Suggestions for Brittany

Have you visited Mont St Michel before? If not, it is right on the way...

Oh wow, LOVE Brittany! We were in Brittany at the same of year. When you are in Dinan, you could think about driving over to Dinard for a few hours. It's lovely, it has a 1950s resort, retro feel. We walked along the coast and could see Saint Malo across the bay. Closer to Carnac, is my favorite French town Locronan. It is very small with charming stone buildings with touches of blue and lots of flowers. Close to Locronan, we enjoyed the coast of Douarnenez. Quimper is a bigger town, we did like Locronan better, but the big draw is the beautiful pottery and they have a charming old town. Have fun!

We did enjoy a few hours and a picnic lunch at Saint Malo. I'd heard its really busy. It was somewhat, but we had no trouble getting a parking spot and very much enjoyed Saint Malo. We walked along the fortification with views of the sea.

Yes, we've visited Normandy twice, and Mont St Michel--which we loved. Ideally for this trip, though, we'd prefer to be away from the tour buses, and general crush of humanity. :-)

with a year to research I suggest reading thru the Michelin Green guide and also the Rough Guide. I enjoyed visiting Dinard & Cancale in the area near Dinan, but there are big chunks of the peninsula in Brittany I did not have a chance to see. In Carnac you'll be near the site where they filmed Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot which was a French classic. Vannes is not actually on the Gulf of Morbihan (it connects by a river) but it has a nice old town and you can take a day sail from their harbor. I tried to fit in a boat cruise for a few hours but it didn't work in the schedule. If I ever go back I'll try to take a cruise from there or one of several other towns along the bay offering them. Vannes wasn't my favorite stay since it isn't actually on the water, but it may be a good base for you given your preferences since it is near Carnac and you don't care about beaches.

Rennes itself is one of the nicest larger cities I've visited in France. I spent 2 nites there and enjoyed the time. There is a beautiful park as well as a pedestrian-only old town. Presumably your car pick-up there will go smoother than mine; the car rental offices were by the rail station but they were being renovated so they had a sign in the window explaining where to find the temporary trailer -- in French.

There was major construction work around the Rennes train station as of August 2017. I wouldn't be surprised if it's still going on, so check ahead of time.

I liked both Fougeres and Vitre in eastern Brittany. Didn't hear any English spoken.

And I agree that Dinard is worth a visit.

I took a train to Rennes last September and saw the construction. But it didn't affect my travel other than I had to walk around it to get to the car rental lot. I picked up my car keys, put my bag in the trunk (carried my camera /day pack), and asked if I could leave the car in their lot (it was right outside the window from the Hertz desk). Then spent a couple hours walking around Rennes before driving out.

Beginning of aug this year still massive amount of building works going on in and arround Rennes train station. Looks like there is still months of work to go.

It appeared that Locronan might get a lot of tourists and even buses during the summer. When we were there in September, it was almost close to deserted. It appeared to me that there was only one inn, a couple gift shops, a couple restaurants with limited hours and one wonderful bakery open. We were there for the afternoon and stayed overnight so perhaps there were buses midday, but when we were there we had the place to ourselves. It was foggy and raining very lightly which made the photos all the more vibrant. It was there I first tried kouign amann. It's delicious and I highly recommend it.

last year ( june) we spent a similar time in Brittany, in the general areas that you mention. our 'must' see was the small island of ile-de-brehat
while it is no doubt popular with tourists, they seemed to be french 'local' tourists. it was spectacular. we hired electric bikes and rode around. ( it saved time) we would go back and stay on the island for a few days , next time.

the 'general' area around carnac, eg: larmor baden ( to visit gavrinis) and the surrounding towns/bays etc would be somewhere we would like to revisit.
the town of carnac was nothing special, if not for the stones or if you are after a beach side visit. we found it ok as a base.
we visited josselin on our travels, through and it was a quaint small town, that was good for a stop off.

hope this helps.

Agree that except for the stones (while fascinating) Carnac was not all that interesting.

We have traveled to France about a half a dozen times and been to Brittany three times. We absolutely love Brittany. I am sure you will as well. Our travel planning always starts with Frommers 25 Great Drives of France. It has the country broken down into areas of short trips lasting 3 to 5 days. Mostly through small towns, it shows the roads and mileages. While meant as a driving guide, it is helpful to get a sense of what a trip would be like in a concentrated area with tips on what to do and see. It has 4 trips between Normandy and Brittany. We combine it with a Michelin map which has great road detail. We stayed in and loved Vitre', Quimper, Morlaix and the Gold Coast area. Hope this helps.

When I went, also in September, I stopped first in Cancale, then saw St. Malo on the way to Dinan. If you like castles, especially overlooking sea cliffs, stop at Ft. La Latte. I liked it enough to recommend it. It's been used for lots of things over the years but reflects a lot of medieval charm. You can even climb to the very top (using a rope) if you're game.

After Dinan, I stayed in Lampaul-Guimliau in the northwest. It's a neat area of small towns with unique church architecture. I'm not sure I'd recommend it for most people. They tend to roll up the sidewalks right after dinner time.

I then went south to Locronan. It's a pretty town that's used often as a backdrop for TV shows and movies. I'd suggest a stop there.

On the way back East, I stopped at Pont Aven, briefly at Auray, and stayed at Vannes. Either Auray or Vannes are a good base for Carnac. Vannes has a really large medieval center and walls plus a large harbor adjacent to it. Auray is like a much smaller version of Vannes if you like a smaller town better.

It was nice to visit Carnac. I went to the main area then drove around to a couple Dolmen in the area. My favorite sight is little known Cairn de Gavrinis. It's was only discovered in the 80's. You reach it from Larmor-Baden, buy a ticket for the ferry tour. They only take about 30 at a time, so it's best to get tickets in the morning then come back. The tour and all signage is in French. I can understand some French but a French lady on the tour, who lived a number of years in the US, helped translate for myself and another couple from New Zealand. I bought my ticket late morning, had a long lunch nearby, then boarded the ferry for the tour. The Cairn reminds me of Newgrange in Ireland. It's a similar passage tomb. Hopefully, you will also experience the tides in the bay. When the tide is coming in or out, it's almost like white-water rapids between the small islands. After the cairn, they showed us a partially submerged circular henge nearby. Overall, even without French, it's a sight I would have been sorry to miss.

I stayed in a hostel in Cancale and Dinan, then a series of Airbnb rooms the rest of the circle.

Oysters in Cancale are the best. Mussels (Moules) are another good choice. They're served with fries and not expensive. I typically drank beer but cider is the more local drink, wine is available but not as common of drink as elsewhere in France.

There were still some Pardons going when I was there but I wasn't close to any. If you can schedule yourself to experience one you should. It's the local church related town festival that includes local food, music, dance and costume. Almost every village has one, the season is mostly through the summer but starts in May and there are still some in September.

Thank you all for the excellent, thoughtful suggestions--very much appreciated!