Brittany itinerary anyone?

The Dordogne is nowhere near Brittany; it will take the best part of a day trip drive there from the likes of Vannes or Saint Malo. I would leave it aside.

And you are definitely not late to plan a September trip!
I'll come back with Brittany suggestions but it's bedtime for me.

I've traveled through part of that area on two recent trips but without a car, so I have a poor sense of what you'll be able to accomplish with the time you have. I'm an art-and-picturesque-towns sort of traveler with an interest in 20th-century history. I'll just list some places I found visually attractive, working roughly from east to west:

• D-Day sites (I highly recommend a one-day tour rather than the pure do-it-yourself approach; you could probably hire a driver and use your car for a pretty reasonable price; van tours will cost about 100 euros per person or more.)
• Rouen (gorgeous rebuilt historic center, multiple museums and the Jean d'Arc connection)
• Bayeux (convenient base for D-Day sites; Bayeux tapestry, cathedral, historic center untouched during WWII, invasion museum, British cemetery, good walking tour offered by tourist office)
• Falaise (town nothing to look at but has interesting museum covering civilian experience during WWII, including Resistance activities) Honfleur (touristy but cute small coastal town)
• Deauville (early 20th-century beach resort)
• Cabourg (early 20th-century beach resort)
• St. Malo (very picturesque, and it does have some worthwhile sights; but very, very touristy)
• Dinard (fairly touristy)
• Dinan (fairly touristy)
• Vitre (not too many tourists when I was there)
• Fougeres (not too many tourists when I was there)
• Vannes (this far west it seemed like most visitors were French)
• Quimper (extremely picturesque; again, most visitors seemed to be French)

Bonne nuit! Thank you! I await your reply. If you know of good places to stay too, please share!

We really enjoyed our trip through Brittany. I will give you some suggestions but the real "finds" for us were community events where the people were better than the show: A woman greeting a steady stream of well-wishers with double-cheek kisses; folk dances where everyone from oldsters to teens joined in (and children practiced the steps off to the side); a tent full of audience members patiently stepping around children who were playing in the sawdust aisles, etc., etc.
We are big advocates of staying on Mont St Michel so you're there before and after the crowds. Waking up on the island is magical. A little pricey, but worth it.
Here's some things worth looking into:
The standing stones at Carnac
Beauport Abbey
Walled city at Concarneau
Old town in Quimper
art galleries in Pont Aven
Cairn de Gavrinis, France's largest dolmen

Well, turns out you've got a lot of good suggestions already!
I'll add my vote for Quimper and the surrounding region. I go there very often for work and it's fun to explore, with cute villages (Locronan) and towns (old town of Quimper, walled town of Concarneau, Pont Aven), beautiful beaches (Audierne bay, around Fouesnant as well), impressive coastal scenery (Crozon, pointe du Raz). Definitely worth maybe 4 of the 10 days?

The remainder can be spent further east to visit the likes of Carnac, Vannes, Dinan, Saint Malo...

Thank you everyone! Lots to check out. Can anyone recommend a good base town and accommodations for this area or should we move towns on our overnight stays? I definitely want to stay overnight in Mont St Michele for one night. We will not be going to the Normandy recommendations as we have traveled there in the past.

Hello from Wisconsin,

Yes, Lascaux caves are well away from Brittany. Let me remind you that what you will see there is a replica not the real thing.

It took me until old age to realize that the two famous caves, Altamira and Lascaux, weren't the only caves with paintings. I am not saying these caves are common, but in some cases you can still enter the authentic cave and see the real thousands of years old images. Peche Merle cave in France is exceptional. Jacob Bronwoski used the paintings in his book, The Ascent of Man.

And you might find that the area surrounding this Peche Merle jaw droppingly beautiful.

I went to the replica of Altamira in Madrid while I was at their National Archaeological Museum. It is just not the same as being in a real cave with authentic paintings. What was it in the movie, Good Will Hunting...you can read and read and look at the pictures but until you step into a real cathedral... I think you would be disappointed with Lascaux. A lot of effort and time for a let down.

wayne INWI

MSM is definitely worth a visit and we also enjoyed our stop in Cancale.

Brittany has so much to see. Some great suggestions given. I second Quimper with a side trip to Pointe de Raz; two spots for prehistory: Locmariaquer & Carnac; my favorite town: Pont Aven; not to miss: Josselin Castle in Dinan; heading back north, St. Malo is charming. The Bayeux Tapestries if it's convenient, but be sure they're back from repair. Sadly, I found Giverny a nightmare of tourists. Detective books set in the Pont Aven/Concarneau region: Jean Luc Bannalec.

We loved St. Malo and spent 4 nights there using it as a base for Dinan and Dinard and St. Servan -- but a car is better. Be sure to reserve restaurant ahead there; there are 7 or 8 really good small restaurants and then a bunch of tourist trappy ones -- Here are some snapshots of St. Malo, St. Servan and Neolithic sites
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/brittany/
Don't miss the neolithic stone sites around Carnac -- we spent one night there and got a guide to take us to some of the sites -- with a car you can easily visit several of the sites yourself.

I love the Dordogne -- but make that another trip -- it is about as far away from Brittany as you can get in France.