Hello friends! We are planning a 3-week trip to Brittany and Normandy at the end of May. My plan is to take a train from Paris to Rouen, rent a car at the train station and take an Airbnb somewhere in a quaint town or countryside. We love hiking, woods and beaches. We are also interested in culture and architecture. Your suggestions of towns are greatly appreciated!
Elena
Last summer I did a road trip around Brittany and Normandy. I visited/stayed in the following towns:
Honfleur (stay)
Caen
Bayeux
Mont St. Michel (stay)
St. Malo
Dinan (stay)
With 3 weeks you could choose 3 different locations. For example 1 in Normandy and 2 in Brittany. By consulting any good travel guide it is not difficult to determine which area to stay in.
Instead of Airbnb, also see Gites de France, an organization that has existed since the 60s (well, before the internet and Airbnb), very popular in rural areas where you will find accommodation ranging from a single room to a castle with a swimming pool. . These accommodations are regularly visited and controlled by the organization in order to verify they match to comfort standards.
Gites de France Normandy:
https://www.gites-de-france.com/fr/search?regions=9&seed=46136bc7
Gites de France Brittany:
https://www.gites-de-france.com/fr/search?regions=13&seed=6b8cbe31
After a 4 day stay sans car in St. Malo where we visited nearby towns like Dinan by bus, we went to Carnac and did a private tour of neolithic sites:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2020/11/29/yes-ed-more-rocks-the-neolithic-alignments-at-carnac/
With a car you can do these on your own and if you are interested in this sort of thing it is pretty amazing. My husband indulges my passion for rocks but things I am nuts.
we walked to St. Servan from St. Malo to see the Tour Solidor which I thought a quite stunning sight.https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2020/11/26/saint-servan-and-the-search-for-the-elusive-tour-solidor/
lekasha,
I second Jolui regarding gites-de-france. We have never been disappointed, and have found chambres d'hote and full size houses for stays from one night to ten days. It is my first go-to search site, followed by Booking.com for hotels. I much prefer their offerings, although some places list on Gites, Airbnb and VRBO.
Three weeks and three locations is also a good idea. And lucky you to have a car. There is so much to see and do in the area from Rouen to Finisterre! Amusez-vous Bien!
Thank you so much for all of your input! I didn't know about Gites de France, and will definitely check it out. I also love the neolithic sites and will add them to places to visit. Again, many thanks for your suggestions!
In Brittany you can find some megalithic sites, the best known of which is, as janet said the alignments of Carnac
https://www.menhirs-carnac.fr/en
Not far from there is the broken Grand Menhir of Locmariaquer
https://www.site-megalithique-locmariaquer.fr/decouvrir/le-grand-menhir-brise
And between Mont Saint Michel and Saint Malo: The Menhir of Champ Dolent
Regarding the many things to do and see in general in Brittany see:
We visited Brittany for 10 nites in 2021. We agreed that that wasn't enough. In 12 days we're heading back for more, focusing on Finistrere. Menhirs and dolmens are all over. There are islands in Morbihan bay with neolithic sites. Some of the finest beaches in France. You'll love the crepes. Brad
Hi lekasha,
We based in the quaint towns Quimper and Vannes this past fall. The latter may not be 'countryside' but with the excellent walk south of town down to Conleau and its beach (half of which goes through forest), its hard to imagine any traveler being unsatisfied.
Both towns feature excellent food plus proximity to a variety of daytrips both nautical and land-based.
Happy to provide more about specific foodic possibilities.
I am done. the end.
For a 3-week trip you need plenty of detailed information. The Michelin Green Guides (one each for Normandy and Brittany) cover just about every town, have suggested driving routes, etc. You should get them.
Request Stu Dudley's Normandy & Brittany itinerary; see https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/normandy-and-brittany-stu-dudleys-updated-itinerary-1670294/ We used these in addition to the Michelin guides when planning our trip to Brittany and Normandy a few years ago. You can also find many videos on YouTube exploring these regions.
