Bretagne Travel Forum

We are planning a 2 week visit to Bretagne in August. I am wondering if it there is a central enough location for a "chambre d'hotes" ...or, at most 2 locations from where we could reach by car the 4 major Brittany zones around Dinan, Morlaix, Quimper and Vannes. Am I too ambitious and should I consider skipping something? Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Peter. You asked about Brittany and Normandy. This post seems to be Brittany so I'll address that. We spent a couple weeks in Brittany and found it easier to give ourselves two bases. We spent one week in the eastern part near Dinan and another week in the western section near Quimper. That worked well for us.

Brittany is large enough that driving distances are limited and the back roads are not high speed highways. In August, the seashore will be very crowded and so will the roads. Inland it won't be nearly as busy but it is still the French vacation month so there will be people about. The nice part is that all the little towns and chateaus will be having sound and light shows and festivals that you don't get to see out of season so enjoy yourselves.

Thank you very much for your detailed replies in both Normandie and Bretagne forums. It gives us a good head start. If we manage to stay in 2 locations it would be great.
My problem is that the list is getting too big. The real challenge is where to cut, what is "too much of the same". Can I ask your opinion on this too?
Here is the basic list:
-from Dinan : Le Mont St-Michel, St-Malo, Cote d'Emeraude (Cancale, Pointe du Grouin, Cap Frehel)
-from Quimper: Pointe du Raz, Baie de Morlaix et Cote de Granit Rose (Ploumanach, Semaphore), enclos paroissiaux (Guimiliau, St-Thegonnec), Brest (just for Oceanopolis)..maybe Ile de Brehat...maybe Presqu'Ile de Crozon
There is a 3-rd area around Vannes (megalithes, Golfe de Morbillan, Belle-Ile . Can be visited from Quimper or better to stay around Vannes?
Do you know any nice "chambres d'hotes"? We do speak French and would like to get to know and talk to the locals.

You can visit quite a bit in 2 weeks. Your list seems reasonable. If you choose two separate bases for a week each, consider renting a gite or farm apartment. Some are in small villages and some are in the country. We do this often and really enjoy it. The farm owners are always nearby to give you advice on restaurants and sightseeing. Here is the Gites de France web site that we use. They also have a B&B option you may want to check.

http://www.gites-de-france.com/gites/uk/rural_gites

Another good web site is Logis de France. This is a chain of small family-owned hotels and you may be particularly interested in the Logis de Charme section. You can search by town or by map. We've used the many times over the years too and have enjoyed all. Most have an excellent restaurant. Here's the web site.
http://www.logis-de-france.fr/uk/

One suggestion: Get a good map like the Michelin driving atlas and map out your sightseeing so you don't do more driving than necessary. It gives you more time to enjoy each place.

Have a great trip!