I'm wondering whether it would be worthwhile to take the time to drive to this area during our trip to Brittany. If you've been there, can you describe your experience, how interesting it was, how much time you spent there, etc. ? Thank you.

I've driven around it and it was fairly interesting and a little creepy. It definitely has a mystical feel to it, but it could be because of foreshadowing. It's full of huge oak trees (and beech, I think) and is very dense in places. We saw "Merlin's tomb," which is a pile of rocks.

We spent a couple of hours there. I wouldn't go out of my way to get there, but if you're close by, it's worth a look.

StCirq, thank you so much! I really appreciate your response. It's not that easy to get first-hand information about many areas of Brittany. We've read the Mary Stewart books about King Arthur, and "The Once and Future King", (don't remember the author of that), decades (gulp!) ago, and find the Merlin and Arthur legends mildly interesting, thus my curiosity about the area from where the tales were born.

I am having a heck of a time trying to fit in all the many interesting places to see in Brittany into a reasonable amount of time!

Thank you, again!

DH & I drove through the Foret de Paimpont as we made our way from Dinan to Moelan-sur-Mer near Pont Aven. I also felt that mystical eeriness upon entering the forest with its Arthurian connection! It was a beautiful drive --- such a contrast from the coast of Brittany!

There is the lovely lake-side village of Paimpont. It is used as a base by walkers & cyclists to access the extensive trails throughout the forest.

If you are able to connect the Foret de Paimpont with other stops of interest on one of your days, you just may want to include it!

Have fun planning your trip!

2010

We also enjoyed a day at the Foret de Paimpont two years ago (it was a useful stop driving from our first rental in southern Brittany to our second week rental in the north). Our two young children, the oldest of whom loves all things related to King Arthur, loved it. We also stopped at the lake-side village of Paimpont for lunch and went to the helpful tourist office. They suggested nice walks in the area and we went on a lovely one with the kids. The only thing that spoiled it was the rain that set in - but that's part of travelling in Brittany!

Definitely makes a nice day trip, if you have the time. Enjoy Bretagne!

I so appreciate your responses, 2010, and romana2! I am definitely going to include at least a drive through this area on our route through Brittany. Still trying to work out a driving plan that won't involve time-wasting "back-tracking" and such. It's a little hard due to the time of year we'll be there, (hours for many places are pretty limited).

Thank you for your input! Brittany has such a variety of interesting places to see, and the more reading I do, the longer my "must try to include" list grows!

Missed it -- and still regret missing it -- because of similar concerns over backtracking. It's a bit out of the way, too.

T. H. White wrote The Once and Future King.

Thanks, Fra_Diavolo. I know we can't see everything and hope to figure out a way to combine places we'll have to pass up this trip with places we missed when we spent a brief time in the Loire Valley on a future trip! In addition to going back to beautiful Normandy, exploring the Dordogne region, Burgundy, Provence, etc., etc. Sigh!

I was just looking at our Brittany photos yesterday! It's a wonderful area. We did backtrack each day while there, but covered many beautiful areas without much difficulty. Here's my report if it can be of any help:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Images2, your trip report is a treasure trove of valuable information! I remember reading it months ago when we first contemplated touring Brittany, but I hadn't yet learned very much about the towns and sights you described. Thank you for posting your report - now I have a better perspective on the locations you visited so re-reading this really helps to figure how much time to allow for driving and how many towns, sights, etc., are actually feasible to fit into each day.

You really made great use of your time there, even with all the driving and the limited opening times of various places. I can appreciate your decision to stay in one place, vs. spending time packing & unpacking, checking in and out of hotels all over the place, (not to mention the time needed to find the hotels in the first place!).

Great trip report with lots of useful details - thanks!

You're very welcome! I can't believe that trip was 3 years ago. You'll have much longer days if you're going soon, so that will be of some help!

I hope you have a wonderful trip!