I guess you are thinking about weather conditions. As with any place in the northern hemisphere, temps drop as winter approaches. I think if you did your Normandy/Brittany trip before Paris (meaning I guess late Sept./early Oct.) you will have warmer weather. I don't think you'll find it crowded either. I've vacationed in Brittany in early September before (near the Pink Granite Coast) and found no problem at all with crowds of any sort, no matter where i went.

Oysters are easily found anywhere in Brittany and come from a variety of locations. One of the most famous sources is Belon, which is located in the Finistere region. Cancale and the bay around Mont Saint Michel is another area. But there are many other areas. I vote you visit prior to Paris and enjoy (most likely) warmer weather. Somebody else will probably disagree with me.

I agree get to the north early. My favorite for oysters is St Vaast with Mussels from Barfleur (both close but far from other sites) These towns are so very Norman it will take your breath away (not pretty but solid granite with a hard work ethic and a history). Barfleur is the town where some of the knights who died in the white ship sailed from (I leave the research to you but you need to think back about 1000 years) . The usual draw is Honfleur, Falaise, Bayeux, Mont St Michel and St Malo. But don't ignore the Cambembert trail, the cidre trail and Dinard or Dinant (never can remember which is the semi-walled city)

I agree with the others. We also stayed in a Gite near the Pink Rocks section of Brittany the first two weeks of Sept in '07, and the weather was better the first part of the trip than the last. Had lots of oysters !!! and purchased an oyster knife at one of the farmer's markets.

Watch out for the tides - we had to re-arrange our itinerary quite a bit based on whether the tide was in or out.

Stu Dudley