Getting from Brittany to Provence - Options?

There are through trains from Brittany to the south of France, but it will take pretty much all day. You can check times and fares at www.tgv-europe.com. You can also book tickets there, but you have to claim to be in Canada and pick up the tickets at the station, or print them at home if that option is offered. Bookings begin 90 days before, and the cheapest tickets sell out fast. If you are travelling in December or January, the tickets may not be available at the usual 90 day time, as the timetable changes in early December and this can cause delays in tickets becoming available. Try and look for through trains with no changes. If the site suggests an itinerary changing in Paris, make sure you have enough time to travel between the stations in Paris.

Will this also make my international airfare more expensive; I'd have to fly open jaw from Newark to (near Dinan) and then from Marseille to Newark. Not necessarily. And even if it does, it still may beat the cost and hassle of other methods. Looking at Air France's website, I see that Rennes is the closest airport to Dinan that they serve. To find the flights you want, choose "multi-city" when searching (Air France's website calls this "multi-destination itinerary"). I'd look at http://www.kayak.com, http://matrix.itasoftware.com/, etc., and try to be flexible with dates and routes (within reason - I saw some come up with multiple changes, which I'd try to avoid if at all possible).

Alas no through trains from Brittany to Provence. All require a change not just of trains but of stations in Paris. Nonetheless the trains are faster than driving, so if cost is not a big factor this might be your best bet.

To get to your airport closest to Dinan, you'll have to change in Paris. The same is probably true for Marseille, though I didn't check on-line to see if there are Newark or New York flights straight to Marseille.

Thanks everybody. I was hoping to find an easier way; but if we add Brittany to our itinerary we will either take the train and spend a couple of nights in Paris OR rent a car and drive, including one overnight somewhere nice, as well as a couple of short sightseeing stops along the way. If you have any suggestions of places to stop between Provence and Brittany, feel free to let me know. I might like to stop in the Loire at a chateau?