planning our next France trip

I've only seen a bit of eastern Brittany. I liked Dinard, Dinan, Rennes, Fougeres and Vitre. My hotels were in St. Malo (visiting Dinard and Dinan) and Rennes (visiting Fougeres and Vitre). My issue with St. Malo was how touristy it was in late July 2017. It's not a place I would want to spend a lot of nights, that's for sure. However, there are people who seem to have no problem with it at all.

I traveled for eight days through the area delineated above via public transportation without significant difficulty, but you'll certainly want to cover a lot more ground, and I'm sure a car would make for a more efficient trip. I think it would be great to have three weeks in Brittany.

I just loved so much about Brittney and would love to go back. We stayed in Dinard and did day trips to Dinan and St. Malo. Very much enjoyed all those cities. We had a lovely sunny day for St. Malo and we brought a picnic (including a Vouvray from Loire) and had lunch on the city wall. Highly recommend! Dinard felt different (in a good way) to us than other French places we've visited. We liked the retro, beach resort vibe and the coast with views of St. Malo were lovely. Mont St. Michel is on the border of Brittney, and I would think you would have time for that. I think it is day trip distance from Dinan/Dinard, though I would recommend staying the night before your visit, not necessary right on the island but very close so that you can get there at the entrance to the monastery 15 minutes or so prior to opening. Note that means probably an hour early since you need to get from the parking lot and up to the top of the island. We also went over the night before at 5ish, and got some great pictures and had some quiet time then.

We REALLY, and I mean REALLY enjoyed the very small village of Locranon. It is so beautiful with gray stone buildings, blue shutters and flower boxes. We overnighted there. Close is Quimper which is a larger city where they make the famous ceramic and they also have a pretty town center. Also close is Douarnenez with a lovely coast.

In the area, try the savory crepes and the kouign amman pastry.

You don't that I noted say when you will be in Brittney. We were there at the end of September/beginning of October and it was a bit chilly, but that was fine with us. It also meant it was a bit quieter, except for Mont Saint Michel and St. Malo which seem to be always busy.

Jules is right to mention the weather. It is quite different from what you get down in Toulouse, etc., at the same time of the year. I used that area as an escape from the mid-summer heat, and it was gloriously pleasant. Often overcast, sometimes threatening rain or sprinkling, but a blissful change from what I had been experiencing. I'd have to do some meteorological research before I'd commit to a shoulder-season trip, though.

Hello from Wisconsin,
If you have been to France already and for a while you know how wonderful it is.

Google 'Gites de France'. It opens with a select language and then it provides a map of France by department (regions). Many of the these regions are carved into smaller sections. Select a region and then a section in the area you might want to stay and be ready to spend hours drooling over what is available to rent Saturday to Saturday. I find the prices so reasonable on many of these places that renting for the week and only staying 4 days is still a bargain.

Some do allow shorter rentals. But the idea in France is vacation Saturaday to Saturday. And then everyone changes location.

Great prices and selection, A bit funky to work with. Really worth it. We have had excellent experiences.

wayne iNWI

We were just in Brittany last month, Sept 22 - 28, with our daughter & loved it! We began with 2 nights in Dinan, just a charming place, then one night in Locronan, such a quaint medieval village, had a delicious lunch in Douarnenez on our way to Quimper, just to shop at the famous pottery shop, & finally 3 nights in St Goustan, a picturesque port town, which we used as our base to see the megaliths at Carnac & other celtic sights nearby. We had some rain in Dinan, otherwise we had warm & sunny days, perfect for sightseeing. We could easily have spent 10 to 14 days in Brittany, esp if you include Mont St Michael, which we had already visited & if you want to explore all the way to the far end of Brittany, which we didn't do.

Is 2 weeks too long to stay in Dinan and St. Malo (leisure and sightseeing)? Is Rennes worth a stay? I believe that we will rent a car so that we may take several day trips along the way. Is having a car a must?

Everyone is different. To me there is so much to see in Brittany (and Normandy) that I wouldn't want to stay 2+ weeks in just one locale. I'd rather have some 2 or 3 nite stays and explore. But maybe what you've planned is right for you. Dinan and St. Malo are close, around a 30 min drive, you can do one as a easy day trip from the other. Rennes is a wonderful city with a pedestrian-only downtown, a beautiful park, etc. We started our trip in the region from Rennes and picked up our car there.

The Rough Guide is good for the region, and you ought to get the Green Michelin guide that has exhaustive coverage of the area. The advice in the RS book is good but he only covers a small part of the region.

I'll add to Andrew's list. I really enjoyed driving along the coasts in Brittany and we ended up in some super cute seaside towns. (that I wish I could remember the names of so I can label my pics!) If you try that, have a decent map. We relied on a rough map in a guide book and GPS. Would have helped so much if we could have planned our own route.

I'll also add that I like to be in cities in the evenings when its quieter. If you stay in one place for such a long time, you don't get to really experience some of the other places. We stayed overnight in Locranon, we practically had it to ourselves for a very memorable experience.