Dinan or Quimper

Are you planning on seeing mount st Michele regardless or only if you choose Dinan?

I am not saying that I made the most of Brittany, but if I went again, I would go farther south, and see ancient stone villages and neolithic stone monuments. Dinan is a (Opinion) DIsneyfied half-timbered town, with buskers in the street. Quimper at least has a seasonal steam train. But neither has the authenticity of MSM. But MSM is only good for a half-day. (Opinion) A fumbling example of these thoughts is that, while Coutances, and especially, Vitré have many modern buildings, they have a lot of authentic history. Dinan seems like a stage set. I was sorry not to have time for the de Sevigney house in Vitré.

I would not pair England with western France. The transport is annoying. I presume you are renting a car for Brittany?

Dinan is very nice, but to me Quimper is less tourist-oriented, at least from what I have experienced. If you could visit both, fine. But Quimper seems to be more tuned to the Breton people than the tourists.....just an impressipon. Plus, is closer to Carnac.

Thanks for your replies.
Yes Matt, we are spending a night at MSM as we drive from Normandy to Brittany. And we appreciate the advice, Tim and Judy.
After our time in Brittany, we plan to ditch our rental car and take the ferry from Roscoff to Plymouth UK. Six hour trip (voyage?) but it leaves us just an hour's drive to our ultimate destination on Cornwall's north coast. That seems like less of a schlep than returning to Paris + Eurostar to London + train or car back out to Cornwall. Flying from Brittany to Cornwall doesn't fit into our budget. Open to other ideas though.
We'll keep thinking about Dinan vs. Quimper. Both offer nearby towns and coastal views/hikes that seem irresistible. But we're big believers in avoiding one- or two-night stays during trips.
Happy to hear more thoughts, and thanks again!
(Edited to correct spelling to Roscoff.)

I think it depends on what you plan to see from either location. I've stayed in both on different tours so I would base my deision on what seems like the most interesting to you.

Stayed in Quimper on a Road Scholar tour and we drove out to the Western end of the peninsula to Pointe du Raz (the French equivalent of Land's End in Cornwall but not touristed up), saw Douarnanez, back a bit east to Pont Aven on different days. We did Carnac from Vannes and if Neolithic stones interest you I can tell you what I saw last Fall on a Mark Seymour tour that besides Carnac and Locmariquer.

Stayed in Dinan on a Mark Seymour tour last October. We did Saint-Malo (excellent) one day and went toward the coast in the other direction another day to Fort La Latte (Do you remember the old film the Vikings with Kirk Douglas? Part was filmed here) and on to the lighthouses and look outs at Cap Frehel. Mark had us at the Hotel Le d’Avaugour which is right on the main square and parking lot. There is a market day at least once a week (maybe twice?) when that parking lot is unavailable and you have to move your vehicle.

I felt both areas were different with lots to see from either base.

BTW, I've been to Cornwall a couple of times and to me it does not look like Brittany at all to me. There is some similarity between the Breton and Cornish language and in fact some names in Brittany seem Cornish.

We have visited both of those towns. I agree that Dinan is a bit of a medieval theme town. While one night stays can be annoying, sometimes they can be the best way to utilize vacation time IMHO. My suggestion: after MSM, visit Saint Malo, then spend the night and the next morning in Dinan. Head to Quimper for three nights. The last day it's only about 90 minutes to Roscoff. Cornwall and Brittany make an interesting combination - we found the two areas felt similar but the coastal scenery in Cornwall was more compelling.

I really like Dinan. I’ve stayed in the port area twice. From there you can rent bikes or walk along the Rance river and walk uphill into town. It is well located to visit 4-5 day’s worth of sites within an hours (or so) drive, including msm. If you are leaning towards Quimper (I’ve never been but going this summer) then the fact that you are seeing msm no matter what would push you towards spending the time in Quimper.