Spring trip to Brittany
Apr 12th, 2006, 03:29 PM
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Spring trip to Brittany
Brittany, France Trip Report Early spring 2006
We flew to Paris March 28, arriving March 29 at Terminal 2E. We rented a car from Hertz which was very easy to find. It was quite simple to leave CDG in our diesel Toyota and we drove a short way to Chantilly. The woods in this area are so pretty and I spotted a wild boar close to the road. I guess I’ll believe the “Beware of wild boar” signs the next time I see one in France! We only took pictures of the exterior of Chantilly but didn’t visit it since our real thought was to spend a few hours in Senlis. Chantilly and Senlis are only about 15 minutes from each other. There was free parking in the center of town, where they were setting up for a large garden show. To bad we would miss it. Senlis was a great stop, a charming town with many nice shops. We had lunch at Creperie le Tournmentin at 6, rue du Chancelier Guerin, which is where the locals were eating. It is just off the square next to the cathedral, by a shoe store. Excellent crepes and cider here! We then walked around town noticing the architecture, cobbled streets, and the 17th to 19th century houses.
Our next stop was Compiegne and the Clairiere de l’Armistice which is the Armistice Clearing. Admission is 3€ to see the excellent, but small museum and the replica of the Railroad car where the armistice ending WW1 was signed on November 11, 1918. This was a very interesting site. As we left it was raining hard and we needed to drive 2 ½ hours to La Boissaye, near Giverney where we would be spending the night in a B&B. We were running an hour late so we called ahead to let Mrs. Senecal know our new arrival time, which was 7 p.m. It was a long day!
Clotilde Senecal
Chambres d’hotes (This is listed in Karen Brown’s book)
La Boissaye
27 490 La Croix Saint Leufroy Tele : (0) 232677085
Our double room in Mrs. Senecal’s home in the countryside was very comfortable. 48€ a night for 2 people. The home is lovely and has a small pond, peacocks, and pretty courtyard. We had dinner here for 25€ each. Cider is served instead of wine with dinner. The dinner wasn’t really to good. It is a lovely place to stay, but I’d dine elsewhere. Mappy.com lead us to her home. It would have been hard to find if I had not mapped it out.
We had breakfast at 8 a.m. after a good nights sleep, and visited with a couple from England who were returning home after a 3 month stay in Southwest France in a Gite. After paying Mrs. Senecal in cash, we were on the road at 9:30, on our way to Dinan, where we would spend the next 5 nights.
We stopped in Villedieu-les-Poeles the town where copper pots are made and sold. I love Mauviel copper pots and wanted to add a couple more to my collection. We arrived in town at 11:45 and the factory store of Mauviel was on lunch break until 1:30. This store is right next door to the Intermarche gas station. It is at the end of the factory and has morning hours and afternoon hours. Often on Friday’s it is closed in the afternoon. It is good to call ahead for the hours. If you e-mail them, someone will e-mail you back in English to answers any questions you may have. The store is stocked with their regular merchandise, but not all products. The prices were actually just a couple of Euros higher than the same pieces are in the shops in town. Don’t come here for cheaper prices, except for their 2nds. I wasn’t aware they had 2nd’s until I mentioned that their prices were a bit higher than those in the town shops. It was then the clerk showed me where the 2nd’s were located. The ones I saw had very minor flaws in them. I ended up buying 2 of those pieces and was thrilled with them. One piece I wanted only was available unmarred, so I bought the rectangle casserole pan first quality. They will fill out all the paperwork for you to get the refund on the tax if you buy more than 175€ of merchandise. They do a separate charge for the tax amount, separating it out of the total when they run your charge card. This way, you will not be charged at all for the tax if you return the pink sheet of paper to them, after the tax people stamp it at the airport as you leave the European Union.
We looked in several of the copper stores here, many of which also close for lunch, but not all, before the shop at the Mauviel factory store reopened. The TI in town will give you a map with the factories location if you can’t find it. It’s just outside of town.
Our next stop was Dol –de- Bretagne to see the Champ Dol menhir. Dol-de-Bretagne exit E401 to D795 south signed to Combourg and after about 1 km take the signed left turn. This site is well signposted from the town and has a parking space beside it. This huge standing stone is 9.5m high and is granite. This was a quick stop, just to take pictures with this giant stone!
Back on the road, we drove to Dinan. Instead of entering into the center of town we took the road to the old port, past the youth hostel. This was the easiest way to arrive at the Chambres d’hotes we were staying at:
Chambres d’Hotes Le Logis du Jerzual www.logis-du-jerzual.com/ 2nd floor rooms are €65 for 2 people includes breakfast. First floor rooms are €75. Room La Halte (€75) is a separate self contained apartment
We parked at the port and walked up Rue du Petit Fort, a very cobbled steep, very steep, street looking for our Chambres d’hotes. You can actually drive up this street, even though the sign says otherwise. Residents and guests may drive it. We stayed in the very lovely La Halte apartment. It was a dream. Stone, and timber room, with large stone fireplace, canopied king bed, so comfortable and warm, a small kitchen, eating area with table and large chest with kitchen supplies, and good bathroom. You felt as though you had your own home in old Dinan! Breakfast is included but served up at the main house. The only problem we had here were that on the weekend nights, kids on the street were quite noisy. This was irritating at 2:30 in the morning.
We had time to see some of Dinan before dinner at Creperie Ahna at 7, rue de la Poissonnerie tel. 02 96 39 09 13 This creperie is so, so good. It is also very popular with the residents of Dinan. We were lucky to get a table here the first night. Saturday was all booked up, but we reserved again for Monday evening. It was the best food we had in Dinan. We also tried our first Breton kir here.
Dinan is as someone we met who was moving there described it, just like a movie set. It is so charming and has so much to offer. Walk the ramparts, shop in the best shops in Brittany, and relax at the port. It has it all. The massive viaduct bridge here was actually built by Gustauve Eiffel before he built the Eiffel tower in Paris. There is a Monoprix here which is a good place to stock up on supplies you may want. Also internet, but ask the TI it’s location. The address I had before we left for internet had closed.
April 1 Pleyben, Quimper, Concarneau and Pont-Aven
The next day we drove to the cities above. Brittany is very spread out. We don’t like changing locations often, so decided to stay in Dinan and do day trips. This made for a lot of driving which was tiring, but we loved our “home” there so much, it was the right decision for us. It was about a 1 ¾ hr.drive from Dinan to Pleyben. The sky was bright blue, but being April Fool’s Day the local newspaper said it’s all a trick! The temperatures were about 15-17C.
Pleyben, one of the most famous Breton parish closes, adjacent to the church of St.Germanus of Auxerre was our first stop. A parish close typically includes a small cemetery, a triumphal arch, a Calvary, and a charnel house, all within the small church square. The Pleyben close has a particularly magnificent Calvary, a stone reproduction of events of the Passion of the Christ. There was also a small market in the parking lot here in the center of Pleyben. The town itself is not attractive, but the Parish Close is outstanding. We also bought a box of the famous Pleyben cookies here. 30 minutes later we arrived in Quimper.
Quimper is said to be a jewel. I was expecting to much I guess because it was nice, but a bit disappointing. We parked in a large free parking lot just outside the city walls and walked downhill into the center of the old town. We started by visiting the covered market, in the halles Saint Francois, situated in the center of the town. Open all day Saturday. It was bustling and we enjoyed crepes at the crepe stall, and Kouign-Amman, a wonderful traditional buttery Breton pastry.
By now it was past noon. Almost everything in Brittany, in any town, closes between 12-2, every day. This is hard to work with when you drive 1 ½-2 hours to get to the town in the first place! We shopped a bit, but not much was open. The best shopping streets are rue Kereron and rue du Parc where you’ll find all kinds of Breton products, including pottery, dolls and puppets, clothing made from regional cloth and wool, lace. For Breton pottery visit H.B. Henrio, rue Haute or Maison a Breton , 16 bis rue du Parc. At Francois le Villec, 4 rue du Roi Gradlon you’ll find quality tablecloths as well as other household linens. There is a very, very large shop in the square by the Cathedral with a lot of H.B. Henrio pottery. Prices are high for this excellent quality pottery. I couldn’t find a piece that suited me, so I bought none here (but did later in Cancale).
We walked to the river. This area looked a lot like Paris to me! Floating in the river was a small homemade raft with gnome’s on it with an Anti-CPE sign. It was so funny, you had to laugh! There was also a very small antique show going on where I bought a small pair of children’s Breton wooden shoes for 5€!! Finally at 1:30 the Cathedral reopened so we visited it and it’s beautiful stained glass. At 2 p.m the museum next to the cathedral which houses a collection of local Breton costumes with the various coiffes reopened so we visited it. I wish there were more costumes displayed, but those they had were wonderful. The rest of the museum wasn’t as interesting to us.
We drove next to Concarneau with its lovely fortified old town, the Villa Close. Concarneau is 13 miles southeast of Quimper along D783. There is parking along the harbor, but it was crowded. It was a beautiful afternoon and many families were enjoying their Saturday afternoon. Souvenir shops have taken over inside the walls, but it’s interesting to visit for a short time. We also enjoyed walking along the water outside the walls. The warm Kouign-Amman was delicious here!
Next we drove a short ways to Pont-Aven, full of little art galleries, waterwheels/mills and gift shops; Home to Paul Gauguin in the 1880’s. What a lovely town! An amazing needlework display was in one shop. The hotel in this town, by the rushing river and mill looked lovely. We drove through Riec-sur-Belon and back to Dinan.
Creperie Ahna was full this evening so we ate dinner next door at Pizzeria Cecco, 15 rue Poissenerie. We were tired so didn’t want a fancy dinner. This pizza was really excellent, and the town liked it also, since all 3 dining rooms were full! Most diners here had reservations, we didn’t. 2 pizza’s and wine were only 24€! This is a great way to save money for our 5 night’s of Paris dinners! We walked down by the port after dinner. It was pretty quiet. The season hasn’t really started here, so most people here live here, and aren’t tourists. After Easter things pick up.
April 2 Sunday
St. Malo, Rotheneuf, Pointe du Grouin, Cancale, Dinard, Cap Frehel
We didn’t have far to drive today to arrive in St.Malo. Free parking outside the walls in a large carpark, on Sunday’s. We started out by walking the Ramparts. It was so windy up here, our coats were needed. Tide was high. What a beautiful walk, the ocean was gorgeous and it was another sunny, glorious day. So many French families were enjoying their Sunday morning here. We walked through St.Malo after walking all the ramparts. It’s a beautiful town, not to be missed. We bought an apple specialty, a Ker-y-pom. It was warm and yummy. After a bit of shopping we left. We couldn’t see inside the cathedral because services were in process and it was closed to the public until 1:30.
We drove along this beautiful coast to Rotheneuf to see the stone sculptures here. If you drive into the center of town, there are signs pointing the way to these sculptures, Rochers Sculptes is what they are called. There is also a restaurant here. To our disappointment, there is paid admission of 2.50€ each to see them and the gate was locked. They are also closed from 12-2. This seemed ridiculous, but what could we do but wait until 2. We decided to drive back towards St.Malo where we had passed an area along the sea to hike at. This turned out to be a great way to use our time. The walk was easy and beautiful. At 2 p.m. we were back in Rotheneuf and it started to rain lightly when we walked among the stones carved by a priest so many years ago. They are quite a sight. The woman at the entrance gate will tell you a bit about the carvings in French. There are 300 sculptures and it took the hermit priest 25 years to carve them.
Along the coast was Pointe du Grouin, a very picture some spot. We parked in the lot here and walked the coast. You can hike for hours here, but we spent about 45 minutes walking in this gorgeous area.
Our next stop was Cancale. They were having a festival on the small road here, but most of the cars were coming from the opposite direction so we didn’t get caught in much traffic. Arriving in Cancale we parked right at the waters edge. It’s paid parking, but we only paid 2.50€ for our several hours here. We had a lot of fun in this town. We walked towards the pier, and saw oyster beds all over. It was low tide. There was a small market set up right by the cement steps. Each booth had oysters, in different sizes, fresh from the water. We noticed that you could buy a dozen, and the women selling them would use her knife, open them, put them on a platter, and you could also have lemon with them. We picked size 3, added 1 lemon, and paid 3.50€ for the oysters, .50 for the lemon and .50 for the opening of the oysters= 4.50€ for the plate!! As you eat the oysters, you’re to throw the shells into the sand, with all the other shells. You need to return the plate and lemon to the vendor! It was a lot of fun eating very fresh oysters this way! When we finished we walked out into the bay and looked at the oyster beds. They had 2 trucks out working in the beds. It was so interesting! It started to rain, so we went shopping in the shops here. I found my HB Henriot plate here! It was very detailed, rooster in the center with a lovely border. It matched my kitchen perfectly. I was so glad I waited until I found the right one. I did get it home in one piece! We walked up the hill into the main town and in front of the cathedral is a wonderful fountain of women with their oyster baskets where we took photos.
We drove to Dinard next. It was getting late, so we only parked here by the beach, walked a bit on the promenade, and as it started to rain again, we drove on. The beach here is very large and excellent. On a sunny day it would be a fun place to spend time on the sand. There was a lot of outside dining along the promenade. We tried to find the Alfred Hitchcock statue here, but it was not to be found. I have a feeling it was replaced by another.
Last we drove to Cap Frehel, seeing the cliffs of pink sandstone. It was quite picturesome and I was so happy we made the time for it. After a bit of walking and lots of pictures, we returned to Dinan. It had been quite a full day, but a wonderful one.
We had dinner down at the port this evening at Les Terrasses. They have a nice setting, we ate outside under a heater. The food was so, so, they had just opened 2 days before, for the season. During the summer this would be a great area for drinks.
April 3 Monday
Josselin, Vannes, Locmariaquer, Carnac, and Quibern
We had intended to stop at the Foret de Paimpont and see Merlins grave on D31 on our way to Josselin, but decided against it. We had so many other plans today. We arrived in Josselin right at 10 a.m. This is a tiny town. The chateau was closed, only open in afternoons, but we got some good photos of it, and walked through the town of timbered buildings. This town isn’t worth a stop if it’s not “open” for visitors. We continued to Vannes, arriving at 11:45. It was not easy finding the city center. Vannes is large, and the area of interest is by the small harbor and the old town. It wasn’t sign posted in the town, so we weren’t sure where to go. We eventually found the right spot, but it really wasn’t recognizable right away. If you see boats, park there! The nicest area to eat here is right before you walk into the old town. There are a couple of restaurants overlooking the small area of boats, with many tables outside. Walking through the old gate you see old timbered houses. We walked through the town, and weren’t to impressed by it. The wash houses there are being renovated so they can barely be seen. There is a very nice garden area here, but it was locked up. Maybe others can suggest what makes Vannes a nice town, but we didn’t see much here to recommend it.
We drove to Locmariaquer from here to see the Grand Menhir Brise. This site is closed from 12-2 and is 5€ each to enter. We arrived at 1:45 and noticed that by walking along the fence, you could easily see the Grand Menhir. The plants along the fence were only starting to bud out, so viewing was easy since the menhir was right on the other side of this fence. Another couple also saw the menhir in this manner. I realize we missed a few things, by not entering the grounds, but we saw what we came for! We continued on to the beach at Locmariaquer. We took a break, enjoying some time on the beach, soaking up the warm sun. People were out on the rocks collecting seafood in the low tide.
We continued on to Carnac. What a fantastic place this is! Carnac is where the largest group of megaliths in Europe are located. Thousands of huge stones standing on the fields. There are tombs in this area also. There are 3 lines to see: the Menec, the Kerlescan, and the Kermaric. Visitors can climb a tall platform for the best view of the entire site. The Kercado tumulus, an ancient burial site, is also here. The road these are on is just north of Carnac, and the major stones are all along one road. You can stop along this road to take photos, but the areas of stones are fenced in and the gates locked. This is something not to be missed.
We drove down to Quibern next, stopping at the sand dunes off D768. The dunes are close to Penthievre. This is a big site for windsurfing. Pointe du Perche and the Cote Sauvage is beautiful. We took many pictures at the Pointe. This area is definitely worth the stop. There are more stone rows at St-Pierre-Quiberon but we didn’t stop to see them. We drove to the end of the road, and drove the circle at Quiberon. People were camping in this area. The beaches were gorgeous. This is also the spot to catch a ferry to Belle-Ile, which we could easily see from the shore. The area is spectacular.
We arrived back in Dinan at 7:45 and had and excellent dinner at Creperie Ahna again. They have a wonderful duck galette with the duck cooked perfectly and the Granny dessert is so yummy!. It’s a crepe bowl full of cooked apples, apple sorbet, and chantilly cream! We walked around Dinan again after dinner. This is one cute town!
April 4 Tuesday, CPE Strike day
Fougeres, Vitre and Dinan
We slept in today, we were tired! We weren’t sure how the CPE strike day would effect us. Fougeres is a bit of a larger town so we thought some action may take place here. The drive there was easy and we arrived at 10:15. We parked by the TI which was a mistake because the path to the fortress was closed and we had to walk a long ways around to get to it. It’s better to drive to the impressive fortress which is open 10-12 and 2 – 5:30. It was built between the 12th and 15th centuries, and its ramparts, set with 13 towers enclose an area of 5 acres. This is an fun site to see. There was a large group of students from England here, on Easter break, having a wonderful time running around. Fougeres was occupied by the German army in 1940 for four years until the Anglo-American invasion of 1944. There is a large terraced garden here, close to the church. We walked through it on our way to the fortress. It’s a great area to relax, and the views from here are wonderful. It’s a good place to get a complete photo of the fortress. The town center is nice here as is the old town. It’s worth a half day of your time.
From here we drove to Vitre. It’s a short drive. There is good parking at the train station. This is just a small town, but has some of the best timbered buildings in Brittany. They are perhaps the best we have seen. The fortress here was open to the public, no charge. The area is the Hotel de Ville now and you can walk right in. As we were walking in this area, we greeted an older man. He must know everyone in town, and knew we were visitors. He asked us what department we were from! What a compliment. I guess my husband’s French was good enough to have someone think we actually lived in France! It was a nice moment.
We returned to Dinan early enough to spend a few hours shopping before the shops closed at 6 p.m. We also saw the local CPE rally. It was quite mild, no trouble making. We had no problems at all in Brittany with the CPE strikes, but we didn’t go to Rennes. That city was having a lot of problems, and we didn’t care to go there.
We had dinner at Chez Mere Pourcel which is in the square in the center of the old town at 3 place des Merciers. It was said to be excellent, but we found it average, not worth returning to. The building is very old, and very well restored, but the food did not match the quality of the building.
This was the end of our time in Brittany. The next day we returned to Paris for 5 days there. We stopped at Vernon, to see the old mill that hangs over the Seine and can easily be seen from the Clemenceau bridge and the Park of the Tourelles Castle. Giverny, were the gardens were very disappointing. The winter had been to long and hard, and spring flowers weren’t ready to bloom yet. We had been there at this time of year before, and it had been full of flowers that year. We also stopped at Auvers-sur-Oise on the way to Paris. Here we saw some of the sights where Van Gogh painted, the church, and the cemetery where he and his brother Theo are buried. There is no sign here pointing out where the graves are. As you enter the cemetery they are along the wall on the left side, down a third of the way. They are very simple tombstones, not like the large ones that fill most of the cemetery. The people in this town are were very unfriendly. I don’t know why, we haven’t had this experience in any other town, but here, it seems they hated have tourists around. Even at the boulangerie across the street from Van Gogh’s garden the worker was rude. The TI was another story though. Very nice and helpful there. We ran out of time and couldn’t see everything here. We may return someday on the train, but this town is not small or quaint. It’s not a pleasant town. We would have liked to see the chateau and the program there, but weren’t able to.
We returned to Paris, through heavy traffic, returning our rental car at Port Maillot. This was very hard to do, because the Hertz rental office is off on a small side street and even though I had a map to it’s location, it took an hour and several wrong turns in this area, before we finally located it. I don’t recommend doing this.
We had beautiful weather almost the whole time. In our 12 day trip to France we only had 1 ½ days of partial rain. Almost every day was bright and sunny with temps in Brittany 15-17C, and in Paris 10-14C. I’ll try and report on our time in Paris on another day! I hope this is of help to those going to Brittany. There is so little information about this area, and it was wonderful seeing it.
We flew to Paris March 28, arriving March 29 at Terminal 2E. We rented a car from Hertz which was very easy to find. It was quite simple to leave CDG in our diesel Toyota and we drove a short way to Chantilly. The woods in this area are so pretty and I spotted a wild boar close to the road. I guess I’ll believe the “Beware of wild boar” signs the next time I see one in France! We only took pictures of the exterior of Chantilly but didn’t visit it since our real thought was to spend a few hours in Senlis. Chantilly and Senlis are only about 15 minutes from each other. There was free parking in the center of town, where they were setting up for a large garden show. To bad we would miss it. Senlis was a great stop, a charming town with many nice shops. We had lunch at Creperie le Tournmentin at 6, rue du Chancelier Guerin, which is where the locals were eating. It is just off the square next to the cathedral, by a shoe store. Excellent crepes and cider here! We then walked around town noticing the architecture, cobbled streets, and the 17th to 19th century houses.
Our next stop was Compiegne and the Clairiere de l’Armistice which is the Armistice Clearing. Admission is 3€ to see the excellent, but small museum and the replica of the Railroad car where the armistice ending WW1 was signed on November 11, 1918. This was a very interesting site. As we left it was raining hard and we needed to drive 2 ½ hours to La Boissaye, near Giverney where we would be spending the night in a B&B. We were running an hour late so we called ahead to let Mrs. Senecal know our new arrival time, which was 7 p.m. It was a long day!
Clotilde Senecal
Chambres d’hotes (This is listed in Karen Brown’s book)
La Boissaye
27 490 La Croix Saint Leufroy Tele : (0) 232677085
Our double room in Mrs. Senecal’s home in the countryside was very comfortable. 48€ a night for 2 people. The home is lovely and has a small pond, peacocks, and pretty courtyard. We had dinner here for 25€ each. Cider is served instead of wine with dinner. The dinner wasn’t really to good. It is a lovely place to stay, but I’d dine elsewhere. Mappy.com lead us to her home. It would have been hard to find if I had not mapped it out.
We had breakfast at 8 a.m. after a good nights sleep, and visited with a couple from England who were returning home after a 3 month stay in Southwest France in a Gite. After paying Mrs. Senecal in cash, we were on the road at 9:30, on our way to Dinan, where we would spend the next 5 nights.
We stopped in Villedieu-les-Poeles the town where copper pots are made and sold. I love Mauviel copper pots and wanted to add a couple more to my collection. We arrived in town at 11:45 and the factory store of Mauviel was on lunch break until 1:30. This store is right next door to the Intermarche gas station. It is at the end of the factory and has morning hours and afternoon hours. Often on Friday’s it is closed in the afternoon. It is good to call ahead for the hours. If you e-mail them, someone will e-mail you back in English to answers any questions you may have. The store is stocked with their regular merchandise, but not all products. The prices were actually just a couple of Euros higher than the same pieces are in the shops in town. Don’t come here for cheaper prices, except for their 2nds. I wasn’t aware they had 2nd’s until I mentioned that their prices were a bit higher than those in the town shops. It was then the clerk showed me where the 2nd’s were located. The ones I saw had very minor flaws in them. I ended up buying 2 of those pieces and was thrilled with them. One piece I wanted only was available unmarred, so I bought the rectangle casserole pan first quality. They will fill out all the paperwork for you to get the refund on the tax if you buy more than 175€ of merchandise. They do a separate charge for the tax amount, separating it out of the total when they run your charge card. This way, you will not be charged at all for the tax if you return the pink sheet of paper to them, after the tax people stamp it at the airport as you leave the European Union.
We looked in several of the copper stores here, many of which also close for lunch, but not all, before the shop at the Mauviel factory store reopened. The TI in town will give you a map with the factories location if you can’t find it. It’s just outside of town.
Our next stop was Dol –de- Bretagne to see the Champ Dol menhir. Dol-de-Bretagne exit E401 to D795 south signed to Combourg and after about 1 km take the signed left turn. This site is well signposted from the town and has a parking space beside it. This huge standing stone is 9.5m high and is granite. This was a quick stop, just to take pictures with this giant stone!
Back on the road, we drove to Dinan. Instead of entering into the center of town we took the road to the old port, past the youth hostel. This was the easiest way to arrive at the Chambres d’hotes we were staying at:
Chambres d’Hotes Le Logis du Jerzual www.logis-du-jerzual.com/ 2nd floor rooms are €65 for 2 people includes breakfast. First floor rooms are €75. Room La Halte (€75) is a separate self contained apartment
We parked at the port and walked up Rue du Petit Fort, a very cobbled steep, very steep, street looking for our Chambres d’hotes. You can actually drive up this street, even though the sign says otherwise. Residents and guests may drive it. We stayed in the very lovely La Halte apartment. It was a dream. Stone, and timber room, with large stone fireplace, canopied king bed, so comfortable and warm, a small kitchen, eating area with table and large chest with kitchen supplies, and good bathroom. You felt as though you had your own home in old Dinan! Breakfast is included but served up at the main house. The only problem we had here were that on the weekend nights, kids on the street were quite noisy. This was irritating at 2:30 in the morning.
We had time to see some of Dinan before dinner at Creperie Ahna at 7, rue de la Poissonnerie tel. 02 96 39 09 13 This creperie is so, so good. It is also very popular with the residents of Dinan. We were lucky to get a table here the first night. Saturday was all booked up, but we reserved again for Monday evening. It was the best food we had in Dinan. We also tried our first Breton kir here.
Dinan is as someone we met who was moving there described it, just like a movie set. It is so charming and has so much to offer. Walk the ramparts, shop in the best shops in Brittany, and relax at the port. It has it all. The massive viaduct bridge here was actually built by Gustauve Eiffel before he built the Eiffel tower in Paris. There is a Monoprix here which is a good place to stock up on supplies you may want. Also internet, but ask the TI it’s location. The address I had before we left for internet had closed.
April 1 Pleyben, Quimper, Concarneau and Pont-Aven
The next day we drove to the cities above. Brittany is very spread out. We don’t like changing locations often, so decided to stay in Dinan and do day trips. This made for a lot of driving which was tiring, but we loved our “home” there so much, it was the right decision for us. It was about a 1 ¾ hr.drive from Dinan to Pleyben. The sky was bright blue, but being April Fool’s Day the local newspaper said it’s all a trick! The temperatures were about 15-17C.
Pleyben, one of the most famous Breton parish closes, adjacent to the church of St.Germanus of Auxerre was our first stop. A parish close typically includes a small cemetery, a triumphal arch, a Calvary, and a charnel house, all within the small church square. The Pleyben close has a particularly magnificent Calvary, a stone reproduction of events of the Passion of the Christ. There was also a small market in the parking lot here in the center of Pleyben. The town itself is not attractive, but the Parish Close is outstanding. We also bought a box of the famous Pleyben cookies here. 30 minutes later we arrived in Quimper.
Quimper is said to be a jewel. I was expecting to much I guess because it was nice, but a bit disappointing. We parked in a large free parking lot just outside the city walls and walked downhill into the center of the old town. We started by visiting the covered market, in the halles Saint Francois, situated in the center of the town. Open all day Saturday. It was bustling and we enjoyed crepes at the crepe stall, and Kouign-Amman, a wonderful traditional buttery Breton pastry.
By now it was past noon. Almost everything in Brittany, in any town, closes between 12-2, every day. This is hard to work with when you drive 1 ½-2 hours to get to the town in the first place! We shopped a bit, but not much was open. The best shopping streets are rue Kereron and rue du Parc where you’ll find all kinds of Breton products, including pottery, dolls and puppets, clothing made from regional cloth and wool, lace. For Breton pottery visit H.B. Henrio, rue Haute or Maison a Breton , 16 bis rue du Parc. At Francois le Villec, 4 rue du Roi Gradlon you’ll find quality tablecloths as well as other household linens. There is a very, very large shop in the square by the Cathedral with a lot of H.B. Henrio pottery. Prices are high for this excellent quality pottery. I couldn’t find a piece that suited me, so I bought none here (but did later in Cancale).
We walked to the river. This area looked a lot like Paris to me! Floating in the river was a small homemade raft with gnome’s on it with an Anti-CPE sign. It was so funny, you had to laugh! There was also a very small antique show going on where I bought a small pair of children’s Breton wooden shoes for 5€!! Finally at 1:30 the Cathedral reopened so we visited it and it’s beautiful stained glass. At 2 p.m the museum next to the cathedral which houses a collection of local Breton costumes with the various coiffes reopened so we visited it. I wish there were more costumes displayed, but those they had were wonderful. The rest of the museum wasn’t as interesting to us.
We drove next to Concarneau with its lovely fortified old town, the Villa Close. Concarneau is 13 miles southeast of Quimper along D783. There is parking along the harbor, but it was crowded. It was a beautiful afternoon and many families were enjoying their Saturday afternoon. Souvenir shops have taken over inside the walls, but it’s interesting to visit for a short time. We also enjoyed walking along the water outside the walls. The warm Kouign-Amman was delicious here!
Next we drove a short ways to Pont-Aven, full of little art galleries, waterwheels/mills and gift shops; Home to Paul Gauguin in the 1880’s. What a lovely town! An amazing needlework display was in one shop. The hotel in this town, by the rushing river and mill looked lovely. We drove through Riec-sur-Belon and back to Dinan.
Creperie Ahna was full this evening so we ate dinner next door at Pizzeria Cecco, 15 rue Poissenerie. We were tired so didn’t want a fancy dinner. This pizza was really excellent, and the town liked it also, since all 3 dining rooms were full! Most diners here had reservations, we didn’t. 2 pizza’s and wine were only 24€! This is a great way to save money for our 5 night’s of Paris dinners! We walked down by the port after dinner. It was pretty quiet. The season hasn’t really started here, so most people here live here, and aren’t tourists. After Easter things pick up.
April 2 Sunday
St. Malo, Rotheneuf, Pointe du Grouin, Cancale, Dinard, Cap Frehel
We didn’t have far to drive today to arrive in St.Malo. Free parking outside the walls in a large carpark, on Sunday’s. We started out by walking the Ramparts. It was so windy up here, our coats were needed. Tide was high. What a beautiful walk, the ocean was gorgeous and it was another sunny, glorious day. So many French families were enjoying their Sunday morning here. We walked through St.Malo after walking all the ramparts. It’s a beautiful town, not to be missed. We bought an apple specialty, a Ker-y-pom. It was warm and yummy. After a bit of shopping we left. We couldn’t see inside the cathedral because services were in process and it was closed to the public until 1:30.
We drove along this beautiful coast to Rotheneuf to see the stone sculptures here. If you drive into the center of town, there are signs pointing the way to these sculptures, Rochers Sculptes is what they are called. There is also a restaurant here. To our disappointment, there is paid admission of 2.50€ each to see them and the gate was locked. They are also closed from 12-2. This seemed ridiculous, but what could we do but wait until 2. We decided to drive back towards St.Malo where we had passed an area along the sea to hike at. This turned out to be a great way to use our time. The walk was easy and beautiful. At 2 p.m. we were back in Rotheneuf and it started to rain lightly when we walked among the stones carved by a priest so many years ago. They are quite a sight. The woman at the entrance gate will tell you a bit about the carvings in French. There are 300 sculptures and it took the hermit priest 25 years to carve them.
Along the coast was Pointe du Grouin, a very picture some spot. We parked in the lot here and walked the coast. You can hike for hours here, but we spent about 45 minutes walking in this gorgeous area.
Our next stop was Cancale. They were having a festival on the small road here, but most of the cars were coming from the opposite direction so we didn’t get caught in much traffic. Arriving in Cancale we parked right at the waters edge. It’s paid parking, but we only paid 2.50€ for our several hours here. We had a lot of fun in this town. We walked towards the pier, and saw oyster beds all over. It was low tide. There was a small market set up right by the cement steps. Each booth had oysters, in different sizes, fresh from the water. We noticed that you could buy a dozen, and the women selling them would use her knife, open them, put them on a platter, and you could also have lemon with them. We picked size 3, added 1 lemon, and paid 3.50€ for the oysters, .50 for the lemon and .50 for the opening of the oysters= 4.50€ for the plate!! As you eat the oysters, you’re to throw the shells into the sand, with all the other shells. You need to return the plate and lemon to the vendor! It was a lot of fun eating very fresh oysters this way! When we finished we walked out into the bay and looked at the oyster beds. They had 2 trucks out working in the beds. It was so interesting! It started to rain, so we went shopping in the shops here. I found my HB Henriot plate here! It was very detailed, rooster in the center with a lovely border. It matched my kitchen perfectly. I was so glad I waited until I found the right one. I did get it home in one piece! We walked up the hill into the main town and in front of the cathedral is a wonderful fountain of women with their oyster baskets where we took photos.
We drove to Dinard next. It was getting late, so we only parked here by the beach, walked a bit on the promenade, and as it started to rain again, we drove on. The beach here is very large and excellent. On a sunny day it would be a fun place to spend time on the sand. There was a lot of outside dining along the promenade. We tried to find the Alfred Hitchcock statue here, but it was not to be found. I have a feeling it was replaced by another.
Last we drove to Cap Frehel, seeing the cliffs of pink sandstone. It was quite picturesome and I was so happy we made the time for it. After a bit of walking and lots of pictures, we returned to Dinan. It had been quite a full day, but a wonderful one.
We had dinner down at the port this evening at Les Terrasses. They have a nice setting, we ate outside under a heater. The food was so, so, they had just opened 2 days before, for the season. During the summer this would be a great area for drinks.
April 3 Monday
Josselin, Vannes, Locmariaquer, Carnac, and Quibern
We had intended to stop at the Foret de Paimpont and see Merlins grave on D31 on our way to Josselin, but decided against it. We had so many other plans today. We arrived in Josselin right at 10 a.m. This is a tiny town. The chateau was closed, only open in afternoons, but we got some good photos of it, and walked through the town of timbered buildings. This town isn’t worth a stop if it’s not “open” for visitors. We continued to Vannes, arriving at 11:45. It was not easy finding the city center. Vannes is large, and the area of interest is by the small harbor and the old town. It wasn’t sign posted in the town, so we weren’t sure where to go. We eventually found the right spot, but it really wasn’t recognizable right away. If you see boats, park there! The nicest area to eat here is right before you walk into the old town. There are a couple of restaurants overlooking the small area of boats, with many tables outside. Walking through the old gate you see old timbered houses. We walked through the town, and weren’t to impressed by it. The wash houses there are being renovated so they can barely be seen. There is a very nice garden area here, but it was locked up. Maybe others can suggest what makes Vannes a nice town, but we didn’t see much here to recommend it.
We drove to Locmariaquer from here to see the Grand Menhir Brise. This site is closed from 12-2 and is 5€ each to enter. We arrived at 1:45 and noticed that by walking along the fence, you could easily see the Grand Menhir. The plants along the fence were only starting to bud out, so viewing was easy since the menhir was right on the other side of this fence. Another couple also saw the menhir in this manner. I realize we missed a few things, by not entering the grounds, but we saw what we came for! We continued on to the beach at Locmariaquer. We took a break, enjoying some time on the beach, soaking up the warm sun. People were out on the rocks collecting seafood in the low tide.
We continued on to Carnac. What a fantastic place this is! Carnac is where the largest group of megaliths in Europe are located. Thousands of huge stones standing on the fields. There are tombs in this area also. There are 3 lines to see: the Menec, the Kerlescan, and the Kermaric. Visitors can climb a tall platform for the best view of the entire site. The Kercado tumulus, an ancient burial site, is also here. The road these are on is just north of Carnac, and the major stones are all along one road. You can stop along this road to take photos, but the areas of stones are fenced in and the gates locked. This is something not to be missed.
We drove down to Quibern next, stopping at the sand dunes off D768. The dunes are close to Penthievre. This is a big site for windsurfing. Pointe du Perche and the Cote Sauvage is beautiful. We took many pictures at the Pointe. This area is definitely worth the stop. There are more stone rows at St-Pierre-Quiberon but we didn’t stop to see them. We drove to the end of the road, and drove the circle at Quiberon. People were camping in this area. The beaches were gorgeous. This is also the spot to catch a ferry to Belle-Ile, which we could easily see from the shore. The area is spectacular.
We arrived back in Dinan at 7:45 and had and excellent dinner at Creperie Ahna again. They have a wonderful duck galette with the duck cooked perfectly and the Granny dessert is so yummy!. It’s a crepe bowl full of cooked apples, apple sorbet, and chantilly cream! We walked around Dinan again after dinner. This is one cute town!
April 4 Tuesday, CPE Strike day
Fougeres, Vitre and Dinan
We slept in today, we were tired! We weren’t sure how the CPE strike day would effect us. Fougeres is a bit of a larger town so we thought some action may take place here. The drive there was easy and we arrived at 10:15. We parked by the TI which was a mistake because the path to the fortress was closed and we had to walk a long ways around to get to it. It’s better to drive to the impressive fortress which is open 10-12 and 2 – 5:30. It was built between the 12th and 15th centuries, and its ramparts, set with 13 towers enclose an area of 5 acres. This is an fun site to see. There was a large group of students from England here, on Easter break, having a wonderful time running around. Fougeres was occupied by the German army in 1940 for four years until the Anglo-American invasion of 1944. There is a large terraced garden here, close to the church. We walked through it on our way to the fortress. It’s a great area to relax, and the views from here are wonderful. It’s a good place to get a complete photo of the fortress. The town center is nice here as is the old town. It’s worth a half day of your time.
From here we drove to Vitre. It’s a short drive. There is good parking at the train station. This is just a small town, but has some of the best timbered buildings in Brittany. They are perhaps the best we have seen. The fortress here was open to the public, no charge. The area is the Hotel de Ville now and you can walk right in. As we were walking in this area, we greeted an older man. He must know everyone in town, and knew we were visitors. He asked us what department we were from! What a compliment. I guess my husband’s French was good enough to have someone think we actually lived in France! It was a nice moment.
We returned to Dinan early enough to spend a few hours shopping before the shops closed at 6 p.m. We also saw the local CPE rally. It was quite mild, no trouble making. We had no problems at all in Brittany with the CPE strikes, but we didn’t go to Rennes. That city was having a lot of problems, and we didn’t care to go there.
We had dinner at Chez Mere Pourcel which is in the square in the center of the old town at 3 place des Merciers. It was said to be excellent, but we found it average, not worth returning to. The building is very old, and very well restored, but the food did not match the quality of the building.
This was the end of our time in Brittany. The next day we returned to Paris for 5 days there. We stopped at Vernon, to see the old mill that hangs over the Seine and can easily be seen from the Clemenceau bridge and the Park of the Tourelles Castle. Giverny, were the gardens were very disappointing. The winter had been to long and hard, and spring flowers weren’t ready to bloom yet. We had been there at this time of year before, and it had been full of flowers that year. We also stopped at Auvers-sur-Oise on the way to Paris. Here we saw some of the sights where Van Gogh painted, the church, and the cemetery where he and his brother Theo are buried. There is no sign here pointing out where the graves are. As you enter the cemetery they are along the wall on the left side, down a third of the way. They are very simple tombstones, not like the large ones that fill most of the cemetery. The people in this town are were very unfriendly. I don’t know why, we haven’t had this experience in any other town, but here, it seems they hated have tourists around. Even at the boulangerie across the street from Van Gogh’s garden the worker was rude. The TI was another story though. Very nice and helpful there. We ran out of time and couldn’t see everything here. We may return someday on the train, but this town is not small or quaint. It’s not a pleasant town. We would have liked to see the chateau and the program there, but weren’t able to.
We returned to Paris, through heavy traffic, returning our rental car at Port Maillot. This was very hard to do, because the Hertz rental office is off on a small side street and even though I had a map to it’s location, it took an hour and several wrong turns in this area, before we finally located it. I don’t recommend doing this.
We had beautiful weather almost the whole time. In our 12 day trip to France we only had 1 ½ days of partial rain. Almost every day was bright and sunny with temps in Brittany 15-17C, and in Paris 10-14C. I’ll try and report on our time in Paris on another day! I hope this is of help to those going to Brittany. There is so little information about this area, and it was wonderful seeing it.
Apr 12th, 2006, 05:10 PM
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Thank you for all the helpful information. Just starting to plan a trip to Brittany for next spring - and your report will be a great help. I really like the looks of the Chambres d'Hotes in Dinan. Thanks for website! I am bookmarking your report. Please continue with the Paris part when you can.
Apr 12th, 2006, 05:53 PM
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HI Images2. Great Report! I think I am sorry we are only spending one night in Dinan. Coincidence - we are staying at the Le Logis du Jerzual (room Baldaquin) in two weeks. I was happy to read your restauraunt rec's - I think we would like to try the creperie the night we are there. Was Madame Ronsarray at the logis nice? I wonder, if we write to her, if she might make a dinner ressie for us. I think I will try her and see.
Apr 13th, 2006, 03:37 AM
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Yes, she was very nice. She speaks some English. You can call the creperie a couple of days ahead and make the reservation, or she may do it if you ask her. She serves breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30, but requests you tell her about what time you'll be there to eat. She serves you tea, coffee or hot chocolate, huge croissants, bagettes, yogurt, honey and jams. When you first arrive, try and come in by the old port. Drive up rue du petit fort, ignore the sign saying you can't. The cobbled street is very steep, but you can make it. You'll see the Logis on the right side. After you drop off your bags you will continue driving up the hill to a road off to the right where you'll park your car. It's very lovely! Have a great time.
Apr 13th, 2006, 10:20 AM
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One more tip: We saw a few people riding bikes along the road in Carnac where the stones are located. I think that would be a great idea. The area has pine trees along the road, and is quite lovely. Being on a bike would make it easier to stop often, and the road is flat!
Apr 14th, 2006, 08:09 AM
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We wrote to Madame Ronssarey and she did make reservations for us at the creperie, that was very nice. Thanks for the heads up on it, we will be in Dinan for just the O/N so I am glad to know we have a great place for dinner.
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