Driving from Amboise to Dinan--advice needed
 

We are a couple in our 60s. We like beautiful scenery, small towns, art, castles, and good food and wine. In September, 2014, we will be in Amboise for 5 nights visiting the Loire Valley. We then have two nights to drive to Dinan where we will stay for 4 nights exploring a bit of northern Brittany. After Dinan we will be in Normandy (Bayeux and Honfleur) for 5 nights before going to Paris for a week. Except for Paris, we have not been to any of these areas. The pace for this trip may seem rushed to some but it will give us a chance to get a taste of Loire Valley, Brittany, and Normandy. Hotels are already booked except for the bit between Amboise and Dinan. We are thinking of stopping in Vannes for two nights. This would give us one long day of driving (6 or so hours from Amboise) followed by a day to visit the Vannes area and then a relatively short drive to Dinan with stops on the way. We have also considered Nantes as a stopping point but it does not seem as interesting as Vannes. Another option would be to split the drive and stay in two places for one night each. We will greatly appreciate advice on options for this drive. Also, any recommendations for hotels in Vannes or wherever. Thank you very much.

Hi tedec,

although getting to Vannes is a bit of a detour off the direct route to Dinan from Amboise, i can thoroughly recommend it as a place to stay for a couple of nights if not longer. We were lucky enough to catch a concert in the church in the middle of Vannes on our first night there which set the tone for the weekend. The next morning we spent touring the town and in the afternoon we did a boat trip around the bay - you can catch a free bus down to the harbour if you don't want to drive.

in the evening we went to Auray which turned out to have a very popular port area, though we ate in a restaurant up in the town which was excellent.

in Vannes we stayed at a hotel which was just outside the historic centre but still close enough for us to walk everywhere:

http://www.manche-ocean.com/

As annhig says, Vannes is a bit out of the way for you, but it is worthy of a day's visit IMO. I also stayed at the Manche Ocean, which suited my needs, but might not suit everyone's.

Another option would be to spend the time in Rennes, rather than Vannes. (I really enjoyed Rennes!)

Other options might make even more sense ... we'd probably need to know more about your interests and itinerary to be more helpful.

You'll see some wonderful things - enjoy!

If staying in Vannes, don't miss the megaliths near the Golfe de Morbihan: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...57624616164661

I can give you a few links to check out to learn about the areas you want to visit in the Loire, Brittany and Normandy and find out what to see and do.

I've written photo reports about exploring the area near Vannes (Gulf of Morbihan) and the area near Dinan if you want to look them over.

Dinan and environs: http://tinyurl.com/86s4v8f

Gulf of Morbihan: http://tinyurl.com/2555vaf

The next thread has links to all the major tourist office websites in the Lower Normandy region from Giverny out to Bayeux, plus some other info. Tourist office websites are the best on-line resource to learn about what to see and do in any region of France:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic....html#39058384

The next thread has similar links to all the major tourist office websites in the Loire:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-de-france.cfm

Here is a similar thread for Brittany:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic....html#37748007

Thanks to everyone for sharing your knowledge. We have decided to stay in Vannes. Annhig, kja, and Michael, thanks for your suggestions of places to see and things to do while in Vannes. FrenchMystiqueTours, thanks for the links to the web sites and to your photo tours. Lots of good ideas that we will be studying in the next couple of weeks before our departure.

You may want to take a look at my trip report: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ummer-2009.cfm which mentions things to see between the northern coast of Brittany (actually we came down from Normandy) and Vannes. There is a car museum and an important garden, not to speak of Vitré and Fougères, although all of these sites represent a detour towards the east, by-passing Rennes.

I'll second the recommendation for the megaliths, especially at Locmariaquer and Carnac - awesome!