Five weeks in France, refined.

I haven't been to the French Basque country so don't know whether you're likely to have any extra time while you're in that area, but I enjoyed a daytrip to Hondarribia, which is a coastal town just on the Spanish side of the border. It has both a fishermen's district (restaurant central) and a hilly medieval district. I don't know how similar it might be to the places you already plan to see in France, however.

Hi,

Good that you are considering St. Malo. If you're into French lit, it's the birthplace of Chateaubriand who wrote about this place, museum there too. St, Malo would be my destination too.

Ile de Re was fun and such a different experience. We went on a 2 hour jeep tour which was a good use of time and get up close to the bulls, horses, cowboy houses and flamingos. The small village center is quaint esp. if you arrive on market day, there was a hall of some sort with free demonstrations but the time didn't work for us. The church with the "black gypsy" something to see as well. LaRochelle was lovely by the way. Enjoy!

Nancy,

I wonder if you would find value in splitting up the 5 days in Vannes to 3 nights in Vannes and 2 in Quimper? I've not been to either but I'm planning a summer trip that includes 7 days in Brittany, so I've read a bit. I figure, since you are going all the way out to Quimper anyway....

Also, if you haven't already read them, below are some book recommendations

All the light we cannot see (San Malo based)

The discovery of France (a lot of breten history)

Matt

My first thought is always, when are you going? Weather makes a big difference regarding where and what I suggest.

I liked St. Malo, in the summer the beach is a big plus - it's one of only a few nice sand beaches (rather than mud or pebbles) in the area. I liked walking the walls. Walking out to the small defensive islands at low tide is neat too. After that, it's kind of a tourist trap.

Dinan is nice. It has a port area on the river and a medieval center up the hill. There are lots of post card views but not really a lot of must sees.

Vannes was a very good place to base. It has a large medieval center right on the port. I'd stay within walking distance of there.

I should have included our travel dates, since that does affect our choices. We'll leave Paris June 2 and will spend the rest of the month, or so, on the remaining destinations.

acraven, Hondarribia sounds like a place we'd really enjoy, especially since I read that they have pinxtos as good as those in San Sebastián 😊. Transportation might be an issue for us. It looks like we'd need to take a train or bus to Hendaye and, then, a taxi to a ferry to get us across to Hondarribia. Might be too much of a hassle, but could be a fun adventure, too.

Patricia, the jeep tour sound interesting. I'm glad to hear that there's more to Ile de Re than cycling.

Matt, I've mused about staying in Quimper, but we already have six destinations and I think that's enough moving around for us. I have read All the Light We Cannot See and I just put a library hold on The Discovery of France - sounds interesting.

Nancy, you're right that transportation to Hondarribia might be challenging, but if you have time for an extra side trip, check once you're in St-Jean-de-Luz. Sometimes there's a bus link that doesn't pop up during an internet search. There's a bus line between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Logrono in Spain that Rome2Rio.com doesn't know about, for example.

Good point, acraven. Rome2Rio is a wonderful planning resource, but I need to remember that they don't know everything. I'll bet we can find a way to get there!