The very best places to stay and eat in Brittany
Nov 28th, 2011, 02:26 AM
#1
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The very best places to stay and eat in Brittany
I am organising a tour of Brittany for a cultured American gentleman. He loves his food and wants to stay in some of Brittany's nicest hotels. I am familiar with some of the Relais and Chateaux hotels - but would love to introduce some unique hotels or restaurants into his itinerary, where he can feast on the freshest seafood in the most delightful surroundings. If these are off the beaten track, and charming, even better!
Also, re sightseeing, though I have my own ideas - I would love to have other insights, especially from those very familiar with the region. What must he see, and what must he avoid?
Also, re sightseeing, though I have my own ideas - I would love to have other insights, especially from those very familiar with the region. What must he see, and what must he avoid?
Nov 28th, 2011, 03:37 AM
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Thank you judy - no not a travel agent,ackislander, I promise! (I haven't had much help from them which is why I've come to Fodors!) Just helping out a friend whom I respect and admire.
Nov 28th, 2011, 03:58 AM
#5
can I suggest emmaij that you get hold of the michelin red guide to France?
you will see that at the front, there are maps for the top hotels, restaurants, etc. in each region.
that should give you a good place to start. I'm sure that Olivier Roellinger's place is in there, along with many more.
you could also try Trip Advisor, limiting it to 4-5 star hotels.
as for what to see and what to avoid, there's not much to avoid, i wouldn't have said. the main "sights" are the countryside and the coast - trips to the islands are good fun in good weather. for example we went to the Belle Ile [north of Paimpol] which was very pleasant. towns like Quimper have good museums [the folklore museum there is excellent] and there is plenty to see in Rennes.
and seafood is likely to be freshest on the coast - again, Michelin should be able to help with the best restaurants.
you will see that at the front, there are maps for the top hotels, restaurants, etc. in each region.
that should give you a good place to start. I'm sure that Olivier Roellinger's place is in there, along with many more.
you could also try Trip Advisor, limiting it to 4-5 star hotels.
as for what to see and what to avoid, there's not much to avoid, i wouldn't have said. the main "sights" are the countryside and the coast - trips to the islands are good fun in good weather. for example we went to the Belle Ile [north of Paimpol] which was very pleasant. towns like Quimper have good museums [the folklore museum there is excellent] and there is plenty to see in Rennes.
and seafood is likely to be freshest on the coast - again, Michelin should be able to help with the best restaurants.
Nov 28th, 2011, 07:50 AM
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You can try http://www.viamichelin.fr/web/Restaurants for a listing of restaurants.
Nov 28th, 2011, 08:18 AM
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Brittany is one of my favorite regions in France. I have no hotel or restaurant recommendations but I can tell you a bit about what are some of the highlights in that region. In general, the big attractions are in the coastal locations.
Some general advice. I'm going to mention a whole bunch of places. You should google the tourist office websites for these places. You will find loads of info on these websites including hotel/accommodation and restaurant info as well as what to see and do in the area. Occasionally the websites have English versions. In doing a google search enter the name of your town followed by the words "site officiel" or "office de tourisme" and this will bring the town to the top of your search. Another thing I like to do to see if a town may be worth visiting is enter the town name in a google search followed by the word "photos". Sometimes I visit a town if I find it looks charming/interesting in photos.
I would also recommend getting some guidebooks about Brittany. I like the Michelin Green Guides.
One of the more popular locations is near Mont-Saint-Michel, primarily due to the Mont and because it's the closest region from Paris. The big destinations are the Mont (obviously), Rennes (the capital city of Brittany), Fougères (pretty town with great medieval fortress), Saint-Malo, Dinan, Dinard, Cap Frehel (scenic coastal area). Some of the smaller attractions in this area are Dol-de-Bretagne, Combourg, Lamballe and the valley of the Rance river.
Moving west from there is one of the prettiest coastal areas in Brittany. The whole coastal area from Saint-Quay-Portrieux to Lannion is magnificent. There are numerous scenic viewpoints from the rugged cliffs on this stretch of coastline. Highlight towns include Paimpol, Guingamp, Tréguier, Perros-Guirec and Ploumanach. Not far from here you can visit some of the parish closes for which Brittany is famous (Saint-Thégonnec, Guimiliau, Lampaul-Guimiliau etc.).
Moving west along the coast are the final two famous coastal areas of Brittany, Finistère and The Gulf of Morbihan. The Finistère region has more natural beauty as it is hilly and has a rocky, rugged and more spectacular coastline. Some popular towns in this area include Pont-l'Abbé, Benodet, Quimper (small medieval city), Locronan, Concarneau, Camaret-sur-Mer, Landévennec, Pont-Aven and the scenic view point at Pointe du Raz. These are the most popular towns but certainly there are many other small less known towns worth visiting.
The area around The Gulf of Morbihan is generally more flat and prone to sandy coastline, although it certainly does have its rugged areas. It also has the spectacular ancient Alignments at Carnac (rows of thousands of ancient standing stones, called menhirs)and lots of other relatively unknown but spectacular megalithic sites. Nice towns would be La Trinité sur Mer, Locmariaquer, the old town in Auray and the lovely small medieval city of Vannes. I've written a trip report about this area if you'd like to have a look:
http://tinyurl.com/2555vaf
Not far from here and inland a bit you should visit Rochefort-en-Terre, La Gacilly, Malestroit and Josselin.
I've only mentioned the coastal areas but certainly there are worthy inland areas to visit, such as the Huelgoat region:
http://tourismehuelgoat.fr/index1.htm
This is a far, far, far from complete list of Brittany highlights. Perhaps it will inspire others to add to the list and mention some of their favorites or amend to what I've mentioned already. At least it gives you a starting point.
Lastly (and most importantly), get your hands on the Michelin maps (scale of 1:200,000) for whatever regions you visit. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads and many other things. Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives just reading the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists.
You can buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows all of the maps of France: http://tinyurl.com/4bt96ev
And speaking of Michelin, you can go to the website viamichelin.com and get info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (i.e. scenic routes). The drive times given do not consider stops (fuel, food, bathrooms) nor do they consider bad weather and traffic.
Some general advice. I'm going to mention a whole bunch of places. You should google the tourist office websites for these places. You will find loads of info on these websites including hotel/accommodation and restaurant info as well as what to see and do in the area. Occasionally the websites have English versions. In doing a google search enter the name of your town followed by the words "site officiel" or "office de tourisme" and this will bring the town to the top of your search. Another thing I like to do to see if a town may be worth visiting is enter the town name in a google search followed by the word "photos". Sometimes I visit a town if I find it looks charming/interesting in photos.
I would also recommend getting some guidebooks about Brittany. I like the Michelin Green Guides.
One of the more popular locations is near Mont-Saint-Michel, primarily due to the Mont and because it's the closest region from Paris. The big destinations are the Mont (obviously), Rennes (the capital city of Brittany), Fougères (pretty town with great medieval fortress), Saint-Malo, Dinan, Dinard, Cap Frehel (scenic coastal area). Some of the smaller attractions in this area are Dol-de-Bretagne, Combourg, Lamballe and the valley of the Rance river.
Moving west from there is one of the prettiest coastal areas in Brittany. The whole coastal area from Saint-Quay-Portrieux to Lannion is magnificent. There are numerous scenic viewpoints from the rugged cliffs on this stretch of coastline. Highlight towns include Paimpol, Guingamp, Tréguier, Perros-Guirec and Ploumanach. Not far from here you can visit some of the parish closes for which Brittany is famous (Saint-Thégonnec, Guimiliau, Lampaul-Guimiliau etc.).
Moving west along the coast are the final two famous coastal areas of Brittany, Finistère and The Gulf of Morbihan. The Finistère region has more natural beauty as it is hilly and has a rocky, rugged and more spectacular coastline. Some popular towns in this area include Pont-l'Abbé, Benodet, Quimper (small medieval city), Locronan, Concarneau, Camaret-sur-Mer, Landévennec, Pont-Aven and the scenic view point at Pointe du Raz. These are the most popular towns but certainly there are many other small less known towns worth visiting.
The area around The Gulf of Morbihan is generally more flat and prone to sandy coastline, although it certainly does have its rugged areas. It also has the spectacular ancient Alignments at Carnac (rows of thousands of ancient standing stones, called menhirs)and lots of other relatively unknown but spectacular megalithic sites. Nice towns would be La Trinité sur Mer, Locmariaquer, the old town in Auray and the lovely small medieval city of Vannes. I've written a trip report about this area if you'd like to have a look:
http://tinyurl.com/2555vaf
Not far from here and inland a bit you should visit Rochefort-en-Terre, La Gacilly, Malestroit and Josselin.
I've only mentioned the coastal areas but certainly there are worthy inland areas to visit, such as the Huelgoat region:
http://tourismehuelgoat.fr/index1.htm
This is a far, far, far from complete list of Brittany highlights. Perhaps it will inspire others to add to the list and mention some of their favorites or amend to what I've mentioned already. At least it gives you a starting point.
Lastly (and most importantly), get your hands on the Michelin maps (scale of 1:200,000) for whatever regions you visit. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads and many other things. Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives just reading the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists.
You can buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows all of the maps of France: http://tinyurl.com/4bt96ev
And speaking of Michelin, you can go to the website viamichelin.com and get info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (i.e. scenic routes). The drive times given do not consider stops (fuel, food, bathrooms) nor do they consider bad weather and traffic.
Nov 28th, 2011, 11:38 AM
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annhig, michael, pvoyageuse - many thanks. This is all very helpful.
Frenchmystiquetours - Wow! Thank you for taking the time to do this - and your link provides a wonderful detailed report. Will also check out the Huelgoat region.
Everyone, keep the advice coming - the more information the better!
Frenchmystiquetours - Wow! Thank you for taking the time to do this - and your link provides a wonderful detailed report. Will also check out the Huelgoat region.
Everyone, keep the advice coming - the more information the better!
Nov 28th, 2011, 05:52 PM
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It might not be sufficiently upscale, but I loved my stay at the Hotel des Rochers along the Pink Granite Coast. The accommodation was simple, but comfortable, and my meal there was outstanding. And the coast is a great place to walk!
http://www.hotel-desrochers-perros.com/index.php
And I had another superb meal in Rennes at Le Cours des Lices:
http://www.lecoursdeslices.fr/
Hope that helps!
http://www.hotel-desrochers-perros.com/index.php
And I had another superb meal in Rennes at Le Cours des Lices:
http://www.lecoursdeslices.fr/
Hope that helps!
Nov 28th, 2011, 06:42 PM
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In 2008, two of the most wonderful places we've ever stayed, and both were published in "French Country Hideaways".
Chateau de Guilguiffin--not that far from Quimper.
and
Chateau de Talhouet not far from Rochefort-en-Terre.
If I'm not mistaken, other Foderites have stayed there also.
Chateau de Guilguiffin--not that far from Quimper.
and
Chateau de Talhouet not far from Rochefort-en-Terre.
If I'm not mistaken, other Foderites have stayed there also.
Nov 29th, 2011, 02:24 PM
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We really loved our stay and meals at the Restaurant Maxime et Jean-Pierre Crouzil and Hôtel L'Ecrin in the village of Plancoët, which has its own bottled water (it's very good, rather like Malvern Water). The hotel was low-key luxurious, the meals were some of the best we've had in France, worth more than the 1 Michelin star, in our opinion. The ambience is perfect for a cultured American gentleman. On tripadvisor.com you can find many reviews from happy clients.
The village abounds in flowers, both in gardens and hanging in pots from the houses.
The village abounds in flowers, both in gardens and hanging in pots from the houses.
