We would be coming from Mont St. Michel to the Dinan area--not a long drive on the map. However, since we only have one night, I'm debating spending it right in town in Dinan vs out in the country between Dinan and Dinard.

I know people have debated before which town to go to. Is there time to see both in one day or is that overly ambitious? Is the area so highly populated that it would be easy to get lost? I'm going to buy detailed maps this trip, honest.

I thought if we stayed in town we could walk to dinner, but....the country would have a water view.

I'm not a big fan of Dinard - it's a coastal resort town that's a little shabby & worn, IMO. Driving can get a little congested & confusing around there and St Malo also.

Dinan is smaller & we've never had any trouble with getting lost or congestion.

If you are going to stay overnight in Dinan, then I would visit St Malo in the AM, drive along the coast from St Lunaire to Sables d'Or les Pins (visit Fort la Latte along the way - see the Michelin Green Guide for details on the coastal drive), then head for Dinan. If you get to Dinat at 5pm or so you'll have plenty of time to enjoy it if you stay overnight there. If this seems like too much stuff, skip St Malo - don't shortchange the beautiful Brittany coast.

Stu Dudley

We agree with Stu. We aren't fans of St. Malo and Dinard, but did love Cancale and Dinan.

And I adore Dinard, go every January for the thalasso and one of the things that I love about it is that it is shabby and has seen better days. I just don't like perfect Disneyesque towns. St-Malo is nice for a day visit but cold and dark intra-muros and Dinan, well I got bored after a morning. In Dinard I walk along the sea for hours and paint and well, just love it. So I vote for Dinard.

Stu, on the Brittany coast I'm hoping to do some walking on the path somewhere between MSM and Cancale.

Maybe we'll do that, bypass Dinard, and go straight to Dinan and enjoy it. I flip flop daily ;&gt

beaupeep wrote: "Dinan, well I got bored after a morning"

Wow! I keep going back there. On the other had, the only time I stopped for more than an hour in Dinard was when the market was on.

To address hopingtotravel's question: Dinan is a good place to stay; it is much more appealing in the evening when the number of visitors drops, and also early in the morning before the numbers build up.

Hoping

After MSM, you may want some peace & solitude. Don't make any unchangeable decisione now - wait till you are ready to leave MSM & decide then.

Stu Dudley

Clerification - by "unchangeable decision", I meant visiting St Malo, Dinard, drive along the coaast, walk along the coast, etc. Probably best to secure a hotel in Dinan or on the Rance now.

Stu Dudley

hoping, Just what you need, more opinions. Here's another.

We loved our morning in St. Malo this Sept. and while Cancale had a nice walk along the harbor, St Malo offered the walk along the ramparts plus the charming warrened streets and if your timing is right as was ours, the opportunity to see it with the tide in and out. It is incredible how different the coast looks with the tide changes.

We stayed in an inexpensive B&B just outside the walls of Dinan which gave us easy access to the major road N176. We were told by the B&B owners we could walk to the center of Dinan but that was a stretch.

Dinard really didn't impress us too much, however we stopped at the Dinard Golf Course for my husband to check it out. What a view!! Deborah

Forgot to say, I also loved Dinan. They also have a large Thursday market with everything from clothes, home accessories, food, etc.

The Dinan medieval streets seemed to have a good balance between tourism and historical authenticity. Just my thoughts after visits to Mont St. Michel, Carcassonne, St. Paul de Vence and Briancon

Deborah

Well, we really liked Dinard...easy parking, nice little beach, an interesting walk around the cliff with pretty gardens displaying plants from various regions of France. Near the beach parking is a small hotel with a restaurant that turns out great moules frites.

Dinan was pleasant, but parking was a bit difficult.

We spent 2 weeks at a gite very close to Dinan. We must have visited Dinan about 6 times for markets, dinners, walking around, etc. There is a large underground garage we parked in every time with no difficulty in accessing & finding a parking place. If you arrive in Dinan in the late afternoon/early evening, the parking lot might be quite empty. We were there in mid/late June of '01.

Stu Dudley

That's why I said "a bit difficult." We were there in September, and there were a good number of tourists besides us.

I am sure parking is most difficult in Dinan on Market Day when place du champ clos and place du guesclin are taken out of use by the market. Now that's a market In looking at my Dinan map it is showing alot of parking areas. We never had a problem in September but high season may be another story. Deborah

sorry, underhill, I'm not trying to be contrary. We were in Dinan on a Wed thru Sat so we may have just picked the right days for our stay. Deborah

Stu, that's a good idea. Other than my hotel rooms, I try not to lock in too much ahead. DH tends to be more leisurely than I am.

Underhill, I love gardens, so if I have that option I would probably look at Dinard rather than St. Malo. The smaller the town, the better we do.

It's great to hear more opinions on this.

The other option was a room overlooking the Rance between Dinan and Dinard, but they don't serve dinner so there would be more driving.

Have been to St. Paul de Vence and Carcassone.

We usually visit tourist cities like Dinan in the morning - getting there at 9:30-10 or so. Parking, I suspect, would be easier then. We almost never arrive at noonish and have lunch in a city - which is when parking is probably the most difficult. Many business people will leave the cities about 12:3pm to have lunch with the family at home (there is usually a big exodus & heavy traffic) - so parking lots are a bit less crowded then, and they become very crowded around 3PM. A lot depends on the time of day you are there. We were in Dinan on market day - perhaps even 2 market days - and I don't remember having that much difficulty finding a place to park (we get there round 9:00am or earlier on market days). Like I mentioned earlier - we parked in the underground garage every time.

Stu Dudley