Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [36]
July sees Quimper’s Celtic Festival de Cornouaille and the famed pardon in Ste-Anne-d’Auray. August has Lorient’s Festival Interceltique, Pont-Aven’s Festival of the Golden Gorse, Brest’s bagpipe festival, and a big pardon in Ste-Anne-la-Palud. Another pardon held in Le Folgoët during September is one of the most extraordinary, with flocks of bishops, Bretons in traditional costumes, and devout pilgrims.
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME
If you have just a few days here, choose your coast—Channel or Atlantic! Cliffs and beaches, boat trips, culture and history. both shorelines offer all these and more. St-Malo makes a good base if you’re Channel-bound, handily placed for medieval Dinan; Chateaubriand’s home at Combourg; Dinard, the elegant Belle Époque resort once favored by British aristocrats; and the lively city of Rennes, the gateway to Brittany set 354 km (220 mi) west of Paris. Pretty Vannes is a good base for exploring the Atlantic coast. Highlights hereabouts include lively Quimper, with its fine cathedral and pottery; the painters’ village of Pont-Aven, made famous by Gauguin; the prehistoric menhirs of Carnac; the rugged island of Belle-Ile; and the picturesque Bay of Morbihan. The third side of the Brittany triangle is its verdant, unhurried hinterland. Charming—but forget it unless you’re here for the month.
WHEN TO GO
The tourist season is short in Brittany (late June through early September).
Long, damp winters keep visitors away, and many hotels are closed until Eastertime.
Brittany is particularly crowded in July and August.
During these months, most French people are on vacation, so why not opt to choose crowd-free June or September?
Some say early October, with autumnal colors and crisp evenings, is even better and truly makes for an invigorating visit.
But if you want to sample local folklore, late summer is the most festive time to come.
FINDING A PLACE TO STAY
Dining and Lodging Price Categories (In Euros)
Restaurants
Hotels
¢
under €13
under €65
$
€13–€17
€65–€105
$$
€18–€24
€106–€145
$$$
€25–€32
€146–€215
$$$$
over €32
over €215
Restaurant prices are for a main course at dinner, including tax (5.5%) and service; note that if a restaurant offers only prix-fixe (set-price) meals, it has been given the price category that reflects the full prix-fixe price. Hotel prices are for a standard double room in high season, including tax (19.6%) and service charge.
Outside the main cities (Rennes and Nantes), Brittany has plenty of small, appealing family-run hotels which cater essentially to seasonal visitors.
Note that many close for one or several months between October and March.
Booking ahead is strongly advised for the Easter period.
In addition, this is the case during the midsummer period, when it is routine for prices to be ratcheted up by 30% to 50%.
For luxury hotels Dinard, on the English Channel, and La Baule, on the Atlantic, are the area’s two most expensive resorts.
Assume that all hotel rooms have TV, telephones, and private bath, unless otherwise noted.
TRANSPORTATION BASICS
In just over two hours the TGV train from Paris whisks you to Rennes, the region’s hub. From Rennes you can continue to distant outpoints like Quimper or take a branch line to St-Malo or Dinan. You need to use buses, or a car, to explore the coast between Dinard and Rostoff, and the smaller towns along the Atlantic coast, like Concarneau, and Pont-Aven. The A11 expressway leads from Paris to Rennes, continuing as the N12 dual-carriageway to Brest, where the N165 dual-carriageway heads down the coast toward Nantes.
VISITOR INFORMATION
In addition to the Regional Tourist Boards, try the very helpful Maison de la Bretagne in Paris.
Comité Départemental du Tourisme des Côtes-d’Armor (7 rue St-Benoît, | 22000 | St-Brieuc | 02–96–62–72–00 | www.cotesdarmor.com).