Dania

Trying to decide which town to base in...We will be arriving at CDG at 7:30 am - then taking a train south. It's a longer trip to Vannes than Nantes but thinking it's worth the extra hour and 1/2 to stay in Vannes. I think Quimper may be feasible as a day trip from Vannes (with car or train). Any thoughts?

StuDudley

I wouldn't base in Nantes and expect to visit the top sites in southern Brittany from there. Most of the places we like are much further west. Vannes is one of my favorite medium-sized cities in France, but I think I would probably take the train there, visit for a day/night, then rent a car & base near Quimper.

Stu Dudley

GeoffHamer

TGVs take about three and a quarter hours from Paris to Vannes, and another hour or so to Quimper.
Both Vannes and Quimper are very attractive towns. The best base depends on where you want to go. From Vannes, you can easily make day trips to Carnac, Belle-Ile, the Golfe du Morbihan and Quimper, amongst other places, by bus, train and/or boat.

shellio

Remember it's going to be a long day when you add getting to Gare Montparnasse from CDG. That extra hour and a half might be too much. Maybe stay somewhere closer overnight and then move on?

StuDudley

>>a long day when you add getting to Gare Montparnasse from CDG<<

or you could take the TGV from CDG to Rennes, and change trains there for Vannes. Actually, I would spend 1 or 2 nights in Rennes - one of my "top 5" cities in France.

Stu Dudley

StCirq

Of the ones you have mentioned, I would choose Vannes.

FrenchMystiqueTours

I like Quimper and Vannes as I think these two places are better located than Nantes for exploring Brittany. If you said when you are coming, how long you'll be staying and what you would like to see while you are here it would be easier to make a recommendation. Will you have a car? A car is always better for exploring the countryside as it makes a wide variety of places easy to explore without having to work around the schedules of trains, buses, taxis and tours.

StuDudley

Vannes vs Quimper.

Although Vannes is one of my "Top 5" smaller cities in France, it takes too long, IMO, to visit some of my favorite western coastal spots in Brittany from Vannes.

For example, it takes 2 hrs to get to the Pt du Raz - so that's 4 hrs of freeway driving there-&-back (eats up lot of the day). If you ALSO want to visit Locronan & the Crozon Peninsula on the same trip, that's another 1 hr of driving (although it is more scenic than freeway driving). Back to Vannes from Crozon on the freeway is another 2 1/4 hrs. That's 5 1/4 hrs of "getting there" driving - so not much time left for "being there".

When we rented a gite in southern Brittany a couple of years ago, we stayed near Pt Aven - which we thought was a perfect location for visiting southern Brittany.

Stu Dudley

Dania

Thank you all so much for your replies. I should have given more information regarding our trip thoughts - this may be long...We are both pretty active and really enjoy getting out and walking as much as we can. We tend to hit the ground running in the morning and keep going until late afternoon. Evenings we prefer to find a spot for a glass of wine and then a leisurely dinner. This trip is in May.

If going to Vannes (our preference vs Nantes) we were looking at catching the train that Geoff & Stu reference, leaving from CDG to Vannes via Rennes - arriving around 3:00 pm. While in the Morbihan area (2 1/2 days, 3 nights)we wanted to tour Vannes, Belle-Ile & the Golfe du Morbihan. Rather than change bases, we would like to pick up a car on the 3rd day in Vannes and go to Quimper and Pont Aven. Viamichelin has the drive as 122 km (1 hour and 21 minutes). I know we could train there, but the car rental I've priced is less expensive and that gives us more flexibility in visiting Pont Aven & possibly Concarneau (yay or nay on that?).

The next morning (Day 4) we would head to St Malo stopping at Rochefort en Terre and Erquy. We would have 4 nights in St. Malo, day tripping to MSM, Dinan & Dinard and driving the Emerald Coast. Then to Honfleur stopping at either Granville or Fourges/Clecy on the way.

We would have another 4 nights in Honfleur, visiting Bayeux, DDay Beaches, Deavulle-Trouville and Entreat. We would then drop the car off in Rouen, overnight there and train to Paris for our last 3 nights.

Again, I thank you so much for your thoughts and replies. This has been so helpful.

iris1745

If you consider staying in Quimper, we enjoyed our stay at this hotel. www.plage.com

Michael

Split the time between Vannes and Quimper. They represent two different areas of Brittany.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7624616164661/

FrenchMystiqueTours

If you need some ideas about things to do and places to see around the Gulf of Morbihan I wrote a trip report (full of photos) about my week vacation there this summer. It doesn't cover Vannes and a few other notable places because I've been there several times and didn't revisit some places but there's still a lot that I did see. Here is the link:

http://tinyurl.com/2555vaf

Dania

Thank you so much. I have looked at your pictures and have added on more stops (Josselin and other stops look wonderful!). I so enjoyed reading the trip reports that you have made.

We arrive at CDG at 7:45 (if on time) and want to catch the 10:28 train to Vannes (via Rennes). I have read that it normally takes 75 to 90 minutes to get through the lines/pick up luggage etc. Should we try carry on or okay to check?

StuDudley

>>Should we try carry on or okay to check<<

You should be safe either way with a 2 3/4 hr connection.

Stu Dudley

FrenchMystiqueTours

Glad you enjoyed the report Dania and that you found it useful for planning your trip. I hope you enjoy the area as much as I do.

MarnieWDC

Well, it's more tan one year later and your photos and report are still great - and very helpful for planning. Merci.

~Marnie