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Brittany Itinerary

Hullo, we have between 10 and 14 days to spend in Brittany. We are open to having 2 or 3 home bases, from which to do day trips. We are 2 adults and 1 teen, so some beach time would be good, as well as site seeing. We will take the train from Paris to Rennes.
Here is what I'm thinking:

Train from Paris to Rennes. Pick up rental car at Rennes train station. Have a look around Rennes. Drive to hotel close enough to St. Milo, Dinard and Dinan - so somewhere in that Cotes D'Armor area. Any other must see town there? (we have see St. Mont Michele, which I know is technically Normandy, but so close!)

Drive to Morbihan area, see Lorient - mostly for the WWII submarine experience. See Carnac for standing stones. Anything in particular that you would recommend to see in Auray or Vannes? In this area (Morbihan) which of these towns would be most interesting to stay in?

From Morbihan area onto Finistere area. I get mixed information on both Pont-Aven (perhaps only interesting because of the painter Gaugin?) and Quimper. Any feel for staying in this area or perhaps skipping?

Some general questions:

I can't tell if it would be worth it to take the coastal road as much as possible, say after Ploumanach, etc, all the way around to Vannes (stopping at the towns along the way) and then on to Rennes to end the trip.

If we did the trip this way: Car rental Rennes, stayed close to Dinan, etc., to see towns in the area, then on the road headed in the direction of Brest, where would you make your second stay to do day trips, along the coastal area? And then, would you do a third stay, to see the last of the towns before heading back to Rennes?

Which of the standing stone sites would be most impressive to teenagers?

Any particular beaches or sites that would be more impressive to a teenager?

Many thanks and I look forward to any replies!

Posted by
18 posts

Last May my husband and I did a road trip around the eastern portion of Brittany. I’d advise choosing St Malo for your family as a base in its area because it’s a fun town for everyone and the tide is simply amazing to watch. I think your teen would like wandering about the waterfront as well. We day-tripped from there to Dinard and Dinan tho the historic walled district of St Malo is just as cool. If it’s warm you could have one of the guys who run historic boats take you out in it. We also went to the area that’s famous for oysters and enjoyed eating them with everyone else on the waterfront. We stayed in St Malo at the Best Western Alexandra which does have family rooms and looks right out onto the beach. The restaurant is also good. I wasn’t sure whether you plan on going to Mont St Michel, but if you do, stay overnight on the island. You will all find it fascinating. Doesn’t matter where you stay, just book something and wander around after the crowds have gone, and in the moonlight. We also booked a walk on the sand in the bay in the afternoon. It was about two hours, you walk all around the island with a guide who tells stories about history and the environment (in a group, about 15 people).

Posted by
39 posts

Thank you so much for your reply, I very much appreciate it. I'll look up the hotel you recommended. Best wishes, Jen.

Posted by
207 posts

We found our French relatives in Morlaix via Facebook a few years ago. We flew to Paris and took the train west. We rented a car and stayed in an old stone farmhouse in Santec. It was bliss. The ocean was within walking distance, and we were situated amongst fields of artichokes and apple orchards. We did several hikes to pass the time and just relaxed. We can't wait to go back.

Posted by
41 posts

Jen, we did a 2 week stay in Brittany in the fall of 2021. We also took the train from CDG to Rennes (which is also a neat city) and got the car at Rennes.

We had two bases, one each week. The first was actually nearer the coast than Dinan (little town of Erquy) as we wanted to walk the GR34 customs path in spots - around Cap Frehel and also around Cap Erquy. Also visited Fort LaLatte (kids would love that) and the Ile de Brehat (the boat tour was outstanding, lots of wildlife). I like to visit churches so we also went to a couple of hilltop medieval villages - Moncontour and Treguier - to see the churches there. Moncontour has unbelievable stained glass windows from the 16th century.

Then we drove to Quimper for the 2nd base. Stopped on the way in Auray (there's a modern church there on the pilgrimage site to St Anne and a large garden with monuments to the war dead) and Carnac (very very cool, and it's all pretty much in one place so you can just wander along for a while to see the stones).

Quimper is a lovely little town with an very good Fine Arts Museum and a lovely Cathedral that has a little jog in it, along with a cute town and lovely river running through it (actually two but one is mostly underground). And the pottery if you're into that. Quimper is a great base. We loved staying there - some good restaurants, decent grocery store, very walkable on cobblestones. Our day trips from there were to Concarneau (very touristy but the kids might love it) and Pont Abbe (I wanted to see a shop there that has textiles). We hiked the GR34 path from Port Manach to Rospico Beach and that was gorgeous. Pont Aven is nice and the Tremalo Chapel up the hill is super fascinating with amazing art inside.

On an earlier trip we spent a few days at Ty Mad Hotel in Douarnenez (Finistere) and hiked along the cliffs at Pointe du Van and Pointe du Raz (the latter very touristy so we didn't enjoy it as much as Pointe du Van) and visited the village of Camaret-sur-mer, which has a lovely beach. The coastline of Brittany is so beautiful and it's easy to access the customs path to hike along it for a while and take in the waves and rocks and sky (and if you're lucky, some of the lighthouses out in the sea).

I hope you have a wonderful trip. I could go to Brittany every year to drink cider and eat moules et frites!

Posted by
39 posts

AbbyO, thank you for this information. Do you by chance remember any details about the old stone farmhouse in Santec? I'd love to look it up.

Posted by
39 posts

Panny N, thank you for all of this information. Where any of your lodgings in either of the two bases memorable? If they were, I'd really appreciate the information on them. Your last sentence made me smile, I feel this way about many places that I have visited in France!

Posted by
18 posts

There is a series of mysteries by Jean-Luc Bannalec that is set in Brittany. I read a couple of the mysteries before my trip and it was great fun anticipating what I would see. You can get them from the library, with any luck.

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39 posts

pthomas156 thank you and how fun! I'll look up the books.

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41 posts
Posted by
39 posts

Many thanks for these, PennyN. The first one looks perfect, clean, simple and convenient but we need accommodation for 3 people.