Okay, I just changed our upcoming trip to France from the Dordogne to begin in Lille. On a recent flight home I read an article about Lille's annual flea market and coincidently, our trip falls over the dates. Being a market junkie I was hooked so, I switched destinations.

After a few days in Lille we will have 3 or 4 days to explore either Normandy or Brittany before we head onto Paris. We went to Normandy about 15 years ago and we absolutely loved Honfleur. I still think of Honfleur as a photographer's dream! We also saw all the WWII sites at that time as well. We have never been to Brittany but, we're really open to either area and we'll have a car.

About us--In case you couldn't tell, I love markets in France so if there's a noteable market in one of these areas, please let me know. DH loves photography and history (particularly WWII). Any suggestions on which might be a better option? I'm trying to pull this together last minute so any input would be appreciated.

Merci Beaucoup!

ILP

We've spent 5 weeks vacationing in Brittany and about 1 week in Normandy. I think that is an allocation of days that indicates how many interesting things there are to do in Brittany vs Normandy - especially if you've already visited Normandy.

From Lille, I would take the 12:10 or 2:47 TGV (4 hr trip) to Rennes, rent a car, & stay in/near Dinan. Dinan has a very nice market on Thursday.

Here are some thoughts on questions you didn't ask:

1. We've visited many French flea markets, and have almost always been disappointed. We don't go out of our way to visit them any more.

2. Lille/Normandy for us is MUNCH less interesting than either Brittany, or the Dordogne (we've spent 10 weeks in the Dordogne).

3. 7 days is a perfect amount of time to spend in Brittany and the perfect amount in the Dordogne. 3 days is not - especially if it's over a Sunday or Monday.

Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu, I really appreciate your thoughts! I'm surprised you said you don't like markets. I assume that includes those in Provence as well(Isle sur la Sorgue, Apt, St Remy...etc??)

Even though we don't have a full week, I'd just like a taste of Brittany (or Normandy) and we can always go back! I wish we had enough time to "do" Lille, the Dordogne and Paris but we clearly don't. It would be too much running around. I like your idea about the TGV and picking up a car in Rennes--that's probably the way we'll go. I take it there are car rental companies at the train station? Yes, Dinan was on my list if we chose Brittany. Any other favorite towns in the region?

You might want to take a look at my trip report <i>Ghent, Normandy & Brittany</i>, and at my latest <i>France, summer 2009</i>, both of which cover different parts of both areas. For the most part we have just driven though Normandy, but I can imagine that between Rouen, Bayeux, and towns like Amiens and the coast around Dieppe, you would have more than enough to see in three or four days. I would stick to Normandy because in 3 or 4 days you would miss some of the more distant and interesting parts of Brittany.

I think Stu is distinguishing between markets and flea markets, and I agree. French flea markets are not interesting to me for more than about 15 minutes, whereas I can wander around the fresh markets in the Dordogne and Provence for hours.

Between your two options I would also choose Brittany, though 3 days is hardly enough to do it justice. We have enjoyed Fougères, Viré, Dinan, St-Brieuc, Quimper, Vannes, and many small towns in between.

Yep - I was referring to "flea" markets vs. "farmers/crafts/antique" markets.

Lots of cars to rent in Rennes.

Favorite towns - Rennes, Dinan, St Malo
Sites - the coast & the many "points" & "caps" along the coast. Fort la Latte. Vallee du Rance. Cancale has a nice view of Mt St Michel in the afternoon on a clear day.

Rennes is on my list of top 5 large cities in France, and Vannes is on my list of top 5 medium sized cities - but the latter is pretty far away from Dinan.

Stu Dudley

I'm hoping the Lille market does have food, antiques, etc. We shall see I guess. Any recommendations on a good base in Brittany? If we stay 4 nights I suppose we could do 2 & 2. We don't want to be in the car driving all day. We were in Ireland a month ago and didn't enjoy that at all!

If the article said there is a "flea" market - it's just that. There may also be a regularily scheduled food market. What day of the week is the flea market?

Doubt if there will be antiques. There are distinct difference between the many non-food markets in France - from the "clean out the attic" markets to the "Salon des Antiques" ones. Flea markets are the "low end" - just above "clean out the attic" and below Brocante markets.

Stay in Dinan - all 4 days.

Stu Dudley

Well, I'm really hoping for a mix. I LOVE the Sunday market at Isle Sur la Sorgue because it really is a mix of weekly market, antiques, bric a brac, food, etc. If Lille is anything like that, I'll be very happy.

Here is a brief description of the event:

Every first weekend of September, Lille in northern France is the capital of antiques bargain-hunting! The Braderie de Lille is Europe’s largest flea market.

During the weekend of 5th and 6th September 2009 more than one million visitors will once again stroll up and down the city streets, entertained by music and the numerous performances that take place continuously from 2pm on Saturday to 11pm on Sunday. Enjoying a dish of “Moules and Frites” (mussels served with chips) has become a deeply-rooted tradition and is the subject of a contest between the town’s restaurants to see who can build the highest mountain of empty mussel shells!

Lille Braderie offers:
33 continuous hours of treasure hunting, bargaining and fun.
100 km (60 miles!!) of stalls.
10,000 exhibitors
Over one million visitors.
Over 500 tons of mussels to be consumed.

In France, “brader” means “to sell at a low price” and it is well known that you can sell and buy anything at the Lille flea market such as antiques, clothes, jewellery, decorative objects, etc!

Transformed into one gigantic pedestrian zone, the city offers treasure hunters and visitors alike a vast number of stalls and buying opportunities in a friendly atmosphere governed by the rhythm of the swarming crowd. Ever since the Middle Ages, the tradition has lived on, and today, the Lille flea market remains the most awaited event of the fall season.


http://www.lilletourism.com/info-3-96-0-gb.html

It also lists the stuff that will be selling there, and apart from mussels and beer, there does not seem to be any food or fresh produce. And lots of the antiques/second-hand stuff comes from the UK.

The mere thought of a million people there over the course of a day and a half would scare me off, but à chacun son goût.

St Cirq---I live in MA and go to Brimfield every year. It's a HUGE antiques market. There's got to be at a million people there (or it feels like it anyway). I saw some pictures online that show lots of produce at the Lille market so I think the stuff is divided up throughout the town? It sounds like antiques are in one area, furniture in another area, food in another, etc. Having never been I'm not sure but I will post when I return.

One last question:
Okay, I'm not an expert on trains but, it looks like to get from Lille to Rennes you have to connect in Paris and not only change trains but, stations as well? Is this correct? If so, we may go from Lille to Paris then finish in Brittany.

www.voyages-sncf.com shows a direct TGV from Lille to Rennes, though most of the options shown go from Lille to Paris Gare du Nord, then you have to switch to Gare Montparnasse for the next leg. But yes, you can go directly. Travel time about 4 hours 40 minutes.

Here is the site I use to find train schedules.
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

Sometimes, schedules are different on week days and week ends. On weekdays, the trains leave at:
8:46
12:10
2:47
5:29
with no train changes

On Sunday, there is no 2:47 train.

Just a thought:
In MA there is a huge flea market with millions of people just like Lille (perhaps) - but no medieval villages, no medieval/renaissance castles, no pre-historic caves, no Mt St Michel, etc. I go to Europe to enjoy things I can't find at home in the US.

Stu Dudley

http://www.comparecarrentals.co.uk/news/56627639.html

''British Holidaymakers Warned of Toxic Seaweed in Northern France
Stuart Parker August 10th, 2009 News

As of right now, many British holidaymakers are being told to stay away from beaches located in northern France. These warnings have been issued due to toxic fumes that are being given off by rotting seaweed. This problem has now led to one area of the beach at Saint Michel en Greve in Brittany to be shut down. The beach was shut after a horse rider lost consciousness and his horse died after being exposed to the fumes.

A member of the French Institute of Sea Research and Exploitation, Gilles Youenou, said that they advise people to avoid these beaches. The seaweed is giving off hydrogen sulphide fumes. This can be the result of a problem with agriculture. He noted that Nitrates have gotten into the water and polluted it.

Gilles Youenou went on to say that normally a crust forms over stacks of rotting seaweed. When the crust is broken, fumes are released. These fumes can be particularly lethal to dogs, as well as other animals. This helps to explain why the horse was killed.
''

Thanks to all and I like that website Stu! Apparently I was choosing a departure time in-between the non stop departures so, they weren't showing up. Yes, I was thinking of departing on Sunday for Rennes so that complicates matters a bit. Is there a way to request only non-stop departures regardless of time? You know, similar to airline websites where they have a box you tick to show nonstop only flights.

There must be different speeds on TGV trains. I was looking on a map and it's clearly further to travel from Paris to Avignon but, the TGV train only takes 2 hrs, 50 minutes. When I saw 4+ hours from Lille to Rennes I thought we were talking about a regional train. I know they're on opposite sides but I'm just suprised it takes so long.

I was not aware of the seaweed issue. Thanks for posting the article. I assume if we stay away from the beaches we should be okay?

Okay, now I understand---there are several intermediate stops on the non stop train.

On some train tracks, the TGV can't go as fast - for various reasons.

On your trip, input "Lille Europe" & you'll only see the no-train-change schedules. Or you could just click the "later" box at the bottom of the schedule.

BTW, don't plan to spend any time in Rennes on Sunday - shops will be closed & the city will be quite dead. Also, verify opening times of the car rental offices in Rennes. Check www.autoeurope.com for times of operation. Traffic in Rennes will be very light on Sunday.

Stu Dudley