Tips for Brittany and Normandy
 

My sister and I are traveling to France in mid-May for a little more than a week. The first two or three nights will be in Paris, but then we intend on going to Brittany and/or Normandy for four or five nights. What towns/places are must-sees and practically speaking, what can we get done in so short a time? Is a car necessary or can we get around on train without feeling trapped? I absolutely love being on the coast so that's a definite, and we don't want to be in a different hotel every night. Any suggestions for small hotels or B&B's would be much appreciated as well.

Too hard to be definite about what to see without knowing your interests, but, whatever they are, in both Brittany and Normandy, you WILL need a car.

You might find the last two thirds of my trip report useful:

http://tinyurl.com/2sgnl5

We like to take in the history, culture, and art of the area, more through landmarks, castles, and churches rather than through museums (we'll probably be doing quite a bit of the latter in Paris). We also love good food, interesting shopping, and the opportunity to sit in a cafe and watch the world go by. That's probably still too vague, but I thought I'd try. What would be the two most interesting towns/cities in each province?

Thanks so much, Michael. That will be a great help.

Yes, you need a car.

Here my favorites for Normandy, working from east to west:

- Rouen. Historical old town. Probably the best place for sitting in cafés and shopping. Beautiful surrounding landscape. Abbaye de Jumieges in the vicinity.

- Etretat. Famous coastline, spectacular rocks, charming village.

- Honfleur. Most beautiful harbour town, yet touristy. Evening is best, when the cruise tourists are gone.

- Deauville/Trouville to get an impression of fading seaside resort charme.

- Arromanches. World War II embarkation beaches.

- Bayeux. Even if you do not like museums, the Bayeux Tapestry is so spectacular, you must see it.

Here my recs for Brittany:

- Mont St. Michel is a must-see. Be there early in the morning before the tourist buses come.

- St. Malo is a historical corsaire town. In the area, Cap Frehel with Fort La Latte (famous film backdrop) offers beautiful coastal landscape.

- St. Thegonnec has the most beautiful clos paroissial in Brittany (and a good restaurant). The neighboring village Guilmiliau has the second-best clos paroissial.

- Brest has an interesting naval museum and a good aquarium. Otherwise, the city is not very attrtactive.

- Concarneau is a charming historical town.

- Carnac has the famous megaliths. The Quiberon peninsula offers beautiful coastline and beaches.

- Pont-Aven is a charming little town where some artists lived.

- Josselin has Brittany's best castle.

So, this makes a grand loop along the coast.

Thanks for this. I was going through Michael's helpful post and my Rough Guide and was feeling very overwhelmed. You've really narrowed down a good route.

We found Dinan, south of MSM in Brittany, very pleasant for a few nights' stay. The medieval quarter is spectacular, and the walks along the Rance are pretty. Good restaurants and cafes.

You might want to stop in Fougeres to visit the castle.

Second the recommendation for Bayeux and its tapestry. This was a high point of our trip.

The fact is, it's a big area and a few nights won't give you more than a taste. Honfleur is a nice place to see the sea. You can also visit the D-Day beaches near Bayeux.

I guess my suggestion would be: Honfleur one night, Bayeux two nights, Dinan two nights.

bookmarking

Just for the record, MSM is in Normandy, just over the line!

over the course of 3 days, we rented a car in paris, drove to Monet's Gardens in Giverny - one of my favorite places ever, then up to Normany and Mont St. Michele. it was lot of driving but worth it.

Invest in a good map though as getting around was not as easy as I hoped. there is also a website that will tell you about the tolls in advance (I recall there being a lot more tolls than I would have thought).

Hi mowrites; You might find this b&b location a good fit. Le Mont St. Michel is only four miles away. Dinan and St. Malo,perhaps a half hour to the 'west'. And the castle town of Fougeres, a half hour 'south'. Vitre, another castle town, probably, another fifteen minutes south' of Fougeres. We had considered staying in Dinan, a wonderfull town, but found this location more to our advantage, based on what our priorites were. The b&b is chateaudebouceel.com ENJOY Iris

mowrites; I gave you some inaccurate information. On 'mappy' Dinan is 46 minutes; St. Malo is 48 minutes; Mount St Michel is 18 minutes; Fourgeres is 28 minutes and Vitre is 52 minutes. Sorry about the information previously given. Iris

You may be interested in my Brittany phototravelogue from a trip last May: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-24d4pe

Traveler, I'm piggybacking a question here. You mentioned St. Thegonnec and it's neighbor G... the parish closes. If one is going through Pleyben, but the other two are a bit out of my planned route, should I still go out of the way to see them?

bookmarking

Yes, car is a must. Forget Brest unless there is some particular reason for going there. Dinan and Ploumanach (Emerald Coast) are two of my favorites on the north coast. Concarneau and Pont l'Abbé on the Southern Coast.

Pleyben's Parish Close is my favorite because the figures on the calvary are dressed in 15th century garb...and visit the confiserie/Breton butter cookie store across the street--The Pleyben brand is extremely hard to come by anywhere else and are to die for. I always ending up eating the ones I bought during our travels and wish I had bought more!

No one mentions Quimper, which is a lovely city having much to offer...an impressive Cathedral, cloister/garden, famous faiëncerie, Breton Museum, beautiful old town along the river. Plenty of eateries. Parking is a little challenging on certain days.

For coastal experiences, I think the walk out to the Pointe du Raz has the presqu'ile de Crozon/Douarnenez beat by far.

Re: St. Thegonnec and Guilmiliau

Unless you are an expert, it is certainly not necessary to make a bypass to see two more parish closes. They are similar in style, although details are different. Almost each village in Brittany has its parish close. St. Thegonnec, Guilmiliau and Pleyben are among the best ones, but others are also beautiful.

Traveller, thank you.

Mowrites, I am also going to this area in mid-May and will post back, but I think we'll be gone at the same time. Based on research here and elsewhere, I am also going to Quimper and Pointe du Raz.

ttt