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Coastal itinerary in Brittany for 10 days in charming villages?

We are looking to do a self-driving tour starting near St. Malo & going towards Quimper.
\Are there towns near there where we could rent a car?
We prefer smaller but excellent lodging, but would also like to stay in a chateaux one or two nights if there are any along the routes from St. Malo to Quimper.

Also if anyone knows any charming villages and/or restaurants.
There seem to be several itineraries so we not sure if there are any half=timbered houses or villages Fleuries along those routes.
We will be taking a train from Paris.
Are we better driving from Paris instead of taking the train. I just prefer saving our driving time to the Coast rather than the highway from Paris.
Please let me know if there are any other ways to plan this trip for next May. I am really in a quandry. I love Normandy and have been there many times , but thought that Brittany would be quite different and interesting.
Our interests are mainly markets, small villages , gardens, and walks along the sea or trails

Thanks so much for any help on this type of self=driving car trip. Lynda

Hi again,
After reading many wonderful and helpful answers on this forum, I realize that the Western part of Brittany has not been visited very much and I am not sure why. We are taking a Seine trip that includes the D Day beaches, so I wonder what would be the best place to begin the trip sine we have to take a train from Paris

Posted by
48 posts

Dinan has half-timbered houses, cute and quaint town. I think Rennes has some, too, and that would be a good place to pick up a rental car.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks Kathleen & Europefan,
Are there any other towns like those or places to stay that you like?

Posted by
48 posts

We stayed here in 2014 and it was a delight: https://rigourdaine.com/en/ (that trip was Dinan, Mont-Saint Michel, St. Malo). Also loved a stop at Cap Frehet and Le Fort la Latte and a nearby beach. We took a train from Paris to rent the car - now that I’m remembering, it was indeed Rennes where we picked it up.

Posted by
3210 posts

We are finishing 2 M in Bretagne. We visited many many places. Here are the highlights:

1) The "enclose parishes" - these are parish churches with walls, ossuaries, chapels, and calvaires. A calvaire is a statue-based story of Jesus' life outdoors. There are many many of these in Bretagne. For specific cities, look up "7 monumental calvaires Bretagne". We visited pretty much all of these. There is an "enclose parish" route near Morlaix, which has about 12 churches with these features. This is discussed in Guide Michelin Verte, which is a good book to have for France - either in French or English.

2) The Église Sainte-Onenne in Tréhorenteuc, France, known as the "Grail Church" (Église du Graal), is a unique chapel within the Brocéliande forest (Paimpont forest) in Brittany that blends Catholic, pagan, and Arthurian legends.

3) The megalithic field in Carnac: Thousands of megaiiths (standing stones), arranged in rows in Carnac.

4) The Vallee de Saintes: Hundreds of modern sculptures in central Bretagne.

5) The German U-boat base in Lorient

6) The Chateau de la Roche Goyon - a very well-preserved fortified chateau (castle) on the N coast of Bretagne

As to quaint villages, Dinan is very nice, St Malo, Quimper has an old section, Penmarch, Roscoff. Brest was heavily bombed in WWII, and is quite modern. Most of the coastal towns in Finisterre don't have that kind of old section, though. The ambiance of Finisterre in particular is more like Myrtle Beach than the Loire valley - sun, sea, sand, relaxing near the ocean. It's flat as a pancake along the coast, there are a lot of bike riders.

Make sure to find cidre - alcoholic cider, often carbonated. There are 4 cideries within 10 K of our house.

The dish here is the crepe but made of "ble noir" or black flour - buckwheat flour. In Finisterre in particular, the cuisine of fish and other ocean sources is very prominent. Many towns (Dournenez, Roscoff, Penmarch) had huge fish-processing industries, much of which is no longer here. But the area features fishy foods.

Mostly you can get by in English. I speak minimal French. I often find that when I say "Bonjour" the reply is in English - somehow my accent tells the tale. Very funny how quick it is picked up.

Posted by
750 posts

Locronan is a small village, 20 km northwest of Quimper. It is one of "The most beautiful villages of France" and very close to the coast and new the fishing village of Douarnenez.