One week in Normandy/Brittany

You have got to do some reading and decide what interests you. For me it may be the stone circles- for you it may be spotted cows. if you let us know some towns or sights that interest you we can help a lot better than having you go on our personal dream vacation

We are interested in Becherel w/its books, Dinan, Mont St. Michel of course.. That would be 2-3 days at most. Maybe Carnac. DDay I suppose you could take as much time as you want..

You may already know this, but Becherel is best on the weekend when more booksellers are open. We learned this is true of most Book Towns. Becherel is just north of Rennes, easy reach from St. Malo.

Carnac is a superb neolithic site--well worth the distance. You need a full day there to see everything, there's also a good museum in Carnac.We stayed at Hotel Tumulus........ We then enjoyed Pont-Aven and Quimper. On the Granite Rose Coast we stayed at Ti al Lannec which was a bit pricey, but a lovely treat......... Dinan was interesting for a few hours (it's like York lite), but we thought St. Malo had a lot more to offer. (The opposite of what the RS books say.) Other good spots were Honfleur and Rouen for a few hours........We did a loop through the area in 2008, starting with two nights in Chenonceau. It's fun in NW Brittany to just drive around the countryside and check out the little villages. If you get lost, just look for the steeples in the village. All the cross roads usually meet at the church.......Learn a few French phrases or have google-translate available, because very few in the villages speak anything except French.......An interesting side note----many of Brittany's neolithic stones were Christianized by the addition of large crosses on top.

brittany for its stones (2 days) ; Mont St Michel; St Malo (absolutely worth it). further South La Rochelle is good but not as interesting as St Malo. Dinan didnt thrill me). And I would always try and squeeze in Bayeux. i also enjoyed just driving through Normandy farm country- apple orchards and cows

Steve
i am comfortable doing that in England where i speak the language, I seldom do that (much) in Europe and never yet in France. Not comfortable that i can find someplace nice with my limited language "skills'.

Excellent. I wondered about the Brittany area..Paris if great but wanted to have a different experience of France this year..Do lot of the villages have rooms to rent so one could just do some exploring and see where you end up?

Look for a 'chambre' sign by the road or in a window. Knock on the door. Everything else will work itself out.

I think it would be fun to have a few days and just see where we end up. I always thought travel should be a bit of an adventure after all! Thx, Steve

Steve Can I tell you how much I absolutely love Normandy!! Specifically staying in Bayuex, and doing a Battle-bus tour! I stayed at a great B&B called Les 3 Pierre. http://www.les3pierre.com/?lang=en - Our hosts were so gracious and accommodating! Great, simple accommodations, great breakfast and great location in Bayeux. I highly recommend staying here, all though I didn't have a car so you would have to talk to them about parking. I loved visiting the D-day beaches, and many historical sites and dream about the day I can go back! If you have any questions about Les 3 Pierre, or taking a Battle-bus tour, don't hesitate to ask me!
Have fun!!!