di2315

As a side trip to our stay in the Loire Valley, we spent some time visiting Brittany and parts of the Atlantic Coast to the south of there. Here are some short observations on our visit:

Brittany / Bretagne

Auray is a beautiful town well worth visiting. We stayed in a Logis Hotel (Hotel Auditel Le Branhoc) on the old port side of the town.
St-Goustan is the town located by the old port, with a stone bridge leading across the tiny harbour to the main town. There is a lively atmosphere, without being completely overrun with tourists. Don’t miss the Chocolatier & Biscuiterie that’s tucked in to the small square on the town side of the bridge – their products are to die for! Once inside the shop, you pick up a plastic bag, then select goodies to your heart’s content. Need I say more? A few days after we left the area, DH informed me of the price per kilo we paid, but even that wouldn’t deter me for a minute from returning! Although it’s probably as well that we only had 2 nights to enjoy those indulgences.

Fodors members recommended we also visited St Anne d’Auray and Rochefort-en-Terre, and what excellent recommendations they turned out to be. St Anne’s is dominated by their Basillica, and in the square outside we happened upon a delightful gentleman who was intent on persuading us to visit his waxworks across the road, but also gave us a potted history of the area, and told of the significance of the pilgrim stairs located on the other side of the square. To one side there is also a large memorial to the Word Wars – a very moving and sobering site, with walls of names and an impressive memorial in the centre.

Rochefort-en-Terre far exceded our expectations; it’s one of those once-in-a-trip-WOW villages. It’s very commercial, but in a lovely villagey way. The floral decorations at the end of summer were quite spectacular, and we ate a delightful lunch in the little café that specialises in crepes and pizza (sorry- didn’t note the name). We were the only English speaking diners, which really made us feel part of the French culture.

Quiberon – fortunately we arrived at the end of this coastal peninsula early in the day. We were able to park on the beach front, and had a pleasant stroll along the promenade. After a delicious morning tea of the local bakery specialty of Breton Cake, we left to continue our travels. This was late morning, and the snail-paced stream of traffic entering the town had to be seen to be believed. All those poor souls had around 10km of single lane traffic to endure, then goodness knows where they were all planning to park once they got to Quiberon! I expect they were planning to dine at the seafront; for most it would be a very late meal, I think.

La Rochelle is another of those popular coastal areas that you need to visit early in the day. On our first attempt we arrived around noon, and found it impossible to park the car. We also learned that if a parking station has a sign saying ‘ouvert’ it doesn’t mean there is any parking available unless the number of vacant spaces is also listed.
After driving around in circles a number of times, we gave up headed to Chatelaillon-Plage where life was travelling at a much calmer pace. After a delightful lunch we travelled to our accommodation at Domaine du Prieure in Tonnay Boutonne. This was another of the delightful Logis Hotels we stayed in during this trip – this one was an old building, but the furnishings and fittings were very up to the minute and comfortable.

First thing the next morning we returned to La Rochelle. Parking opposite the aquarium was plentiful, and the first hour was free – what a bonus! Being on that side of the town enabled us to walk around the waterfront of the inner harbour, past the ancient lighthouse, and into the main part of the old town. A drive to Minimes showed us a more modern side to this area – plenty of beach-side apartments and young families around.

We'd love to spend more time in Brittany . . . guess that will have to wait till next visit to France!

Happy travels, Di

tod

Thank you for that delightful report Di! We only got as far as St.Malo when we traveled from the Loire Valley. You certainly know how to whet a person's appetite to take another trip up that way!

di2315

Thanks, tod - I've been enjoying your reports on Paris etc as well. We must have almost crossed paths several times at the Tour, La Defense etc - we had a week in Paris before the Loire Valley.

tod

Thats great to hear Di. I have another instalment starting with our return to Paris. You were in an apartment right?
What did you do up at La Defense? You write so descriptively I hope you do a trip report on your Paris stay - I would love to know what you were up to seeing we were there at the same time! Photos of anything - Paris, Loire, Brittany?

JulieVikmanis

Thanks Di. Nice report. We just returned from Brittany and Normandy and I'm trying to pull stuff together to make a report as well. We also got to Rochefort-en-Terre (or second time) and love that little place. Before getting there we took in two other 4 fleur Villes Fleuri, all within about a 30 km radius of each other--La Gacilly and La Vrai Croix. Both were equally lovely as Rochefort but also quite different. I really love the Ville Fleuri program and will go out of my way to take in villages in the 3 and 4 fleur levels. St. Anne d'Auray is another of the flower villages, 3 fleurs I think. Wonderful as the monuments are, they appear even better when accompanied by the beautiful flowers.

Gardyloo

Thanks for this - very enlightenig. You were in parts of Brittany we missed last month; it only confirms that this is a part of France to which we'll return. All the locals we met said to come in the autumn, which is usually sunny, warm, and offers some good foliage viewing too. Presumably the crowds we both encountered would be less an issue then.

Here's our trip report, BTW: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-movements.cfm

Coquelicot

JulieVikmanis, when you were in Gacilly did you see the Yves Rocher garden (or whatever it is)? There's supposed to be a mur vegetal of Patrick Blanc there I'd like to see.

Di, I also find chocolate hard to resist. I spent 7 euros on a chocolate bar the other day and am trying to forget the cost so I can enjoy eating it.

We were in at least two 4-flower villages today and they are spectacular! (Juvigne and St Loup du Gast). Wow. Even some of the 2- and 3-flower towns were terrific. Wish this would catch on in the US.

FrenchMystiqueTours

I wanted to see La Gacilly but it just didn't fit into the schedule on the last trip. Thanks for the tips on those other villages, Coquelicot and Julie. I'll be waiting for both of your trip reports.

Jim_Tardio

bookmarking

di2315

Thanks, everyone for your comments and additions - it all helps to build the information for future travellers.

Yes, Tod - Paris report is coming! Looking forward to the rest of yours, too! Di

JulieVikmanis

Shucks, Coquelicot, we missed the garden. I had read that Yves Rocher was pretty much singlehandedly responsible for rejuvenating the town (from the cosmetics fortune that started with hemorroid cream, but somehow I didn't find the garden. Did find lots of artist ateliers and lovely shopping street, all with lots of flowers. Very worthy stop.