wren

Who has seen these two towns, and which would you recommend? (Hotel recommendation?) I am leaning toward Dinan because it sounds like it is a Medieval town which is more untouched by modern changes, and St. Malo sounds more like a resort. Are my impressions correct? A French friend of ours loves St. Malo, so I thought I should at least look into staying there.

coccinelle

We found Dinan delightful, few tourists, late medieval houses. St Malo is built with the same grey granite stone as Mt.St.Michel. Supposedly , the most visited place in Brittany. Be sure to reserve long in advance. There are many campsites and one of the most popular youth hostels. The restaurants along the port are many and of good value compared to other parts of Brittany. In the central square. Mere Porcel.

JudyC

There are several parts of St.Malo,the part by the Grande Plage is resort. But the rebuilt old city centre is lively and interesting, the walk along the ramparts offer impressive views,plerty of good restaurants too. Few years ago, I stayed at the old town for 3 nights, really enjoyed it. Besides,it's a convenient base for daytrips around.

From St.Malo to Dinan is a short bus ride. As previous post, it is a delightful small old town, with some half-timbered houses and nice riverside walk. If possible, don't miss Thursday market and Les Halls.

Underhill

Dinan is charming and much less touristy than St-Malo--also easier to find parking there.

wren

Thanks! It sounds like using Dinan as a base is what we would like. Then exploring St. Malo during the day, as well as other places. We definitely like to stay in smaller, less crowded places that are easier to get in and out of with a car. Are there any B&B's in Dinan that you like?

amelia

I'm glad you have decided upon Dinan. The two towns are "apples and oranges" comparisons and we didn't even see the "resort" aspect of St. Malo, but Dinan seemed so much more approachable. In fact, I would have preferred staying in Cancale as opposed to St. Malo, too.

There's a waterway below the town of Dinan(river?) that we biked along that I'd love to go back to.

laverendrye

We very much enjoyed our stay in Dinan this past June. I can recommend the Hotel Arvor** (http://www.hotel-arvor-dinan.com/) right in the heart of the old town.

Underhill

Put the seaside town of Dinard--across from St-Malo--on your list to visit. It's an old-fashioned resort town with some huge Victorian hotels, rather like being at the English seaside. There's a very pleasant walk up above the bay, with gardens in various styles. We had a wonderful meal of moules frites at a hotel near the main parking lot for the beach.

wren

It sounds like we are all on the same wave length! We will definitely include Dinard. It sounds wonderful.
What else do you know about Cancale?

PalQ

Both are three star gems and so close to each other try to see both. buses go frequently if sans car. St. Malo, like Carcassonne might be called Ersatz as it was almost completely bombed off the map in WWII and has been thoroughly rebuilt to its former very impressive citadel-port look. (Carcassonne was bombed in modern wars but was turned from a ruin to an awesome pristine medieval looking fortified hill town by the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1900s.) St. Malo, however, is a bit less well done than Carcassonne but is still most remarkable, as is Dinan. One can like one more than the other but no one can say which is the better town, both being active ports so the port ambience is in both. Both attract hoardes of tourists in July and August.

amelia

Ok- what do I know about Cancale? We were staying right outside of Cancale at the Chateau Richeux. One descends into Cancale from there via a backroad that goes past "The Oyster Museum" This everything-you-never-wanted-to-know-about-oysters museum was closed to us, even though it was open, because they only allow English-speaking visitors in at certain hours. It did not matter that I kinda speak French and my kids DO speak French... Our taxi driver begged them to make an exception to no avail.

We shall return.

Nevertheless, for one hour before dinner we walked the oyster beds and asked questions. Lovely people; wonderful sight. Our biking guides had recommended about ten places to eat; we showed the list to the locals and heard some fabulous arguments.

I cannot remember (and I am so very sorry) the restaurant where we ate. Our waiter may have been the best in over ten trips to France. Our meal, in fact, ranks among the ten best in all those meals to France. It was just one of those je ne sais quois type days.

And by the way, we could view Mont St. MIchel in the far distance from our room at the Chateau Richeux. Awesome.

I envy you--we will not be traveling there this year. Again, we plan to return.

cigalechanta

As Amelia said, Cancale is an(obsessed) with oysters. I once read the population is just over 4500 but seems larger because of tourists. Th beach is mulched with the shells. Not much doing in the town. As an oyster lover, I found the prices here very expensive.

Morganne

Hi wren!

I love Britanny...and the North of Britanny has also wonderful cities such these you are talking about!
If I can give you an advice, you'd better to go in the four cities: Saint Malo (for the beaches and the intra muros city, very medieval too), Dinan because it is really sweet..., Dinard, do not miss the Casino with its wonderful view on the beach and sea, have a coffee there, and finally Cancale for eating, if you loke sea food, that's great, there are a lot of little restaurant in the sea front...great!
I hope you will not miss it!!
Have a great trip in Britanny!

Keith

Am I the only one that didn't care for the flavor of Cancale oysters?

In general I have not liked oysters in Europe as much as I like the ones in the US.

Keith

wren

OK, you all did well so far. Now, what do you know about Fougere?

amelia

Wren--Another poster resurrected my trip report from two years ago. The name of the Cancale restaurant I liked surfaced there--La Narvale.

I know squat about Fougere.

Patrick

I can't vouch for any of the restaurants in Cancale, but we did an early morning stop there and bought oysters freshly pulled in along the waterfront. For about a dollar we each got a dozen of them, then paid a woman about 50 cents to shuck them for us. We ate them as we sat along the "wall" and threw the shells into the sea -- a wonderful memory.

We stayed in St. Malo and loved it, with a view from our bathroom that rivaled the one from our bedroom -- at the Hotel de Cite, but after visiting Dinan the next day, I'd suggest the others are right in their assessment. It would make a lovely base for exploring the area. St. Malo was packed tight with people on Sunday, I do remember that!

Underhill

Fougères has a splendid medieval castle-one of the largest in Europe and well worth a visit for anyone interested in early military architecture. The town also has a fine Flamboyant Gothic church, St-Sulpice, a pretty public garden, and a picturesque old quarter.

twoflower

Another vote for Dinan. St Malo is interesting to visit, but Dinan has more diversity for the longer stay including overnighters. I stayed in the lower town, a Chambre-d'Hote one street back from the River Rance, and the morning walk along the Rance and up the narrow cobbled alley to the upper town was always a pleasant start to the day.

wren

Twoflower, do you have more info on the chambre d'hote?