Day one
Leave behind the salty air of the port of Saint-Malo, its citadel, ramparts and beaches and get used to driving on the right with a short journey inland to Dinan on the banks of the River Rance. Dinan is a beautifully preserved walled town and a delightful first stop on a driving holiday, with plenty of craft shops, crêperies and cafes on the port, and seafood restaurants in half-timbered houses in the cobbled old town. Visit the chateau, climb the 158 steps to the top of the Tour de l’Horloge, walk down the steep Rue du Jerzual, and end the evening with a drink overlooking the medieval stone bridge. Spend the night at the Hotel Arvor, a charming 18th-century hotel with bags of character, or Originals du Chateau, where French writer Victor Hugo once stayed.
The walled town of Dinan
Day two
Head south for an hour, stopping to enjoy a lunchtime picnic in the forest of Brocéliande. While the Britons claim first rights to the legend of King Arthur, the Breton version of the myth has Arthur’s kingdom located among the glades, waterfalls and prehistoric stones of Brocéliande. The forest, which once covered most of Brittany, has its own Merlin’s tomb, mirrored lake and crystal palace of legend, where Lancelot spent his youth. The Arthurian Centre, located in the Castle of Comper, offers a variety of events. There’s even a golden tree, L’Arbre d’Or, to find in the Val sans Retour near Paimpont. Once you have had your fill at the Fontaine de la Jouvence (fountain of youth), drive west towards Rennes and continue south to the delightful medieval city of Angers and enjoy a night at Hotel d’Anjou, a beautifully renovated hotel dating back to 1842.
Day three
Angers has one of France’s most important artistic masterworks in its fortified chateau, the 14th-century Tapestry of the Apocalypse. It’s a 104-metre long, spellbinding work with meticulous depictions of mythical beasts, apocalyptic horsemen, devils and angels … and consequently very popular with children. Across the river in La Doutre district is another amazing tapestry, this time a giant, modern work of dreamlike fantasy about Man’s Destiny, Jean Lurçat’s Le Chant du Monde, housed in the Hôpital St-Jean. Both tapestries are unmissable. Enjoy a lunchtime soufflé at La Soufflerie, then head west to the Atlantic coast, stopping in La Rochelle for a seafood dinner before driving over the bridge to the Île de Ré to Hotel de La Marée – a stylish hotel with a pool, just 100 metres from the beach at Rivedoux-Plage.
Day four
Forget the car for a day and hire some bicycles for a ride alongside the saltpans of Loix, out to Le Phare des Baleines lighthouse at the western tip of the island. Try a plate of the local goat’s cheese and a glass of pineau in the lovely village of Ars-en-Ré. The Île de Ré is only 15.5 miles long, with excellent sandy beaches protected by pine forests. It also has a long-established fishing and sailing community. In the capital Saint-Martin, visit the citadel and fortifications, built by Louis XIV’s military engineer Vauban, and enjoy a meal beside the oyster boats and yachts nudging each other in the marina. Should you wish to stay overnight, there’s a wide selection of accommodation, from holiday apartments and hotels to several beachside campsites, including Les Peupliers in La Flotte, L’Océan in La Couarde-sur-Mer and Flower Camping Les Îlates in Loix.
Historic Rennes; Brocéliande forest; the Île de Ré bridge
Day five
Drive up the coast to Nantes, one of the most family-friendly cities in France. Take a ride on the giant steampunk elephant, one of Les Machines de l’Île in Nantes’s revamped shipyards; let the kids bounce on the moon-surface playground On Va Marcher Sur La Lune; or hold tight on the three-storey Carrousel des Mondes Marins. Once you’re all tired out, head to Le Nid (the nest) on the 32nd floor of the Tour Bretagne for a drink (for the parents) and some surrealist fun (for the kids); the bar doubles as an artwork by Jean Jullien, with chairs shaped like boiled eggs and a bar that’s a huge, white goose. Round off the day with teatime eclairs in La Cigale, a terrific art nouveau brasserie, before retiring to the elegant Oceania Hotel de France. Alternatively, as there’s so much to see and do in Nantes, you could rent a holiday home and enjoy a bucolic week in the countryside.
Day six
If you’re keeping it moving, rise early for a big day among Brittany’s famous menhirs. Even if you’re not a fan of prehistoric sites, the alignments of giant standing stones in Carnac are mesmerising. On the coast road heading towards Carnac from Vannes, stop off in Locmariaquer to see Er-Grah – what would have been the world’s tallest menhir if it hadn’t fallen and broken into four parts. If you are still in the mood for Neolithic experiences, take a boat out from Larmor-Baden to the tiny island of Gavrinis near the mouth of the Gulf of Morbihan for some impressive stone circles, wall carvings and a cairn. Carnac has thousands of menhirs stretching across the landscape in three major alignments but it’s also known for its golden-sand beaches. Stay at the charming, family-run Hotel les Pins in nearby Erdeven, alongside the GR34 hiking route, or the Hotel du Golf de Saint-Laurent, which has an outdoor covered pool and is on a golf course.
Day seven
It’s only a 90-minute drive from Carnac to the pleasure port of Bénodet, along the French Cornouaille “Cornish” coast. Bénodet was a favourite holiday destination for actress Sarah Bernhardt and writer Marcel Proust and, besides the more frequent regattas and larger yachts, not much has changed since they were there at the turn of the 20th century. Children will love the fish and chips at L’Hémisphère restaurant and ice-cream at the excellent Bankiz parlour. After lunch, take the ferry across the water to the port of Sainte-Marine for a teatime caramel and salted butter crepe at La Misaine, overlooking the water. Wait for the fishing boats to bring in the day’s catch at 4pm, before the short drive towards the Crozon peninsula and a couple of nights at Le Clos de Vallombreuse, a countryside manor hotel in Douarnenez.
Le Clos de Vallombreuse, Douarnenez
Day eight
Part of bustling Douarnenez’s seafront has been turned into a living museum of ancient and modern fishing vessels, sailing paraphernalia, nets and demonstrations of boat construction. The Port Musée is worth a morning to explore before a trip north to Crozon, Brittany’s dragon’s head-shaped peninsula. Crozon is perfect for bracing walks and exploring the jagged coastline. Climb the hill of Ménez-Hom for views of the rocky shoreline and countryside behind (or there’s a car park near the top) and take a boat trip to see the multi-coloured caves, les grottes, within the diagonally-stacked rocks at Morgat.
Day nine
Just outside Brest is Océanopolis, an aquarium and marine complex with four nature pavilions and a 3-D cinema. You can be a keeper for a morning and help look after the penguins and seals (for over-12s). Continue north-east for the highlight of any Brittany trip, the stunning pink granite coast around Trégastel and Ploumanac’h. The pink boulders glow in the sunlight and the rocks take on the form of animals, human profiles and ginger roots. The coves and islets are home to puffins and shags and it’s a superb place for a seaside walk before heading to Roscoff for the ferry home. Stay in the nautical-themed Hotel aux Tamaris on the seafront opposite the Île de Batz, or Hotel le Brittany – a safe option if you want to be near the terminal (700 metres away). The latter is a former manor house that was rebuilt stone-by-stone on the seafront. Its stylish restaurant is the perfect spot for a farewell meal.
Day 10
If you have plenty of time before your ferry departs, the Maison des Johnnies et de l’Oignon de Roscoff is a museum dedicated to the original onion sellers (in black berets, with strings of onions dangling from their bicycles) who sold their produce in England and Wales door to door from the 1820s to the 1930s. There are beaches along the nearby Perharidi peninsula, but there may just be time for a final seafood platter, buckwheat crepe or savoury galette overlooking the sea.
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