Planning to go to Brittany, France in July and will have a car rental starting in either Brest or Rennes (can choose either to fly into) will have 10 days total in France. My question is should I stick to just the north and scrap Quimper or Vannes? I like a mix of amazing food, unique architecture, beaches in summer, and lively but quaint feeling towns, hiking but not necessary etc.

3 nights Vannes (stop at Rochfort en Terre on the way to Dinan) or if flying into Brest would go to Quimper then North
1 night Dinan
2 nights St.Malo
2 nights (Chateau Richeaux) Cancale (will day trip to see Mont Saint Michel one day)
2 nights Paris Fly home

Thank you so much for your input fellow trusty trekkers! Cheers!

If you like unique architecture, you should check out Les Enclos Paroisses, or the Parish Enclosures. Each is a little campus consisting of a stone wall surrounding a stone church and other monuments. Unique to Brittany and ultra charming.
A 30-mile route could take you through the following villages:

Sizun, Comana, Plouneour-Menez, Pleyber-Christ, Saint Thegonnec, Guimiliau, Lampaul-Guimilau, Bodilis, La Roche Maurice, and Ploudiry.

For pre-historic sites, I like the Ile de Gavrinis best. You have to go by boat and you'll need a reservation for both the boat and the visit.

Locronon is a member of Les Plus Beaux Villages de France. Of course, there are many beautiful villages in France. To be a member a village must retain its essentially rural character, so these villages are usually sleepy with only a nod to tourism.

Our pre-covid trip to Paris and Brittany may have items of interest to you in view of the places you mention.

The Peabody Papers 2019, Paris and Brittany, Unmapped

This is my planning thread from a few years ago, with lots of input from Fodorites and a short trip summary at end - it might be helpful Visiting Brittany
Btw, I wouldnt bother splitting bases between Dinan and St Malo, pick one and consolidate the nights, they are not far apart.

I like Dinan and St Malo and would choose one to stay in. Dinan old town (the high up bit) is great and was on the many pilgrimage routes but if you want to stay in a walled city (famous for pirates/privateers) near the sea then St Malo is the one.

Quimper, meh but all of these narrow creek/river towns around Brittany are lovely so why not.

July is a busy month

Food mussels (with an AC system for different villages) gallets and cidre (in Europe cider and cidre is alcholic) leap to mind.

Are you coming from the Europe? If from the USA think carefully before driving after a pond flight.

I thought the Parish closes absolutely fascinating and second the recommendation to consider visiting a few. They are well described in the Michelin Green guide to Brittany, an excellent resource for anyone considering a trip to the area.

i loved Dinan, but am not a fan of St. Malo. I think the recommendation to base in only one quite reasonable, and personally, I’d make it Dinan.

You might find some useful information in an old planning thread of mine — it was for a trip to western France in 2011 and you can find it be clicking on my screen name and then scrolling through the threads I started.

LWJ, I am a Hendrix historian and the photo below the rugby poster is dedicated to 'Foxy lady.'
I am done. The end.
L'Appel de Mer: a southern Brittany TR (also Paris)

like others have noted: Dinan/St Malo/Cancale are right next to each other - maybe you want to consider splittng the nights diffrently (a popular choice might be 2 nights Côte de Granit Rose / 3 nights someplace around St Malo)

for me, 'un des plus beaux villages de France' has become a major red flag. it puts them in the premier league of rural tourist destinations. and while it is a rightfully noble decoration, consequently it puts the name of the village in every brochure and every tourism website there is. especially during high season, these small places often struggle with the flood of tourism. I have seen places with parking lots twice the size of the village itself. it must be a joy and a burden to them, I imagine. local commerce is usually reduced to souvenir shops, potteries and restaurants. I have been to Locronan and would only re-visit early in the morning or very late in the afternoon.

That’s been my experience, too.

We'll go out of our way to see one of the plus beaux villages. Every one of them has been worth visiting for its architectural ensemble.

I would say only three of those might be considered touristy: Sainte Suzanne, Saint Suliac, and Rochefort en Terre. I love Saint Suzanne and we stop by there every chance we get. I really liked Rochefort even though it had a lot of shops that catered to tourists.

On the other hand, at St Suliac I didn't want to get out of the car.

To be clear, when I said three of those could be considered touristy, I meant three of the 23 PBVs that we have visited.

It isn't exactly a noble designation,l, it is a pay-to-play scheme. Some villages have dropped off the list because they don't see a benefit and their departement no longer wants to financially support the effort. However, the standards to get on the list are strict, and there are many in out-o-the-way locations that do retain their essentially rural character and contain historic monuments. Just trying to point that out to the OP in case there is any curiosity.

in retrospect, I think my wording might have been too strong, it was not meant as an diss. fact is: these villages _are_ pretty. having been to maybe a dozen PBV so far, I admit that when they are really rural, the impact from tourism is less evident and likely more beneficial. and I need to take into account that I am usually restricted to travelling during the high season, the experiences might be much more pleasant at other times (and some of these villages are so small that even a handful of cars in the parking lot can make a notable difference in the streets, so it can be sheer luck). my correct conclusion should read: while I am still curious about these places, nowadays I brace myself beforehand that it can happen to be a disappointing experience and do not shy away from abandoning a visit. ;-)

LittleWingJimi : some low-key sights I enjoyed a lot in Brittany were the 'fontaines sacrées' (holy fountains). there are a lot of them, especially in the hinterland, this here might be an useful intro: https://www.cotedeslegendes.bzh/la-c...ege/fontaines/ - but they are almost everywhere, so whenever you spot a (brown) roadsign 'Fontaine' or 'Lavoir' and you have a few minutes to spare, it might be worth a small detour. (same applies to 'Menhir' and 'Allée couverte' (grave gallery), of which there are a few as well)

Thank you for this I was considering Cote De Granit Rose, and do realize instagram and a lot of these "small villages" on recommendations lists have been a little lost to touristy influences but usually for good reason...they're gorgeous haha. The only place in Europe I've been that was truly not touristy was the Basque region of Spain outside of San Sebastian.

What a great gem nugget of info about the fontaines Sacrees, these are the things I really enjoy appreciate it and cheers to you

This is great St.Suzanne it is I was wondering if there were some more off the beaten path options for villages was thinking of just stopping anywhere on the drive from Vannes to St. Malo. I appreciate you

Incredible!! That's the coolest job I have ever heard of and your photography is uniquely beautiful

Thank you so much, makes sense to consolidate, I wanted to stay on the water in St Malo because I hear low tide time is really nice walking to the islands and it will be very hot the middle of summer season so cooling off for a dip will be nice, plus the food is supposed to be amazing. I usually like splitting up where I stay to be able to have a true feel for a town at night, which is why we were splitting the nights, have some of the local food and a cocktail without needing to drive and post when the tourists die down.

This is why Fodor forums are the best because of advice like yours, incredible and unique recommendations. Now I am in even more of a conundrum to skip West Brittany and save for the next return, there's just so much jam packed in such a small place. Thank you for this Les Enclos Paroisses architecture looks fascinating.

Hi LWJ,
Just some clarification. Being a Hendrix historian has been one of my hobbies for decades - it is not my job. I'm actually a retired Spec Ed teacher, whose first career was playing in a Canadian rock band, hence the admiration for that legend.
Fwiw, his famed producer Eddie Kramer lived in our immediate Toronto neighborhood these past two years, as he served as consultant for the extensive remake-update of a local rock club bought by a billionaire.

*btw, Shelemm's above Ile de Gavrinis was closed for renos when we were there. I've no idea whether that closure was temporary or if it was more long-standing. Best check ahead.

I am done. the Brittany trip