Shooz

Hi all --

I'm planning a three day trip from Paris out to Brittany. On the way
out we will be visiting Normandy and spending the night on Le Mont St.
Michel. This leaves us with a day and a half to explore Brittany.
Can anyone suggest some interesting sights, good restaurants, and a
nice place to stay in Brittany? We are interested in the local food,
megalithic sites, and any other aspects of the local culture. We are
looking to spend around 100 euros for the hotel. We do not want to
venture too far west as we need to return the car to Paris by 8pm on
the third day.

Thanks for any advice,
-steve

nitram

On 1 Sep 2004 05:57:23 -0700, [email protected] (shooz) wrote:

    >Hi all --
    >I'm planning a three day trip from Paris out to Brittany. On the way
    >out we will be visiting Normandy and spending the night on Le Mont St.
    >Michel. This leaves us with a day and a half to explore Brittany.
    >Can anyone suggest some interesting sights, good restaurants, and a
    >nice place to stay in Brittany? We are interested in the local food,
    >megalithic sites,

Carnac for megaliths?

Brittany tends to die when the tourists go home. Other than "fruit de
mere" the food is not fantastic unless you like pancakes made of brown
paper.

Padraig Breathnach

[email protected] (shooz) wrote:

    >Hi all --
    >I'm planning a three day trip from Paris out to Brittany. On the way
    >out we will be visiting Normandy and spending the night on Le Mont St.
    >Michel. This leaves us with a day and a half to explore Brittany.
Explore Brittany in a day and a half? No chance. Sample it a little.

    >Can anyone suggest some interesting sights, good restaurants, and a
    >nice place to stay in Brittany? We are interested in the local food,
    >megalithic sites, and any other aspects of the local culture. We are
    >looking to spend around 100 euros for the hotel. We do not want to
    >venture too far west as we need to return the car to Paris by 8pm on
    >the third day.
The best megalithic sites are in western Brittany, particularly the
south-west. The (by now fairly weak) strongholds of Breton language,
music, and dance, are mostly far to the west. Unless you want to drive
a lot, save them for a future visit.

Mont St. Michel is a "must-see", but I don't share the enthusiasm of
some for overnighting there. It is, however, your call.

Within easy reach of the Mont you have St. Malo, which most people
like greatly. It has good seafood restaurants, but I hardly ever
remember the names of such establishments. Accommodation there tends
to be at premium rates.

Much nicer, in my opinion, is Dinan, about 20 km. inland form St.
Malo. The vieux quartier with its medieval buildings, the river port
(especially if you like boats), and a walk along the walls, are all
worth while.

Still not travelling too far, Dol de Bretagne with its cathedral is
worth a look, and Mont Dol, just beside it, is interesting and has an
entrancing atmosphere. The Hotel de Bretagne in Dol is a good
modestly priced hotel, and the food there is quite satisfactory at a
reasonable price. Slightly more expensive, just south of Dol you have
the Hotel des Ormes, a strange and wonderful place. If you want a
bed-night, drive in and look at it; you will probably either love it
or hate it. I suspect that it is the only hotel anywhere in France
with a cricket pitch! (The good thing about travelling in September is
that you don't need to reserve your accommodation in advance, so you
can look before you book.)

If you like coastlines, the north Brittany coast is very attractive,
particularly between St, Brieuc and Morlaix, but it could eat up your
time and involve a lot of driving. It's really more suited for
leisurely exploration.

If you like cities, Rennes is interesting, and it has a great buzz
about it. It would also make for easier route planning. It's a long
way (350 km.) back to Paris, but you have autoroute all the way.

So how about:
- Mont St. Michel
- Dol and Mont Dol
- St Malo
- Dinan
- Rennes

Drive carefully. I'll be on the roads in Brittany later in the month!

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

Padraig Breathnach

[email protected] wrote:

    >On 1 Sep 2004 05:57:23 -0700, [email protected] (shooz) wrote:
    >>Hi all --
    >>I'm planning a three day trip from Paris out to Brittany. On the way
    >>out we will be visiting Normandy and spending the night on Le Mont St.
    >>Michel. This leaves us with a day and a half to explore Brittany.
    >>Can anyone suggest some interesting sights, good restaurants, and a
    >>nice place to stay in Brittany? We are interested in the local food,
    >>megalithic sites,
    >Carnac for megaliths?
Mainly, yes.

    >Brittany tends to die when the tourists go home.
That's not quite true, except for the beach resorts, which go into
hibernation on 1 September. There is life everywhere else.

    > Other than "fruit de
    >mere" the food is not fantastic unless you like pancakes made of brown
    >paper.
The fruits de mer are fantastic, and what Brittany is best known for.

Personally, I prefer the galettes ("brown paper" pancakes with savoury
fillings) to the crepes.

--
PB
The return address has been MUNGED

nitram

On Wed, 01 Sep 2004 17:40:50 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >[email protected] wrote:
    >>On 1 Sep 2004 05:57:23 -0700, [email protected] (shooz) wrote:
    >>>Hi all --
    >>>I'm planning a three day trip from Paris out to Brittany. On the way
    >>>out we will be visiting Normandy and spending the night on Le Mont St.
    >>>Michel. This leaves us with a day and a half to explore Brittany.
    >>>Can anyone suggest some interesting sights, good restaurants, and a
    >>>nice place to stay in Brittany? We are interested in the local food,
    >>>megalithic sites,
    >>Carnac for megaliths?
    >Mainly, yes.
    >>Brittany tends to die when the tourists go home.
    >That's not quite true, except for the beach resorts, which go into
    >hibernation on 1 September. There is life everywhere else.

I didn't find much in the way of life in Cote D'Amor, even at the
height of the season.

    >> Other than "fruit de
    >>mere" the food is not fantastic unless you like pancakes made of brown
    >>paper.
    >The fruits de mer are fantastic, and what Brittany is best known for.
    >Personally, I prefer the galettes ("brown paper" pancakes with savoury
    >fillings) to the crepes.

I prefer a proper French meal as found in Toulouse.

Martin Rich

On 1 Sep 2004 05:57:23 -0700, [email protected] (shooz) wrote:

    >Hi all --
    >I'm planning a three day trip from Paris out to Brittany. On the way
    >out we will be visiting Normandy and spending the night on Le Mont St.
    >Michel. This leaves us with a day and a half to explore Brittany.
    >Can anyone suggest some interesting sights, good restaurants, and a
    >nice place to stay in Brittany? We are interested in the local food,
    >megalithic sites, and any other aspects of the local culture. We are
    >looking to spend around 100 euros for the hotel. We do not want to
    >venture too far west as we need to return the car to Paris by 8pm on
    >the third day.

One plan would be to stay in St Malo; it's an old walled city though a
lot of it was rebuilt (in its original style) after bombing in World
War 2. We stayed in the Hotel de la Cité which is in the historic
centre, and found plenty of unpretentious bistros and creperies around
there serving good food.

Given your time constraint spending time in St Malo sounds a better
option than going further west.

Martin

Bill Smith

shooz wrote:

    > Hi all --
    >
    > I'm planning a three day trip from Paris out to Brittany. On the way
    > out we will be visiting Normandy and spending the night on Le Mont St.
    > Michel. This leaves us with a day and a half to explore Brittany.
Agree with almost everything Padraigh has to say (but don't like Dol de
B much!) Fully agree St Malo and Dinan well worth a stop, as is Morlaix,
though that's a bit far away for a 1.5-day tour of Brittany.

One excellent seafood restaurant in S Malo is the Pomme d'Or, just
inside the main gateway from the marina/port. (Haven't been there for
several years, but it's still there and hopefully standard is as high as
last time we ate there).

But one and a half days!!! We've been to Brittany almost every year for
the past 25+ years (we have French friends in Perros-Guirec, Cote
d'Armor) and *every* year we find new places of great interest/beauty,
both on extended "expedition" journeys and on local runs aound Perros.
We've been in high summer season, in March/April and in
September/October. True, some of the tourist attractions are closed out
of the main season, and even some of the smaller shops. Apart from that,
there's still a great deal to see and do. As we're from Scotland, the
slightly colder climate in spring and autumn doesn't worry us, but it
may seem chilly to someone from warmer climes.

Re food: we've always found an excellent if rough indicator is to eat
where the locals eat; if there are a lot of French-speaking people
eating and carrying shopping-bags rather than cameras and guide books,
and if they seem to be enjoying their meal, go there! Unless you
patronise a "greasy spoon" type of establishment, the food will actually
be very good and relatively cheap.
Crêpes and gallettes, like everything else, depend on who cooks them and
what you put on them/choose as a filling, but we've never been really
disappointed, and for years we've been making both kinds at home.
Remember some are savoury, some sweet - ask if you're not sure. Just
avoid the roadside mobile crêperies/frites sellers, as you probably
would the mobile "Joe's Snax" at home.

Brittany has very good trunk roads, but in September be prepared for
lots of slow farm vehicles (*mainly* off the major roads). As for
Carnac, it's a hell of a long way from Paris even if you went direct
there and back! Forget it, enjoy the north coast as others advise, and
"do" Carnac when you return for a "proper" holiday in Brittany - I'm
betting you will want to.

Have a good trip,

Bill