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Days out in Brittany - any suggestions?

22 replies

scoobysnax · 12/06/2003 12:54

Can anyone suggest some good outings for a holiday based in Brittany in June?

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Marina · 12/06/2003 13:17

Whereabouts Scoobysnax, it's a sizeable region...

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scoobysnax · 12/06/2003 16:54

Between Dinan and the coast!

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Marina · 12/06/2003 17:40

Aw, wrong bit - could help with Golfe de Morbihan and Vannes area! You're close to Mont St Michel there, and Dinard is supposed to be very pretty. You can also cycle/ramble/take boat trips up and down the Rance Valley between Dinan and the coast I think.

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scoobysnax · 12/06/2003 18:11

Thanks, Marina!

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GillW · 12/06/2003 22:15

Worth going for a walk around the walls in St Malo too.

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josiejump · 12/06/2003 22:19

On the same subject can anyone recommend things to do/see near Lorient?

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CAM · 13/06/2003 00:28

Assuming you get decent weather one of the most fabulous things about Brittany is the wonderful, sandy, uncrowded beaches.

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Enid · 13/06/2003 09:03

There is a brilliant zoo...Marina, where is that, in the northern part somewhere, Brest??

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Enid · 13/06/2003 09:03

Der, sorry, not zoo, aquarium...

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OldieMum · 13/06/2003 09:30

The boat museum at Douarnenez is great for kids who are old enough to walk on gangplanks. My step children really enjoyed looking around all the restored boats. There are boat trips up the beautiful Odet estuary (from Fouesnant to Quimper). My mother has taken one of these and said it was wonderful. The beaches around Benodet are excellentl (so good that we are going back to this area next week). Quimper is a pretty old town with good shops. Farther east, Rennes is elegant and nice to walk around. The Mont St Michel is also within driving distance of Lorient.

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scoobysnax · 13/06/2003 09:46

Dd adores aquariums! Does anyone else know whereabouts the aquarium is?

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Marina · 13/06/2003 15:23

I think it's in Brest, which is a bit of a haul for you from Dinan, Scoobysnax. I have some guidebooks for Brittany at home, will check them for you over the weekend and report back. Brittany generally is very proud of its maritime heritage so there may well be smaller aquaria in lots of other resorts.
Enid, "my patch" is down in the SE of Brittany not far from the border with Loire-Atlantique. Spent a few holidays in Quiberon when younger and love the whole area, but it does get jammed with holiday-makers in August. REALLY jammed.

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Marina · 13/06/2003 15:28

Sorry, Josiejump: trips round the Golfe de Morbihan by boat (well worth paying extra for one which allows a few hours' stopover on the Ile Aux Moines, which is just gorgeous); Vannes is a pretty coastal town with a nice historic centre and good shopping.
This link might help both you and Scoobysnax with holiday planning:
Brittany Tourist Office

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Enid · 13/06/2003 16:44

Oh no, Marina, don't say that, we are back off to Moelan sur Mer (near Pont Aven) at the end of July, been there before but only out of season...I have booked evening tables at Chez Jacky in advance...is it going to be hideous??

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Marina · 13/06/2003 16:50

No, no, not like that - just roads busier than average for France. Southern Brittany was always delightful, it's just harder to park etc than out of season. Quiberon was ridiculous specifically because it is at the end of a 6-mile peninsula with only one road in/out. So there was plenty of space on the beautiful beaches but it was a bit fraught getting off the peninsula to go elsewhere.
France being so much bigger than the UK means you are not facing a Blackpool-type scenario!
Pont-Aven sounds gorgeous, hope you have a lovely time.

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Tinker · 13/06/2003 19:00

ooo, Pont Aven is gorgeous, went when I was 14. Oh, happy memories! Have a lovely time Enid.

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josiejump · 13/06/2003 20:37

Thanks for the advice and link Marina, I expect to spend some serious planning time now!

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Gumdrop · 13/06/2003 21:30

Depends exactly when it is, and where you're going but in June/ July the mediaeval town of Josselin dress up in costune and have a market / troubadours/ jugglers etc. We just happened to visit a couple of days before hand, saw the posters and went back. DD1 loved it all.

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Marina · 14/06/2003 19:48

Josselin's worth a trip anyway, isn't it, Gumdrop - pretty little town in a gorgeous setting over looking the Nantes-Brest canal. We missed the medieval fair but enjoyed our day there too.
Still have to root out those guidebooks...

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Marina · 15/06/2003 19:58

Scoobysnax, the big aquarium IS in Brest, it's called Oceanopolis.
You are also within reasonable travelling distance of the Foret de Paimpont, supposedly with Arthurian connections. There is a chateau at Comper in the forest with exhibitions and tableaux to do with the legends, and very nice walks in the woodland (most famous is apparently the Val sans Retour). All the guidebooks say how delightful Dinan is, and Dinard is a typical upmarket French resort so should have good beach facilities. My trusty Routard Guide to North Brittany also recommends St Juvat, a "village fleuri" in the area, and the gardens of the Chateau de Caradeuc.
I always find the best way to talent-spot child-friendly local attractions in France is to get into the Office de Tourisme as soon as you arrive. In my experience a lot of pleasant activities that children enjoy are not big or prestigious enough to make it into the guidebooks. But you will find leaflets on them locally.
Round Lorient, the guidebooks recommend a boat trip to the Ile de Groix, the beach at Larmor-Plage, the crafts village at Pont-Scorff, the botanical gardens at Hennebont (famous for its biscuits too, mmmm) and the Festival Interceltique which is the first fortnight in August and features dance, music and performance from all the Celtic peoples around the world.
Enid, I could check for you for Moelan if you want, but if you have your table booked already you sound pretty clued-up to me...
Hope you all have a great time!

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scoobysnax · 03/07/2003 20:35

Just back from an amazing holiday - fab weather and Brittany is just SO BEAUTIFUL!!!
Marina, thank you so much for all your tips. We found a big aquarium in St Malo with an amazing submarine ride!

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josiejump · 28/07/2003 22:14

Many thanks for all the suggestions Marina. We also had a brilliant time, so much so, that we're already discussing next years holidays in the same region.

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