used a smart phone as a GPS on a trip and I'm still somewhat skeptical on whether it will be reliable. I'll play with both and report back on how they worked.

John,

I'll check out your suggestions. So much to see, so little time.

I decided against Cancale because I think I'll find good oysters elsewhere (can they really be that much better than a few miles down the coast?).

Here's a dad joke for you to make your kids groan with:

Q. Why didn't the two oysters get along?

A. Because they're two shellfish.

Update, a rushed five nights in Brittany

I'll be coming from Mont St. Michel. Staying in Dinnan two nights at the HI Hostel. While in Dinan, I'll drive to see St. Malo and Fort la Latte.

From Dinan, I'll make a series of brief stops at small towns starting at Treguier and continuing to a group of small towns with good Parish Close examples, St. Tregonnac, Guimiliau and Lampaul-Guimiliau. Staying one night at an Air BnB at the last of the group. If I'm running late, I'll skip St. Tregonnac.

The next morning drive through Locronan and Concarnau before heading to Vannes. Two nights at an Air BnB in Vannes. While there I'll visit Carnac and Auray/Port de St. Goustan.

When I leave Vannes, I'll make a stop in Rochefort en Terre then drive to Chinon (with a brief stop at Fontevraud Abbey if I have time), then I'm into Loire.

Thanks,

Brad

Perfect. You've nailed it.

Great to plan 5 nights in Brittany with the itinerary you detailed in the last post, you will get a good overview of various aspects of the region. With only 2 nights, it would have been impossible to tour Bretagne, you would have spent your time driving, whereas there are so many unexpected stops along the road (3 or 4 weeks would be the best to allow for a break on Breton islands!).
In case your itinerary changes, you can get some additional ideas about places to see on http://visite.bretagne.free.fr/index.php/en/itineraries.html