Advice needed for trip to Brittany
 

I am planning a trip to Normandy and Brittany for mid-May 2022 (fingers crossed). The Normandy part of the trip is set and I have made hotel reservations for the Mont St. Michel and the northern Brittany sections of the trip. The latter is for 4 days at Manoir de Rigourdaine checking out on 5/22. That will leave us another 5 full days before we will have to head back to Paris to fly home. How would you suggest we spend those 5 days? I was thinking of staying near Vannes and doing day trips in that area. Could we do a day trip to Pont-Aven from there or is that too far? Also, the drive from Vannes back to Paris is over 5 hours. Is there some place, along the way, you would recommend to spend one night if my husband decides that that is too long a drive for him to do in one day?

Thank you so much for your help.

Well, it's been almost 15 years, but for what it's worth, here's what we did: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wmaz8rQnku4g6ncXA

You can do a day trip from Vannes to Pont Aven. The TGV will take you back to Paris from Vannes. When we were in Vannes last, the Europcar rental office was a bit away from the train station (taxi). But there is has since been an office opened near the station where you could return the car - if Covid has not closed it.

See attached

Thank you so much Stu. I have printed out your materials on Brittany and they are so helpful. Thank you for sharing all your knowledge

I would stay in Quimper and do day trips to see the calvaires of area churches

https://flic.kr/p/8sTCQg
the fishing towns:

https://flic.kr/p/8sWLhh
and the town of Quimper itself:

https://flic.kr/p/8sTHxe
You can go back to my Brittany album from any of those pictures.

When we stayed in the Quimper area, we also took day trips to Pont Aven and Concarneau, had lunch in Pont Aven if memory serves me right (that trip was in 2003)

I think that there is a direct train connection from Quimper to Paris.

Our last trip before the plague hit included Brittany, including the area of Vannes. We got there from Paris by TGV where we picked up our car, and returned from St-Malo where we left the car and got on the TGV. Advance TGV tickets were inexpensive, probably a lot less than another day of car rental and car expenses, but the advance tickets were non-refundable, I think.

Vannes and the area nearby were quite interesting. The whole trip is described in my trip report:
https://www.fodors.com/community/sho....php?t=1672104

Stu Dudley's information was quite useful, by the way.

Thank you all so much. I will look into these ideas. I have read all your trip reports which were very helpful

Here is my TR from 2019. I spent time in both Normandy and Brittany during the first part of my trip after leaving Paris.

Hope there is something helpful for you in it!

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...tures-1674107/

And here is my take on Quimper from 2015.

Quimper and environs (by kerouac2) | Any Port in a Storm (proboards.com)

Thank you both. I will definitely check out the information you have given me.

It's been 10 or 11 years, but we chose to stay in Pont-Aven, from which we took day trips to Belon (for the oysters) and Concarneu, and were planning to drive down to Carnac, but instead stayed in Pont-Aven because a local festival celebrating the sardine harvest was in progress. When we left Brittany, we dropped the car at the Quimper railway station (both Avis and Europcar offices right there.) It was all very convenient. We loved the whole area, save for Concarneau, which was overwhelmed by cruise tourists the day we were there. I posted a long TR at the time - Trip Report Trip Report - Fringe Movements - Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (fodors.com) - but most of the photo links are dead (changed servers) so herewith a couple of the images for what they're worth.

Our hotel in Pont-Aven, the Hotel Roz-Aven, right on the riverfront.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8e44a36b70.jpg

Strolling in Pont-Aven

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3b60549792.jpg

In the allotment gardens. The boots are to demarcate boundaries between the allotments.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c963ad7aac.jpg

The festival - Fête de la Belle Angèle - begins with a parade. Note the bagpipes; the Bretons are acutely aware of their Celtic heritage.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...235344d867.jpg

A shipbuilder at the festival

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ba0686f53e.jpg

And taking time for a break

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...32978ef680.jpg

Sea shanties from historic boats, some from Cornwall

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3c796b3a01.jpg

Dancing in the streets (right in front of the hotel, by the way)

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...658561bd59.jpg

Day trip to Belon for amazing oysters

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f0a174038b.jpg

Chez Jacky at Belon. An episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations brought us here.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...188792b98b.jpg

<< Note the bagpipes; the Bretons are acutely aware of their Celtic heritage. >>

That makes me smile since in the first place Celtic is a French word adopted into English. It is interesting to note that French has retained the original soft C (Selt) whereas English decided on a hard C (Kelt).

Gardyloo, thanks for the lovely photos. They make me cross my fingers even tighter hoping this trip comes off

And joan, I loved your photos. Thanks so much. We also are from NYC by the way