We're leaving for Brittany next week & want to firm up some plans. <BR>Looking for some interesting car rides to explore those areas. We'll be in each place for 4 days each.<BR>Also,how about some good restaurants for lunch & dinner in Quimper & Dinan - any suggestions?

Quimper, as you may know is famous for its faience or pottery. If you are interested in this, a visit to the museum and factory (workshop) is a must.

Just returned from Brittany/Normandy. Dinan is delightful. Lots of half-timbered buildings. Good color. Sorry, but can't recommend a restaurant there. My husband requires a Chinese food fix every so often, and Dinan happened to provide one, so didn't eat at any of the local places. While we were there we stayed in Cancale at Le Richeux, associated with Chateau de Bricourt, a Relais and Chateau property. It was very special and I highly recommend the seafood restaurant there--Le Coquillage. Reminiscent of Nantucket. Cancale itself is worth a visit, especially the harbor area which is lined with cute, colorful restaurants all serving cancale oysters and other fruits de mer. From there we went on to Pointe de Grouin and to St. Malo. We had lunch in St. Malo at La Flot, just by one of the towers. The chef is the son of Richard Coutanceau who has a 2 Michelin star restaurant there named for him. La Flot is an upscale seafood restaurant with outdoor tables and escellent food. We also ate at the 2 star place of the father and it was one of the best meals of our trip. Pricey, as all 2 star restaurants are, this one was very "worth the splurge." <BR>Another day we went to Dinard, Cap Frehel and Fort La Lotte. Dinard has beautiful stone mansions from the era when it was one of the premier summer beach addresses for the rich. We ate seaside at La Gonnele, which we considered "a find." Excellent seafood, well prepared and served with a jolly attitude. One member of our party declared their coquille st. jacques "best ever." Cap Frehel provides grand views of the Brittany coast and is worth the drive. Fort La Lotte requires a long walk which, unless you enjoy the excercise, probably not worth the walk. We stopped in Dinan for the morning and lunch before moving on to Mt. St. Michel. Staying in Dinan strikes me as a very good choice.

Ignore my references above to the restaurant for Richard Coutanceau and the La Flot operated by his son. My memory--even short term--is not what it used to be and I've confused St. Malo with La Rochelle. Hey, they're both on the coast and in France! The Coutanceau experiences were both in La Rochelle so don't go looking for them in Brittany. Sorry for the misinformation. On the otherhand, if you're ever in La Rochelle, search them out. They're good.

Thanks for the correction. I was just about to copy your first reply with much great glee when your second message came up.<BR>Would like to hear from others About places in those areas.<BR><BR>B.

I had a very good meal at "Mere Pourcel" in Dinan March last year. The restaurant(3 Pl.Merciers),a charming half-timbered house, is right outside of local market(must-see). 4 courses fixed-menu lunch was around 180F,excellent cheese board.<BR><BR>I stayed in Quipmper for 4 days last March also.There are many good restuarants . For light meal, look around the Cathedral area near Les Hall("Andre Rolland,the patisserie,across the cathedral is very good). For good Dinner,the best I had was at "Capucin Courmand"(29 r.Reguaires)<BR><BR>If you are interested in markets,there is weekly market in Quimper(Wednesday),Dinan(Thursday).

Here are some notes from our holiday last year. Beg-Miel is quite near Quimper. Great beaches for the kids, with both rocks and sand. Had lunch at a Creperies (Kervastard) in the village. Galettes and Crepes are traditional dishes of Brittany and if you’re not eating them, you’re probably eating fish or shellfish. Whole meal for 4 adults and 2 kids came to about &pound;60. had lunch at Le Jardin de la Baie in the village of La Foret Fouesnant a couple of miles away- 280ff for 2 adults and 2 kids. Pretty OK. <BR><BR>In Audierne had a long lunch in the Caf&eacute; du Quai in the town. I’m told the sea food was really good. It cost about &pound;12/head including the wine. <BR><BR>Dinan. They have a designation in Brittany-Petite cite de charactere Bretagne- Dinan was the third we’d been in (Moncontour, the small town 8 miles from Plemy was the 2nd and Locronan the first) Dinan is a mediaeval town-like Locronan turned into a bit of a theme park. Beautiful but full. Nice lunch in Creperie la Fontaine du Jerzual (570ff for 5 adults, 2 children, including drink) There’s a lovely toy shop at the top of the hill with a large teddy bear outside which constantly dips a hoop into soap and blows bubbles-charming. Climbed the clock tower- you have to avoid the quarters when it’s chiming.<BR><BR>Headed up to Erquy, resort town on the coast 5 miles away and had a long lunch in a harbourside caf&eacute;. The skies opened and we had no coats and the cars were a mile away, so it was a very long lunch. The restaurant (Le Relais)was very tolerant- but then the bar bill must have been amazing. <BR><BR>We went further round the coast to Paimpol, famous for some fish or other (I lost track of which town did which fish!). Lunch,I think, was, except for the final evening, the best place we ate in L’islandais restaurant. The restaurant’s name is derived from the fact that 100 years ago the whole place made its living by sending fishermen to Iceland for months at a time.<BR><BR>

There is an interesting little town near Quimper that is called Pont l'Abbe. It is in the corner of the Finistere District . Some ot the women there wear the traditional decorative head dress. This head dress is a tall cylindrical white pillar that stays erect on their head.<BR><BR>There is more information on the traditional dress and local regional life at Pont l'Abbe's Bigouden Museum. This is located within the town's castle. <BR><BR>We visited this town several years ago and it was not over run with tourists.<BR>lynlor