A classic staple in France and the world (and definitely MY closet), the Breton shirt was designed with function and form in mind. The stripes became iconic after being adopted by the fashion industry but the original Breton shirt has quite humble beginnings.

But what differentiates a regular striped shirt from a Breton shirt? Do the stripes mean anything? Let’s find out!

History of the Breton Shirt

Uniform for the French seamen

The beginnings of this famed Breton shirt can be traced back to Napoleon’s time. Back in 1858, the striped shirt was a uniform for the seamen of the French navy in Northern France. The shirt was created as a white cotton pullover with horizontal indigo stripes.

A government decree was passed which mentioned the specifications for the shirt – a 2cm white stripe followed by a 1cm indigo blue stripe repeated one after the other. In total, the shirt would have 21 white and blue stripes, making it easier to be spotted in the water in case the seamen fell overboard.

The shirt also had a boat neckline (a wider cut around the neck) along with three-quarter sleeves for easy removal. Made without any fussy buttons, zips, or pockets, the shirt reduced any hazards on a vessel, such as tugging or getting snagged in machinery.

Origins of the shirt in Brittany, Northern France

The French navy was based in Brittany or La Bretagne, hence the shirt was named the Breton shirt. During the 1800s, France was ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, and it was believed that the 21 stripes on the shirt symbolized Napoleon’s 21 naval victories against the English.

Before 1858, only the naval officers wore the striped shirt but gradually as the years went by, it was adopted by the fishermen, the boatsmen, and the men working on the harbors for its ease of use.

In 1923, French Militant Morvan Marchal used these stripes to create the Flag of Brittany, nine horizontal stripes alternating between black and white, and 11 black ermine spots.

Breton shirt in fashion

So much more than just an iconic garment, the Breton shirt was soon adopted by the fashion and the film industry after the first world war. During the 1950s, the shirt was an eccentric icon as designers worldwide started incorporating it into their clothes. But how did a naval uniform turn into a shirt loved and praised by international celebrities and designers?

Did Coco Chanel make the Breton Shirt fashionable? 

The story goes that Coco Chanel, on one of her many trips to the coastal town of Deauville (where her hat shop was located), saw the Breton shirt on the sailors and the fishermen, and was inspired by the design so much so that she incorporated it in her 1917 couture collection heavily influenced by the stripes!

After the collection hit the stores, more and more people started holidaying on the French coasts and wearing these striped shirts, replacing the heavy suits with these light, minimal cotton shirts.

It is also believed by some that Chanel was initially fascinated with the collars that the sailors wore on top of the Breton shirt, and used them in her ready-to-wear collection in her Deauville store. They became popular there, and when Chanel became a couturier in Paris, she used the collar design to make custom wool marnière tops with matching skirts, which would become the basis of her signature Chanel Suit.

The loose fit of the marnière revolutionized womenswear and lead it away from the tight corsets of the time

While Chanel may not have been the first designer to use these stripes in her designs, she was surely the one who popularized the garment and revealed its potential to the world.

Adopted by fashion icons and movies

The stripes became more and more popular after the 1920s and were soon featured in movies all around the globe. The shirt became a huge hit in the 1950s in Hollywood when stars like James Dean, Jean Cocteau, and Audrey Hepburn appeared on the big screens sporting these shirts.

Worn by everyone, from Picasso and Kurt Kobain to the Duchess of Cambridge and Kate Moss, the shirt became an androgynous symbol of classic French chic and is a fashion staple even today, for both the bohemian and the bourgeoise looks.

Today, any striped cotton shirt, regardless of the number of stripes, their thickness, or their color (reasonably modified), is known as a Breton shirt but to keep its authenticity, it is recommended that the shirt be made with sturdy cotton without mixing any polyester or other artificial fabrics. The stripes can either be in black and white or blue and white – the traditional monochromatic palette.

The Breton shirt has stood the test of time and truly become a universal symbol of effortless French elegance!

Where to Buy French Breton Striped Shirts

Small confession I have close to 2 dozen marinière or Breton French striped shirts. I pick them up all the time. Different thicknesses of stripes, different colors of stripes, short sleeves, long sleeves, different fabrics, I am obsessed! If you are a fan too, here are some places to look for them.

• I have bought many, many french striped shirts from J. Crew, always be on the lookout for them there, especially their sales! Same for the J.Crew Factory outlet.
• Boden often has French-inspired striped tops, watch their catalog for good deals.
• Many people both in France and the US get their Breton striped shirts from Saint James. I have bought them in Paris and Brittany. Same for their competitor Armor Lux.
• Sézane has beautiful marinière shirts that I drool over!
• & Other Stories has this Breton striped top that has blue and white stripes, but red too, which is a version I really love! They have traditional ones too.

More posts on French fashion:

• The Francophile’s Style Guide: How to Dress Like French Women
• French Men’s Fashion – How To Dress Like A Parisian Man
• The French Tuck
• French Jewelry Style – Adorn Yourself the French Way
• French Lifestyle Tip: Quality Over Quantity

How about you? Do you own a Breton shirt? Are you a fan? Do tell!

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The post The History of the Breton Shirt appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

Our plan was to hike some of the GR34 along the coast which affords an amazing view of the fort. The fort sits on a cliff that you get to from two drawbridges. I can regurgitate its history, but that is a bit boring; however here are the highlights:

• Also known as Château de la Roche Goyon, Fort La Latte was built in the 14th century between 1340 and 1370.
• The fort was besieged several times during many wars between France, Brittany, and England before it was destroyed in a fire in the 16th century where it was left abandoned.
• In the early 18th century, under Louis XIV of France, the castle was rebuilt and regained its military importance (it was nearly impossible to get into and you could see for miles from the fort).
• The fort became obsolete from a military perspective and was sold for the first time to a private owner in 1892.
• It was listed as a national monument since 1925.
• In 1931 historian Frédéric Joüon des Longrais started a 20-year restoration and the property remains under private ownership today.
• And on the fun-side several movies have been filmed there! Tony Curtis and Kirk Douglas filmed scenes there for ‘The Vikings' as well as Sophie Marceau and Lambert Wilson for the ‘Les Chouans'.

How to Get to Fort La Latte

Unfortunately, in order to get to Fort La Latte you will need a car. I am pretty sure that if you are staying in a town nearby, say Saint-Malo, you can arrange a car service to take you there and back. If you are driving yourself the road to get there is the D768 and it is quite beautiful to drive on. If you want to make a little road trip of it between Cancale and Fort La Latte, here are some recommended stops:

• Saint Jacut de la Mer – surrounded by 11 beaches this old fishing village is known for its shellfish farms, fishing spots, and gorgeous sunsets.
• Saint Cast le Guildo – known for its sandy beaches and beautiful views.
• Plage de la Fosse – little leisure town with a great beach a few restaurants and hotels.

If you are hiking the GR34 the fort is right on the trail! You can also rent a bike from Cap Evasion Vélo (sorry this site is only in French!).

As for us, we visited on Easter morning and early. We drove from our home base in Cancale along the coast to Fort La Latte. It took about an hour and we arrived at 6 am. When we arrived in the parking lot there was only one other car there which turned out to belonged to a couple who was fishing. (I swear I never figured out from where they were fishing as the cliffs are pretty high up. Being local I’m sure they knew some secret route down closer to the water. But I digress.) We parked and pulled out our backpacks and camera equipment and headed to the trailhead for the GR34. After taking a few steps we decided to put our hiking boots on rather than our walking shoes.

We walked back to the car, I sat in the front seat to change my shoes and Mr. Misadventures changed his from the trunk of the rental car. When he laid down his stuff to change his shoes he also laid down the keys. (You can see where this is going can’t you?)

After changing his shoes and grabbing his equipment he closed the trunk with the keys snugly inside. Tucked in amongst are picnic supplies, a camera case, and extra layers of clothes. The one amazing thing despite being stuck in the middle of nowhere, on an Easter Sunday in France was that by some miracle we actually had cell service. Mr. Misadventures called Sixt and miracle upon miracle they said they would send someone out. The tow service was in a town we had passed that was only about 30 minutes away. We were getting updated information via text with a map as to where he was. In 90 minutes time, he drove up to our rescue! (Yes, I can do the math, it took 90 minutes for someone 30 minutes away, but it was Sunday morning, Easter Sunday in France and it was the day off for the driver and he has stayed up late the evening before…)

We had an Audi, a very durable car built like a tank. There was no way to use one of those crowbar things to unlock the door. No, our savior had to use this intricate suctioning system to get a super thin super long wire with a hook on it to grab the latch from the back seat that would pull down the seat and attempt to grab the keys in the trunk with his magic wire. He started with the rear passenger window, failed, and then moved to the rear driver seat. Finally, after an hour of finagling, he grabbed the keys and click on them and et voilà, opened the door!

After all was said and done, it was 10:00 and as our rescuer was struggling for success, the parking lot was filling up with cars of French families and tourists out to visit the fort for the holiday. Thank goodness we are early birds and despite our hours of drama, the fort was just opening!

We hit the trailhead so that we could still get a view of the fort from a distance and approach from the side.

We stopped and took some photos along the way and then we stood in line, paid our way and entered the fort. It is spectacular the weather was sunny and clear and you could see for miles in every direction. If you read about our visit to Saint-Malo you will recall that was a city of pirates, trade, and military very well protected by a bay, forts, and walls. Fort La Latte also provided protection for Saint-Malo in that the fort protected the Fresnaye Bay. Only some ships could only enter Saint-Malo at high tide, the others sometimes had to wait for the tide in the Fresnaye Bay. The fort offered shelter and safe anchorage as they were protected by the fort's guns.

My favorite part is the 360 view from the furthest point looking back inward.

As we were returning to the car after our visit Me. Misadventures said to me, “I guess I am now a member of the Misadventures club now! He couldn’t get his missed shot out of his head so a few mornings later we went for sunrise and he got it (the hero image above that starts this story). We also brought our new drone and that footage would have been gorgeous except that Mr. misadventures left the controller in our Airbnb in Cancale. That is when he became a full-fledged member of the club.

Despite all our troubles, this spot remained one of my favorite outings.

Visiting Cap Fréhel

From Fort La Latte you can hike the GR34 trail all the way to Cap Frehel (3 miles/5 kilometers, count 2+ hours) but we chose to drive. It’s an easy 10 minutes to the famous lighthouse. The lighthouse (lit for the first time in 1702) may not look like much, such a little guy that sticks out into the sea, but at its position as the westernmost point on the in the line of fortifications protecting Saint-Malo, this little guy on sandstone cliffs served its role to warn the city of approaching enemies as well as guiding friendly ships into the Bay of Fresnaye for protection.

There are actually 2 lighthouses here. The taller one, 98ft (30m) high, with 145 steps, was built in 1950 (after the Nazis blew up the previous one in 1944) and its beam can reach up to 68 miles (110km), it is one of the top five most powerful in France. If it is open (it was closed during our visit) once you climb those 145 steps to the deck you get a panoramic view of the coast/heather land/moorland, Fort La Latte, and the St. Malo harbor. The smaller one, no longer in use, was constructed in 1685.

While the lighthouses themselves may not be spectacular, the land around it is a protected moorland full of gorgeous flowers and heather. There are 700 pairs of native and migratory seabirds (herring gulls, Northern fulmars, common murres, common cormorants and even razorbills) so bring a pair of binocular. Me personally, I can't get enough of the pink sandstone.

Where to Eat

I'd be lying if I said there were a ton of options in this area, but there are definitely options. The towns in the area of Brittany are small so they may only have a single restaurant or a bistro/bar and a bakery. For outings like this, we typically pack a picnic lunch but we did stop for fresh shellfish one day and made many stops at bakeries for the famously delicious Brittany pastries! Here are some recommendations:

• Audineau Alain at Port à la Duc in Fréhel – this is direct from the source seafood, a seller who also serves it fresh at a few tables in front of his shop. We enjoyed oysters and langoustine (plus really good Breton cider) here.
• Le Petit Galet at 22 La Latte, Plévenon, on the little road to Fort La Latte this little restaurant serves crepes, galettes, and mussels.

Really good pastries like Kouign-amann, Far Breton, Gâteaux Breton fourrés, Galette bretonne can be found nearby at:

• Aux Delices du Pain: Place de Chambly, Fréhel
• Aux Delices du cap: Rue du Vieux Bourg, Plévenon

Places to Visit Around Fort La Latte and Cap Frehel

• Visit Cancale the oyster capital of France, an hour from Fort La Latte.
• Pointe du Grouin, a beautiful headland on the westernmost tip of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel right outside of Cancale.
• Visit the medieval village of Dinan, just 45 minutes away.
• Check out the pirate town of Saint-Malo, an hour away from Fort La Latte.

Camera Equipment used in our Cancale photos

All photos in this post were taken by Mr. Misadventures. He used his Sony A7RIII and his camera equipment was carried around in a MindShift Gear BackLight 18L backpack.

How about you? Have you been to Fort La Latte or Cap Frehel? Or other parts of Brittany in France? Do share! If not, have I inspired you to visit? Do tell!

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The post Cap Frehel and Fort La Latte – Along Brittany’s Emerald Coast appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

As always, the risk of rain in the spring in Brittany is high and we visited during a storm so for the most part, we were just wet. But the island is charming, even in the worst of weather and we actually enjoyed our stay. The year-round population of Ile de Brehat is around 400-450, in the summer it is 5,000. Oh, those Parisians who all need to get away at the same time! So the best time of year to visit the island is not the summer! Come in May, even early June, September, and early October for the best opportunity to visit the island in relative peace.

Ile de Brehat is a 2-hour drive from Cancale and then a 7-minute (yes, you read that right) ferry to the island. Before reaching the island we stopped in Paimpol to take part in their annual Fête de la Coquille Saint‑Jacques (Scallop Festival). I love scallops and we don't get them for less than $30 a pound or something ridiculous like that in Phoenix, so despite the rain, I was all in for a festival celebrating one of my favorite varieties of seafood! We watched people buying pounds and pounds of fresh scallops and had fun watching them haul them away. We sampled a wide variety of foods highlighting scallops and we enjoyed a 3-course lunch featuring scallops. Well, 2 of the courses anyway, that dessert, whew salted caramel pudding, I can still taste it! But on to the island, allez!

How to get to the Ile de Brehat

Unless you own your own boat, canoe, or kayak, the only way to get to Ile de Brehat is by ferry. It's pretty easy. There is only one company that runs the ferry, it's called Les Vedettes de Bréhat, unfortunately, their website is only in French, but their ticket agents on site do speak English. Depending on the season you will want to buy your tickets ahead of time, but as we were still in the off-season, we purchased our tickets the same day. The ferry runs all year round leaving from the Pointe de l'Arcouest, north of Paimpol. The address is 6 Route de l'Embarcadère, Ploubazlanec. The trip takes 7-10 mins leaves about every 30 minutes, obviously double-check the schedule. The ticket costs 8.80€ for a roundtrip ticket low season and €10.30 during the high.

Île-de-Brèhat is not a day trip from Paris as it is 5 hours by car to the spot where you catch the ferry. It's more like something you add on while visiting the coast of Brittany. The largest city with significant transportation options is the capital of Brittany, Rennes. You can take a TGV from Paris (Montparnasse station) but there are multiple transfers and a bus ride. One thing to note on your return trip from Ile de Brehat back to Ploubazlanec, pay attention to where the tide is. There are no signs to indicate which of the 3 concrete landings the boat will come in and take off from. For people accustomed to taking the ferry back in forth it probably isn't an issue, but it can be disconcerting to not know where you are going to catch your ride home. Of course, in typical misadventure fashion, the morning we took the boat back it was the furthest dock away and a bit of a walk with our suitcases, camera equipment, and backpacks. But we survived. I'm smiling in all these pictures but inside I am grumbling a bit!

Where to Stay in Ile de Brehat

This is a very popular day-trip destination. People come for hiking or biking and then return to the mainland. There aren't a ton of options, but you do have some. For our weekend stay, we booked a hotel room through Airbnb called La Potiniére. It sits right on a cliff over a very popular beach and has stunning views. Of course, our view was rain. By the time we walked from the ferry to the hotel on cobblestoned streets and sanded paths, we were pretty much soaked.

The main house used to be a restaurant that was quite popular in its day. The chef retired and sold the property to a couple who often sailed past Ile de Brehat and admired the spot. They added 4 rooms, this is ours below. And an apartment/condo on top of them that can be rented by the week. We were there the first weekend it was open (for the season) which was the first of May and they close for the season in mid-September.

The hotel is located above Guerzido Beach which is massively popular during the high season. With the rain, it was empty. But it didn't matter, the view made up for it! Look at this sunrise! No rain!

• There are a few hotels, the most famous being the Hotel Bellevue.
• Lots and lots of family homes are accessible to rent online (Airbnb, etc.).
• There is one campground called Camping Municipal De Bréhat located on the southwestern tip of the island, in Goareva, just above the Port-Clos.

Things to do on the Ile de Brehat

Well, that very much depends on the weather. You can hike and bike all year-round, but you probably aren't going to enjoy the beach when it's pouring down rain! We did a 7-mile hike around the outer part of the island the morning after we arrived and it was refreshing (after the rain) and just gorgeous. We visited cows, checked out farms, and just enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Despite our weather experience, Ile de Brehat has its own micro-climate which is why it is known for its flowers. You’ll see unlikely vegetation everywhere and on everything it's an interesting dichotomy with the rugged, wild coast. They also have a huge variety of birds. We saw several wild pheasants (big ones!) but did not reach the part of the island where there are 250+ pairs of puffins, something for our next trip for sure!

There are 2 lighthouses on the island. Paon in the northeast and Rosédo in the northwest. These pictures are from Paon.

Two last things that we did not do due to the weather constraints on our time: Near the municipal camping ground is a glassblowing studio, Verreries de Bréhat, where you can watch the glassblowers create magnificent glass objects, or you can try it out for yourself. Visit the Chapelle Saint-Michel, the church where candles were lit for sailors. It is pretty austere from the outside, and the inside as well!

Where to Eat on the Ile de Brehat

Truth be told with our scallop lunch in Paimpol and our rain-soaked walk to the hotel, we picnicked our single evening in the hotel. Breakfast was provided in our room charge. However, I did get a recommendation from the hotel proprietress, which was, Le Creche-Kerio which seems to have good reviews. There are a few other restaurants in the main part of town, but the typical tourist type, creperies, and pizza shops, and a baker. Hotel Bellevue has seafood in their restaurant. There is a small Carrefour grocery store and this out on the path to the Paon lighthouse, there is a lovely organic farm stand that goes by the honor system. They also bake fresh bread daily, we passed by too early or we would have picked some up!

As we were on the ferry pulling away from Ile de Brehat we spotted this tractor pulling what was likely a set of (way smarter) passengers. These people didn't have to drag their suitcases from outside of town into town and then down to the third dock, but then again, they don't have a misadventure to share as we do!

How about you? Have you been to Ile de Brehat (Île-de-Brèhat) before? Had you heard of it? Interested? Visited any other similar islands? Do tell!

For a visual summary of this post, check out my Ile de Brehat web story!

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As usual, the weather in Brittany during spring provided a challenge. Our early morning spent exploring the chateau and surrounding medieval quarter including Place du Marchix and then even getting up and down the hill to see the view from St Léonard’s church we pretty much had blue skies until right before we left and the clouds darkened and the rain started. The hours we did get in were enough to have us enchanted by yet another beautiful medieval village.

Fougeres has 2 parts: upper and lower. We spent the vast majority of our time in the lower section where the castle and medieval quarter are. The second part is the up the hill from the chateau and it is newer (still 18th century) because it was rebuilt after a massive fire. The visitor center (2 Rue Nationale) is in the upper part, so is the main shopping (on Rue Nationale where there is also a 14th-century belfry, the oldest one in Brittany). We didn't see any shopping in the lower part but did see some restaurants. We climbed to the upper part from the back side of St Léonard’s church for the view and then walked through the Place du Theatre and back down the hill to our car where it promptly started raining! I'll walk you through where we visited.

Chateau de Fougeres

The Chateau de Fougeres (or castle) is more than 1,000 years old! It was built on a rock between the 12th to 15th centuries and was sheltered by hills and surrounded by the Nançon River and marshes. The river created a natural moat that exists today, we even saw an elderly lady fishing out of it! The chateau has 13 towers that have ramparts connecting them. It had a lot of strategic importance because Fougères is at the crossroad of 4 regions: Normandie, Brittany, Maine, and Anjou. Its location was at the old border area between Brittany (before it was annexed to France) and France where big and small fortresses were built as protection by the Duchy of Brittany.

_{[Sony A7RIII; Lens: FE 35mm; Apertures: F16 ]}

What I was impressed with was how intact it is and how the surrounding grounds and gardens are incorporated into the residential area neighboring it. I also liked the different discovery trails and walking routes signage around the chateau and around town. Lots of city's fail badly with their signage, but not Fougeres!

If you are walking downhill on the backside of the chateau on the Rue del la Fourchette and follow along until it meets Rue le Bouteiller look for a small opening where you can walk into a little courtyard to see the water system flowing along the castle wall that was used for milling, etc. It's pretty cool. Look at the first photo and the last. We were there for about 15-minutes and that was our last 15-minutes of luck before the rain came!

We walked around the entire chateau but did not go inside as it wasn't open yet. The City of Fougères has done a really great video of what the outside of the Chateau de Fougeres looks like:

Chateau de Fougeres opens at 10:00 every day and closes at different hours depending on the month, you can see their hours listed on their site. A tour is 8 Euros for adults and there are children and family packages as well. You can explore on your own which takes about 90 minutes or a 45-minute guided tour.

Around Chateau de Fougeres

The rest of our visit involved wandering away from the chateau, into the medieval quarter up to Saint-Leonard Church. Here is the path we took.

The Nançon River, Place du Marchix and Medieval Quarter

After circling Chateau de Fougeres, we walked past the church of Saint-Sulpice (Rue le Bouteiller) which was built between the 15th to 18th centuries and followed the Rue de Lusignan towards the Place du Marchix. The Nançon River was used by cloth-makers, dyers and tanners, and then shoemakers. Tanning was a by-product of cattle-breeding which was the major economic activity during the Middle Ages. The cattle were sold at the Place du Marchix, but you wouldn't know it from looking at it today, the area is now residential with half-timbered houses, mansions, and gardens. It's quite beautiful and the wisteria was in bloom when we visited.

From there we wandered through the streets admiring the half-timbered houses. These medieval homes have their frames, studs, and beams on the outside. The ones in Fougeres were built between the 15th and 18th centuries.

Rue des Tanneurs was where many of the tanners lived because they used the river water for their work. Walking through I could imagine people from the Middle Ages, washing, cooking, working by the river.

We took a little path along the river to check out more homes before circling back to the Rue des Tanneurs and the Duchess Anne Staircase or as I called it Balzac's staircase.

Literary Fougeres

Fougères has a lot of literary ties. The city is also connected to the 18th-century writer and father of Romanticism François-René de Chateaubriand, whose sisters lived in the town. Chateaubriand was born in Saint-Malo and was raised in Brittany. His sisters had stone mansions in Fougeres at 3 Rue Leseur and 18 Rue Chateaubriand. There is a literary circuit walk that you can follow and see locations that inspired authors.

These authors include Victor Hugo, who wrote Les Miserables in Fougères with the help of his mistress and muse, Juliette Drouet (also known as Juliette Gauvain) whose own personal experiences contributed to the book. She was from Fougères. And Honoré de Balzac ( I LOVE Gérard Depardieu's interpretation of him in the 1999 film Balzac!) who stayed in Fougeres for a few weeks to scout locations for his novel Les Chouans. Locations such as La Vivetière which is actually Chateau Marigny, a property owned by Chateaubriand's older sister and then the Duchess Anne Staircase became the Staircase of the Queen.

We walked up that staircase on our way to Saint-Leonard church.

Saint-Leonard Church – the Best View of Chateau de Fougeres

Saint-Leonard church is on the hill and we walked up the pretty Ruelle des 4 Vents until it hit the Rue des Vallées where we entered the terraced cliff and gardened path along the way up to the church. The church of Saint-Léonard was built in the 15th and 16th century and then refurbished and enlarged in the 19th century in a neo-Gothic style. There are exceptional stained-glass windows depicting the life of St Benedict but I never got to see them. I immediately fell in love with the hilltop garden and decided I never wanted to leave.

I could envision myself, medieval dress and all (of course I was a noblewoman), walking along the tree-lined path and flower gardens with my book of poetry in hand pining for my knight or lord. The Place aux Arbres is a public garden and has a fantastic view of Chateau de Fougeres and the medieval quarter below the gardens. Why do churches own all the best land? Wait. Don't answer that. No politics or religion here.

We exited the church from the street and walked along the Rue Nationale until we made or back around to the Rue de la Pinterie and the Rue le Bouteiller where we stopped in the chateau's mill before getting rained on. We made it back to the car just in time!

How to get to the Chateau de Fougeres (and Fougères)

Fougeres By Car

Fougères is a 3-hour and 20-minute drive from Paris on the A13 Autoroute. It will cost you about 35-40 Euros in tolls before you eventually find yourself on national and departmental roads.

Fougeres By Train

There is no train service directly to Fougeres. But there is an option with a train/bus combo. There is a TGV from the Gare Montparnasse (Paris) that goes to Rennes, the capital of Brittany where you make a quick transfer to a bus for a 1-hour ride to Fougeres. Check out OuiSNCF for schedule information.

Places to Visit Around Fougeres

• Visit the medieval village of Dinan, it's 1-hour and 10-minutes away.
• Check out where Chateaubriand was born and is buried – Saint-Malo, 1-hour and 10-minutes from Fougeres.
• Cancale, a beautiful fishing port and the oyster capital of France, 1-hour and 15-minutes from Fougeres
• Mont Saint-Michel, the UNESCO World Heritage medieval monastery built on top of a single rock cut off to the French coast at high tide is 1 hour from Fougeres.
• Fort La Latte, a historic 14th-century fort/chateau on the coast is a 2-hour drive from Fougeres.
• Cap Frehel – peninsula in Côtes-d’Armor with 2 well-known lighthouses, a 2-hour drive from Fougeres.

Camera History in Fougeres

Since Mr. Misadventures is a huge fan of photography and I know he is not the only one, I think it is also kind of cool to note that once the Industrial Revolution hit Fougères the intricacies in making fine leather shoes (similar to eyeglasses and watches in the Jura mountains) started transferring to glasswork and workers developed the meticulous know-how which led to pioneers such as Carl Zeiss who opened a laboratory in Fougères dedicated to the glass digital machining for lenses!

Camera Equipment used in our Fougeres Photos

Photos that were taken by me were done so on an iPhone and Sony Cybershot RX100. If you mainly use your camera on “Auto” this is the camera for you (and me!). I use 3 accessories: a Sony VCT-SGR1 Shooting Grip; and 2 straps: the Peak Design SLL-AS-3 Slide Lite Camera Strap, and the Peak Design CL-2 Clutch Camera Hand Strap. I used my red Osprey 18 backpack (the closest thing to it) to carry it all. For the photos taken by Mr. Misadventures (anything with a Sel & Poivre Photography watermark), the real pro in the household, he used his Sony A7RIII and the following lenses: Sony FE 12-24mm and Sony FE 35mm. Under each photo, we have provided the lens and aperture information. His camera equipment was carried around in a MindShift Gear BackLight 18L backpack.

How about you? Have you been to Fougères? Or other parts of Brittany in France? Do share! If not, have I inspired you to visit? Do tell!

For a visual summary of this post, check out my Fougères web story!

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While Cancale is generally known for one thing, its oysters, it is surrounded by quite a lot of natural beauty. On clear days you get a great view of Mont Saint-Michel in the distance, the hike in and out of Cancale on the GR34 trail is beautiful (especially Pointe du Grouin which people cannot get enough of!) and the beaches and camping in the surrounding communes are sandy and welcoming. It's also an epicurean hot spot with Chef Roellinger's Les Maisons de Bricourt dynasty and the ever-growing French/Breton/Japanese empire of Bertrand Larcher. The 2 battle it out for excellence in local cuisine and hospitality and we, the guests, are the winners!

Cancale, the World is your Oyster!

So you can't write about Cancale without writing about their oysters. Cancale in its very soul is an oyster (and fishing) village. The Romans started harvesting them on this conquered coast centuries ago, but it wasn't only in the 1920s that cultivating oysters became something of economic value – as the rich Parisians began building homes on the Emerald Coast, the demand for oysters grew (oysters had traditionally been a favorite of French kings and nobility). There are 2 types of oysters cultivated in France, a native flat oyster (huître plate or Belon) and the rounded or hollow oyster (huître creuse) which was imported from Japan (see another connection with Japan). The flat oyster only makes up about 2% of the production as it was infected with a parasite in the 1970s, but thanks to a miraculous batch of them in another area of Brittany that was immune, a small amount has survived (and you can imagine they cost a little bit more). The oysters are grown on family farms in Cancale and Saint-Meloir-des-Ondes in cooperatives.

You can learn more about the history of oyster farming, how the oysters are harvested, do an oyster tasting and check out the oyster museum at the La Ferme Marine de Cancale / Marine Farm of Cancale (follow the signs from D76). Tours are conducted Monday through Friday at 3 pm in French and during the summer tourists season (July 1 through mid-September) Monday through Friday at 2 pm. You do not have to reserve ahead of time and the price for the tour is 7.70 Euros (children and family rates available). The one thing you absolutely do need is boots, or wellies as the British call them, garden boots, etc. Those are kind of big (but not heavy) to fit in a suitcase. We actually bought a pair in the grocery store (Super U in Cancale) that was perfect.

You can also tour the oyster beds of Cancale with a naturalist. The tour conducted by the Tourist Office of Saint-Malo (why not Cancale? Don't ask!) takes place at low tide at costs 8 Euros (4 for children). There is only room for 35 people so you need to book ahead. The tour is offered mainly on Mondays and Tuesdays in the afternoon (check the schedule) depending on the tide and time of year. You also need boots to do the tour.

One of the best places to try the local oysters is the Marché aux Huîtres / Oyster Market (2 Rue des Parcs) at the end of the port. Another cooperative selling fresh from the sea oysters right by the beds. They are fresher and cheaper than the restaurants and a fun show to watch. Since we started coming to Cancale they've also added a wine truck so you can enjoy a nice glass of wine with your dozen or 2.

What to Do and See in Cancale France

I like to use Cancale is a home base because it is a small town that is easy to get in and out of. It's not complicated to get to a myriad of places so it makes a good hub for daily road trips and explorations. There are 2 distinct parts to Cancale, the port and the village center on a hill above the port. But there are also some surrounding communes (villages) that are folded in as well. There isn't a ton to do but that's why I think it makes a good trip headquarters if you know what I mean!

The weather in Cancale is what it is throughout Brittany which reminds me very much of America's Pacific Northwest so rainy and cloudy with a beautiful summer. We were there in spring so we had a mixture of sun, rain, and clouds. Primetime along the Brittany Coast, Emerald Coast, or Côtes-d'Armor (what the northern part of Brittany is called) is generally May to October.

The Port – La Houle

There are 2 sections to the port. The harbor where the oyster market is, a small lighthouse, and pier are and the more residential end where there are vacation homes. Occupying old fishing houses are restaurants, shops, and hotels which are on both parts of this strip. It is a nice little walk from one end of the port to the other. There is a roundabout that connects the 2 pieces and from that roundabout, you can walk up the hill to the town center.

La Cancalaise

From Cancale, you can grab a cruise on La Cancalaise. The traditional fishing boat in the region is called a bisquine and La Cancalaise is a replica of a bisquine called The Pearl (LE Perle) from 1905. They sail April 15th through October 15th on the Bay of Mont-St-Michel and have half-day (42 Euros) and full-day tours (75 Euros). Their website is in French but they do offer tours in French and English. You have to request a reservation by email or give them a call. They have an office in Cancale (La Halle à Marée 15 place du Calvaire) which is open from 2-5 (I know, bankers hours!) every day except Wednesday and Sunday.

Centre Ville

During our most recent trip to Cancale, we stayed right smack dab in the center of town at the town square. It was amazing for access to restaurants, bakers, newspaper stores, small grocery stores, you name it! Everything was walkable and convenient. The port was a 15-minute walk down the hill (and back up!) There is a farmers market every Sunday from 8:30 to 12:30 as well. The market is behind the beautiful church. There is a little theater, a sailing museum, a cooking school, and shops but the best thing, people. We lived truly like a local for 10 days and it was great! I can't say the same for the summertime but we never had a problem with parking and always found a spot near our condo.

GR34 – Sentier des Doaniers

GR stands for Grande Randonnée in French which means both Grande as in Big or Large and Grande as in Great and Randonnée is a hike. And the GR34 is exactly that. There are different parts and pieces but in total it is 1,700 km/1,056 miles long, starting in Vitré and ending in Tour-du-Parc, Morbihan. I would argue that some of the best pieces run right along the Emerald Coast. You can walk from Mont Saint-Michel to Cancale (9 m/15 km) and Cancale to Saint-Malo (10.5 m/17 km) with points such as the beautiful Pointe du Grouin along the way. We also hiked part of it at Fort La Latte in the Cap Frehel area. I love the sentier des doaniers – customs trails – they are beautiful, well kept up and I feel like I am walking on a part of history!

We have walked from Chateau Richeux down to the port in Cancale for lunch and back. The first 2 photos of the 3 above are from 2010 and when we hiked from the chateau to Cancale again last fall (last photo, 2018) it was just as beautiful. The trail runs along the cliffs and the coast and it is spectacular!

Beaches and Camping in Cancale

Because of our time in an RV and our love for camping, we always check out the campgrounds wherever we. stay someplace. Cancale has a TON of camping in the little communes surrounding the town on the coast. They are big ones too! I was very impressed with the size and facilities. Although I can't help to think about the French movie “Camping” (it doesn't take place anywhere near Cancale, but I always think about it nonetheless!

Here are the camping areas we took a peek at:

• Camping Bois Pastel (13 rue de la Corgnais)
• Camping de Loisirs Bel Air (50 rue du Stade)
• Camping Municipal de la Pointe du Grouin (located at you guessed it, Pointe du Grouin)
• Camping Notre Dame du Verger (La Ville Aumont)

The camping is good because there are beautiful coastal views and great, sandy beaches and dunes. Here are 3 beaches we checked out:

• Plage de la Saussaye (on the road to Saint-Coulomb) slightly steep path to get to it, but not as crowded as some of the other beaches (in the summer). Off-season, it really doesn't matter!
• Plage du Guesclin (north of Saint-Coulomb, between the points of Grands Nez and Nid) the beach is visible from the road and has lifeguards in the summer.
• Plage De La Touesse (bay of Touesse in Saint-Coulomb) forest-lined road leading to a white sandy beach.

Best View of Cancale

Before reaching the city coming from Mont Saint-Michel and Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes on D76 you will see there is a beautiful lookout over the port of Cancale. It is beautiful for sunrise and sunset and on clear days you can see Mont Saint-Michel off in the distance. It really is the best spot to capture the heart of Cancale!

Special Events

Les Bordees is an annual festival celebrating the traditional maritime music of the region. It's held in April and can be quite rowdy as you can imagine a festival with drinking and singing could be, but the hospitality and joviality of the festival make it so enjoyable!

Where to Eat in Cancale

Like most of the Brittany coast the food you will find in restaurants is going to lean towards, seafood and crepes. There is just such an abundance of fresh seafood to choose from, even in oyster town that you will be a happy camper if you are fond of gifts from the sea. If meat and potatoes are more your style, do not fret, there are great pork and beef in the region as well. For the sweet tooth, there are all the buttery pastries and salted caramel to keep you going!

Chef Olivier Roellinger Cancale – Les Maisons de Bricourt

We were introduced to Chef Roellinger through an episode of No Reservations. We came to stay at one of his hotels Chateau Richeux in 2010. It was a luxury stay and fine dining experience that remains on the top of my list of things I want to do over and over again. Olivier Roellinger was born in Cancale and after culinary school, he opened up a restaurant celebrating Breton ingredients. That restaurant would eventually earn itself 3 Michelin stars. But after a motorcycle accident that nearly took his life, he gave up his Michelin stars, traveled the world where he found a newfound passion for exotic spices, and came back to open Le Coquillage inside of Chateau Richeux. From there came the empire that is well known in this part of France, Les Maisons de Bricourt.

From there has come several hotels, guest homes, restaurants, cooking school, spice shop, pastry shop, and now a spa. I have not stayed in his other properties because Chateau Richeux is a little slice of heaven. A mansion on the cliff overlooking the sea with access to trails. There is a farm, a garden, an orchard, and a bakery on-premises, why would you ever want to stay anywhere else? But this section is about food. So I will tell you that the Roellinger team is fiercely dedicated to sourcing the finest local ingredients and supporting local farms. I still rate the breakfast I had for room service on one of our stays as one of the best breakfasts I've ever had: bread from his onsite bakery with Brittany butter and Brittany preserves; sliced Brittany strawberries to accompany the fresh yogurt made from milk from Breton cows, some of the most delicate scrambled eggs I've ever tasted and coffee from some corner of the world, and not the usual French arabica swill.

We've had 2 dinners at Le Coquillage. One was a tasting menu and one was a plateau royale (big beautiful tray of seafood). Both came with the dessert cart, something that Chef Roellinger is known for. There are no rules you can have as much dessert as you want – all or many, you choose your delight. It is where Mr. Misadventures met the millefeuille that he dreams about, that he compares all others to. The millefeuille that we have literally driven from Paris to Cancale (4 hours) to get. That is the food of Chef Roellinger.

Olivier Roellinger restaurants in Cancale:

• Le Coquillage (Le Buot, Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes) fine dining inside Chateau Richeux. Now a family-run affair with Chef Olivier's son Hugo.
• Grain de Vanille (12 place de la Victoire) a pastry and coffee shop in centre ville. See the pastry section below.

BONUS: Not in Cancale but rather Dinard, Chef Roellinger has an ice cream and millefeuille shop called Vent de Vanille (3 bis Bd of President Wilson, in front of the Palais des Arts) where he experiments with his beloved spices.

Bertrand Larcher Cancale – BREIZH Café

Chef Bertrand Larcher is from Brittany and attended a very prestigious school in a coastal Breton town called Dinard. After opening restaurants in France he took off to Japan to open a creperie in Tokyo. Japanese cuisine and culture have definitely had an influence on his menu design. He now has restaurants in Paris, in Kyoto, in Saint-Malo, and in 2018 he opened to cooking school in St-Malo for both professionals looking to learn how to create crepes and run a creperie and amateurs looking to take a fun cooking class. The first restaurant he opened in Cancale was Breizh Café which Mr. Misadventures and I had the pleasure of trying (and loving) in 2010. Taking a page from Chef Roellinger's book, Larcher also opened the Michelin-starred La Table Breizh Café dedicated to Japanese cuisine with a partnership with chef Raphaël-Fumio Kudaka. Then he added a little hotel (guest rooms as they call them) in the same building. The empire continues to grow.

Bertrand Larcher restaurants in Cancale:

• Le Comptoir Breizh Café (7 Quai Admis en Chef Thomas) this spot still continues to have what we think is the best crepe in France. The sourcing of the ingredients is just incredible and while we may have had bad service from time to time (typical during busy times or holidays) we still keep coming back because it is just that good. The main chef (although he may have moved to the cooking school in Saint-Malo) is very talented, even married to a Japanese woman – that Japanese fusion runs deep in the Larcher organization – and he visits Japan at least every other year for inspiration. They have a fantastic selection of local cider and it is where we first discovered Domaine de Kervéguen cider.
• La Table Breizh Café (second floor – or 1st floor in France – of the same location) – we have yet to eat here but it is absolutely ON my bucket list for our next trip to Cancale. Since I love Japanese food and everything Chef Larcher does, I am sure it will be wonderful!

Creperies in Cancale

• Creperie du Port (Place du Calvaire) decent crepe, but if nothing else go for their well-known and loved rice pudding with salted caramel sauce!
• Mer' et Fille (3 Rue de la Vallée Porcon, in center ville) we have eaten here several times, it was right across the street from our condo on our last trip! Good crepes and good prices.
• Ty Skorn Creperie (4 Place de la Chapelle at the port) everything is homemade and locally sourced, plus ice cream!

Other Cancale Restaurants

• La Mere Champlain (1 Quai de l'Administrateur en chef Thomas) casual seafood restaurant, sometimes it's good and sometimes it's fantastic. Best langoustine I've ever had came from there (on one visit).
• Le Bout du Quai (1 Chemin de la Corniche) seafood with a great view of the bay.
• Le Troquet (19 Quai Gambetta) contemporary bistro market-fresh ingredients and a focus on enhancing the natural flavors of each product. Also known for their far Breton (cake).
• Restaurant l'Atelier de l'Huitre (15 Quai Gambetta) not a huge menu, but super fresh oysters!

Pastries in Cancale

What a difficult task it was researching the best pastries in Cancale! We abandoned our low-carb lifestyle for a week and tried just about every pastry shop in town. Grain de Vanille will always be on top because of its Chef Roellinger roots, but I think just like any very popular place it has its good days and bad. We were visiting around Easter so you could see the frantic stress in their eyes and it came through in the quality of the pastries on some days, but they are still far superior to many, many places in the region. And Mr. Misadventures still dreams of their millefeuille. We also had very good pastries (and bread) from Boulangerie Pâtisserie Guyon (59 Avenue du Général de Gaulle) and Boulangerie Clouard (13 Rue du Port). While in Cancale make sure to try the Kouign Amann, Far Breton, and galette Bretonne (Breton biscuits).

Where to Stay

There are a handful of hotel options in Cancale, the best ones being those that take advantage of the beautiful coastline. But there are also great oyster farm and farms that have been converted to accommodations that make great places to stay while visiting Cancale.

Hotels in Cancale

Chateau Richeux (Le Buot, Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes) luxury Relais-Chateau property on the cliff run by the Roellenger family.
La Mere Champlain (1 Quai de l'Administrateur en chef Thomas) classic inn with modern rooms facing the port.
Les Gîtes Marins (62 Rue des Rimains) little sea cottages run by the Roellenger family.
Guest Rooms at Breizh Café (7 Quai Admis en Chef Thomas) ocean-facing guest rooms facing the Cancale port, run by the Cafe Breizh team.
La Ferme du Vent (and Celtic Baths) (right next to Chateau Richeux) luxury standalone home for rent run by the Roellenger family. If I were to dream up a house to live in, this would be it.
The Rimains (62 rue des Rimains) 4-room inn on a cliff overlooking the sea run by the Roellenger family.

Airbnb Recommendations in Cancale

We have stayed in Airbnbs twice on visits to this area and enjoy the freedom we get from staying in “our own” place, no one will judge the number of Breton pastries we are eating! Here's where we've rented:

Lodging between land and sea > a little addition to a farmhouse where an oyster lives, we stayed for a weekend, it is very small but cozy.
L'Arizona > a condo we rented for 10 days in downtown Cancale right across the street from Grain de Vanille (DANGEROUS).

If you don’t have an Airbnb account, consider using my affiliate link to get one. If you sign up for Airbnb with my link you will get $40 off your home booking. And get $15 to use toward an experience worth $50 or more.

How to Get to Cancale

Cancale By Car

There are 2 routes from Paris to Cancale by car. Saint-Malo is a 4.5-to-5-hour drive from Paris on major Autoroutes. The shorter route (depends on where you start in Paris) takes you on the A13 and the other on the A11 both of which will cost you about 35-40 Euros in tolls before you eventually find yourself on national and departmental roads. We were based in Cancale for our 10-day Brittany trip and did day trips in the car from here.

Train from Paris

There is no train service directly to Cancale. But there are 2 options with a train/bus combo. There is a TGV from the Gare Montparnasse (Paris) that goes through Rennes, the capital of Brittany, and then a second train to Saint-Malo where you make a quick transfer to a bus for a 30-minute ride to Cancale. The other option is a direct train from Paris to St-Malo and then the 30-minute bus to Cancale. Of course, the train going through Rennes adds 30 minutes but it all depends on what your schedule is as to which one will work best for you. Check out OuiSNCF for schedule information. I like all the options that Rome 2 Rio provides as well.

GR-34

While you probably aren’t looking to hike the entire Sentier des Douaniers, you can really enjoy a great half-day or day of hiking by following the GR-34 on either side of Cancale. See that section in the information above!

Places to Visit Around Cancale

• Pointe du Grouin, a beautiful headland on the westernmost tip of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel with a gorgeous view. You can hike there on the GR34. There is a little island off the point, but it is a bird sanctuary, so off-limits
• Visit the medieval village of Dinan, in this town you will feel like you stepped into the Middle Ages and its just 30 minutes away.
• Check out the pirate town of Saint-Malo, 30-minutes from Cancale.
• Mont Saint-Michel, the UNESCO World Heritage medieval monastery built on top of a single rock cut off to the French coast at high tide is 1 hour from Cancale.
• Fougères another medieval fortress-of-a-town with a chateau and half-timbered homes 1-hour from Cancale.
• Fort La Latte, a historic 14th-century fort/chateau on the coast that is absolutely worth the 1-hour drive from Cancale.
• Cap Frehel – peninsula in Côtes-d'Armor with 2 well-known lighthouses, a 1-hour drive from Cancale.

Camera Equipment used in our Cancale photos

Photos that were taken by me were done so on an iPhone and Sony Cybershot RX100. If you mainly use your camera on “Auto” this is the camera for you (and me!)! I use 3 accessories: a Sony VCT-SGR1 Shooting Grip; and 2 straps: the Peak Design SLL-AS-3 Slide Lite Camera Strap, and the Peak Design CL-2 Clutch Camera Hand Strap. I used my Osprey 18 backpack (the closest thing to it) to carry my stuff. For the photos taken by Mr. Misadventures (anything with a Sel & Poivre Photography watermark), the real pro in the household, he used his Sony A7RIII and the following lenses: Sony FE 12-24mm. Under some photos, we have provided the lens and aperture information. There are some older photos from our trip in 2010 and 2012 that were taken with his old Canon 5D Mark II. His camera equipment was carried around in a MindShift Gear BackLight 18L backpack.

How about you? Have you been to Cancale? Or other parts of Brittany in France? Do share! If not, have I inspired you to visit? Do tell!

For a visual summary of this post, check out my Cancale web story!

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Saint-Malo, France is a 4-hour and 20-minute drive from Paris. It’s doable for a day trip, but there are so many things to do in Saint-Malo and the surrounding area that I recommend spending a weekend – or even a week! Saint-Malo is also only one hour from Mont Saint-Michel, so it is also a perfect add-on to a trip there.

Things to Do in Saint-Malo France

Ramparts and Intramurals

The ramparts (Les Remparts de Saint-Malo) protect the entirety of the old part of St Malo. If you walk all of it, it is just over a mile, and a beautiful mile at that. They were built (or started rather) in the 1100s by a monk, then updated in the 1600s by the military architect Vauban and expanded in the mid-18th century.

They offer great panoramic views of the sea, the Grand Bé island, Fort National, as well as Old Town. You can access the St-Malo ramparts from various points, including all the main city gates. It isn't easy to park inside the intra-muros but there is a ton of parking outside La Grand' Porte and you can easily walk inside. The gates connect the walled part of the city to its suburbs.

We walked back and forth on the ramparts multiple times in the early morning and loved taking in the ocean views and the delicious salt in the air. From time to time we would pop down onto the cobblestoned streets to poke around the medieval buildings, have a cup of coffee or window shop.

Fort National

Vauban also designed Fort National, the forward stronghold on a rock at the western end of Plage du Sillon. It was built in his famous star configuration and was the final piece in the city's defensive plan, conceived to protect the city from the British navy, oh the long history of Britain versus France!

The fort defended the coast against attacks throughout the centuries. The German forces used it as a prison during World War II. The fortress is ONLY open in the summer for tours.

Grand Bé (Île du Grand Bé & Fort du Petit Bé)

The Petit Bé & Grand Bé are small islands right in front of Saint-Malo. You can access the Grand Bé only during low tide (a bit like Mont Saint-Michel!) straight from the ramparts.

One of Saint Malo's most famous inhabitants was the romantic author Chateaubriand. He is buried in Grand Bé and you can visit his tomb and pay homage to the father of modern romanticism. (Of course, I'm also fond of and would pay homage to the steak!)

Château de Saint-Malo

Now Saint-Malo’s city hall, the chateau was built by the Duke of Brittany in the 1400s, it was a reminder of the authority of the dukes, and then the King of France after unification in the 16th century. There is an amazing view of Saint-Malo from the rooftop platform on the Grand Donjon.

Besides city hall, the building also has a museum about Saint-Malo history and the surrounding region, along with information on Chateaubriand and the explorer Jacques Cartier, the guy who discovered Canada!

It's fascinating to learn about Saint-Malo's WWII history. During fighting in late August and early September 1944, the city of Saint-Malo was almost totally destroyed by fires lit by German troops as well as American shelling and bombing. 

See the Saint Malo Waves and Take a Tidal Tour

The Saint-Malo waves are a powerful sight to see! The area boasts the highest tides in Europe, with water that can rise 13 meters (40 feet) over the course of six hours. The sea has high waves almost every month at the full moon, though the highest tides occur around the equinoxes, in March and September. If you are lucky enough to visit during these times, be sure to watch the Saint Malo waves crash into the walls – from a safe distance!

When the tide goes out, take a walk on the beach from the Plage de l'Eventail to the island of Grand Bé with a naturalist who will explain the ecosystem and landscape as you go. The tour costs 8 Euros (4 for children), takes place in the afternoon (during low tide) sometime between Friday and Monday depending on the month, and is capped at 35 people. It departs from the tourism office (Espl. Saint-Vincent) – find more information at the Office de Tourisme Communautaire Saint-Malo Baie du Mont Saint-Michel.

Another great tour is the Saint-Malo: 2-Hour Private Walking Tour & Commentary

Saint Malo Beaches

In the summertime (and the rare moment of good weather) the Saint Malo beaches are the place to be. Here are a few of the best ones:

• Grande Plage – north-facing beach running along the coast outside the intramurals.
• Plage de Bon Secours – protected tidal swimming pool.
• Plage des Bas Sablons – a lengthy beach at the marina in St-Servan, it's diked off to keep the water in at low tide.
• Sillon Beach – the best beach in Saint-Malo for sunset. It's nearly 2 miles long (3 kilometers) with fine sand.

Take a sail

A great way to explore Saint-Malo is to see it from the sea. One company seems to have the market on boat tours and excursions and that is Étoile Marine Croisières. Unfortunately, their site is only in French, and their tours are only in French as well! If you don't speak the language, you may need to get help deciding which trip you want.

They have 4 boats that do different length excursions from a half-to-full day and with or without meals. They are all museum ships of various ages (for example the Etoile du Roy is a replica of a 1745 frigate Corsaire) and they sail up and down the coast of Saint-Malo and its surrounding areas.

Paramé

If you leave the old city and intra-muros, the neighborhood next to Plage du Sillon is called Paramé where you will find gorgeous Belle Époque villas. They were built by wealthy Parisians who wanted holiday homes. There is a 2-hour walking tour itinerary provided by the tourism office where you can see fantastic examples of the whimsical architecture and design styles. (Tip: the website isn't great, it is better to download the map and follow the Paramé – Rothéneuf portion.)

Eat French Butter

The best butter in the world comes from Saint-Malo in Brittany (where all the best butter in the world comes from) so make sure you visit the shop in town! The Bordier Butter Shop or La Maison du Beurre Bordier (9 Rue de l'Orme) makes the butter that all the bakers in France, the best restaurants in France, and discerning butter lovers around the world demand in their pastries and cooking. Yes, this butter needs to be on your list of things to do in St Malo!

Even if you are visiting for the weekend, pick up a single bar to spread on your daily baguette, trust me, it will change your life. We always bring back several bars (we buy them in Paris at the Grand Epicerie) and we freeze them and slowly dole them out as a treat.

Like cheese and truffles, Bordier has seasonal flavors based on what the local farmers produce. While we were visiting Brittany on this trip we had the utter (or udder, thank you Brittany cows for providing the wonderful milk) delight of eating the Roscoff onion variety, I could have eaten it alone without any bread it was so good!

If you're looking for more food-related things to do in Saint-Malo, France, check out the following:

• Check out the Halle au Blé, the local market inside the intramurals, pick up some regional cheeses, and get some charcuterie from the artisanal butcher. But plan accordingly as it is only open 8-1 on Tuesdays and Fridays.
• Admire the local seafood in the markets including the Cancalais oysters. Some of it is pre-cooked so grab some for a picnic.
• Learn how to make crepes at the Atelier de la Crêpe – our favorite crepe restaurant in Cancale, Brzeih, (and Paris) has opened a crepe school where you can learn how to make this traditional Brittany specialty loved and copied all over the world.

Places to Visit Near St Malo France

• Rochers Sculptees (Chemin des Rochers Sculptés, technically in Saint-Malo but they are really outside the city): These sculpted rocks hug the cliffs along the Emerald Coast above the sea and were carved by abbot Adolphe Julien Fouéré who was deaf and mute from 1894 to 1907. They are worth viewing (there are over 300 of them!) and when you have satisfied your curiosity you can enjoy a seafood lunch or dinner at the restaurant right above the cliffs at Le Benetin (4 Chemin des Rochers Sculptés), an exceptional seafood restaurant with a stunning view.
• Visit the medieval village of Dinan, just 30-45 minutes away.
• Cancale – a fishing port and oyster capital of France, also where our favorite creperie is! 30-minutes from Saint-Malo.
• Mont Saint-Michel, the UNESCO World Heritage medieval monastery built on top of a single rock cut off to the French coast at high tide is 1 hour from St Malo. Here is a great From St. Malo: Mont Saint-Michel Private Full Day Tour.
• Fougères another medieval fortress-of-a-town with a chateau and half-timbered homes 1-hour from Saint-Malo.
• Fort La Latte, a historic 14th-century fort/chateau on the coast that is absolutely worth the 1-hour drive from Saint-Malo.
• Cap Frehel – peninsula in Côtes-d'Armor with 2 well-known lighthouses, a 1-hour drive from Saint-Malo.

Tips for Visiting Saint Malo France

Saint-Malo weather is always going to be a factor, I liken it's location to the US's Pacific Northwest so it is often cold, cloudy and rainy. If you search for images of Saint-Malo you will often find the photos have clouds!

There are some glorious days in late spring, and the summer is usually just gorgeous, which is why Saint Malo beaches are pretty popular with the Parisians. But as always, we prefer to visit during the shoulder season, even offseason if we can. The St Malo weather might not be ideal at these times, but what we give up in sunshine we make up for in the ability to wander the streets without the crowds.

Like most of the Brittany coast, the culture, traditions, and food come from either the sea or from the people who live and work on it. For example, that delicious, buttery Kouign Amann that I raved about in Dinan, was created to comfort sailors who had been out on the sea for months and needed something to fatten them up after only having the slimmest of pickings for food.

The Sentier des douaniers coastal hiking trails were the result of paths created by customs or coastguard officials looking for smugglers with illegal goods (who didn't want to pay taxes, always a French thing, their detestation for taxes!).

The city has a history of being rebellious and self-governing and you can throw in some pirates too. As you walk through the interwalls (intramural or intra-muros) of Old Town you will find signs, hats, and shirts with the expression: “Ni Français ni Breton, Malouin suis” (which means that I am neither French nor Breton, I am Malouin). In fact, the whole region we visited throughout our 10 days in Bretagne is considered Malouin and they are fiercely proud of this fact!

I love the Breton humor in general, they are very sarcastic and love to make fun of themselves, but always with a ferocious pride. My friend Alexine did a walking tour through the town and visited spots I missed, check out her promenade en armoreux.

A note about shopping… Because of the mariner culture that surrounds Saint-Malo you will see a lot of sea/coastal/sailor goods and in particular clothes, scarves and hats. There are plenty of stores offering a wide variety of goods, but please make sure that you are buying from shopkeepers who source the products locally from local designers and artisans and not from China. The Malouins take great pride in their craftsmanship and you can find beautiful pieces from Brittany without paying a ton of money.

Where to Eat in Saint Malo

You are going to find a familiar pattern of possibilities wherever you go in France's Brittany region: seafood, crepes, and Kouign Amann (butter cake)! To drink, never pass up the cider (cidre)!

Creperies

• Crèperie des Lutins (7 Grand Rue) don't let the witches-and-faires decor fool you, this is one of the best crepe spots in the city.
• La Crêperie Le Corps de Garde (8 Rue de la Crosse) probably has one of the best views of the city since it is on top of the ramparts.

Other Saint Malo Restaurants

• Bistro Autour du Beurre Bordier (7 Rue de l'Orme) right next to the Bordier butter shop is this bistro dedicated to creating season dishes with you guessed it, Bordier butter!
• L'Absinthe (1 rue de l'Orme) sourcing from the markets surrounding its location, you get modern French cuisine in a 17th-century building.
• Le Chalut (8 rue de la Corne de Cerf) – Michelin-starred seafood restaurant, feeling luxurious? Go for the all-lobster menu!
• Le Bistro de Jean (6 rue de la Corne de Cerf) this spot is where the locals hang out. Known for their heartier dishes like duck, lamb, and sea bass.
• Le Bulot (13 quai Sébastopol) in the St-Servan neighborhood, this local bistro is known for its salt cod purée (brandade de morue) and lemon-marinated chicken if it is sunny (lucky you!) head out to eat on the wooden terrace. The restaurant has views of Port-Solidor.

Pastries

You can partake of a sweet crepe for dessert from any of the creperies. The salted caramel is so good you will want to lick it off the plate! And of course, there is also the famous Kouign Amann – a butter cake that is dense, sweet, salty and buttery. One of the best local bakeries to try this Breton specialty at (along with other things such as their butter cookies) is Les Délices du Gouverneur located at 6 Rue Porcon de la Barbinais.

I personally like the flavored ones (I think it cuts the sugar a bit) with berries, pistachio, etc. For that variety of Kouign Amann, I prefer Maison Georges Larnicol (6 Rue Saint-Vincent).

Where to Stay in Saint-Malo France

Hotels in Saint Malo

For this trip we were staying in Cancale, but we did research and visited a few hotels for future trips, these were our three favorites:

• Grand Hotel des Thermes (100 Boulevard Hébert) 19th-century 5-starred Belle Epoque hotel with a gourmet restaurant and ocean views.
• Hotel La Villefromoy (7 Boulevard Hébert) is an older mansion with a modern vibe, I love the design aesthetic here! It's super close to the beaches in between the Plage de la Hoguette and Rochebonne Beach.
• Hôtel Le Nouveau Monde (64 Chaussée du Sillon) very near the old town has sea views in a contemporary style.

Airbnb Recommendations in Saint-Malo

We're fond of the flexibility that staying in an Airbnb affords us, we thought about staying in Saint-Malo instead of Cancale and these are the places we scoped out:

• Christophe's Place
• Jacqueline's Place

How to Get to Saint Malo

Saint-Malo By Car

There are 2 routes from Paris to Saint-Malo by car. Saint-Malo is a 4-hour drive from Paris on major Autoroutes. One route takes you on the A13 and the other on the A11 both of which will cost you about 35-40 Euros in tolls before you eventually find yourself on national and departmental roads.

We were on a 10-day trip to Brittany based in Cancale, so we drove to Saint-Malo from Cancale, which is 30 minutes if you go the “faster” route or 45-minutes if you take the slower coastal road. If you are visiting Mont Saint Michel it is also only 1-hour by car.

Train from Paris

There is a TGV from the Gare Montparnasse (Paris) that goes to Rennes, the capital of Brittany where you make a quick transfer to a regional train to Saint-Malo. Total travel time by train is just under 3 hours (2 hours, 45-minutes). Check out OuiSNCF for schedule information.

I am super curious about something! There are 7 main train stations in Paris and the Montparnasse one is the one that goes to Brittany. Montparnasse is also the neighborhood in Paris that is traditionally Bretagne and where you can get the best crepes in Paris, do you think that is a coincidence?

Ferry to Saint-Malo

Getting to St Malo from England is easy! There is a ferry from Portsmouth to St Malo, operated by Brittany Ferries. The ferry crosses from Portsmouth to St Malo overnight every day but Tuesday and returns from St Malo to Portsmouth mid-morning every day but Wednesday. Get more information on the route and timetables on the Brittany Ferries site. There are also additional ferries coming into St Malo from Poole, Jersey, and Guernsey islands.

GR-34

While you probably aren't looking to hike the entire 250-miles that the Sentier des Douaniers covers, you can really enjoy a great half-day or day of hiking by following the GR-34 on either side of Saint-Malo. I dare say there isn't a prettier hike around and if you really, really wanted to you could take the 25 or so days to hike the whole thing!

Camera Equipment used in our Saint Malo Photos

Photos that were taken by me were done so on an iPhone and Sony Cybershot RX100. If you mainly use your camera on “Auto” this is the camera for you (and me!)! I use 3 accessories: a Sony VCT-SGR1 Shooting Grip; and 2 straps: the Peak Design SLL-AS-3 Slide Lite Camera Strap, and the Peak Design CL-2 Clutch Camera Hand Strap.

For the photos taken by Mr. Misadventures (anything with a Sel & Poivre Photography watermark), the real pro in the household, he used his Sony A7RIII and the following lenses: Sony FE 12-24mm. Under each photo, we have provided the lens and aperture information. His camera equipment was carried around in a MindShift Gear BackLight 18L backpack.

Our time in Saint-Malo was part of a 10-day trip to Brittany so there many more stops to share!

For a visual summary of this post, check out my Saint-Malo web story!

How about you? Have you been to Dinan? Or other parts of Saint-Malo France? Do share! If not, have I inspired you to visit? Do tell!

Like it? PIN it!

The post Things to Do in Saint Malo France (St Malo) appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

Mr. Misadventures and I spent a week in Brittany and spent 2 days exploring this adorable cobblestoned town with parts seemingly frozen in the Middle Ages! We had only planned on 1 day, so the fact that we went back for more tells you how much we absolutely loved it.

Our home base for the week was in Cancale, which is 40 minutes from Dinan, but the village is accessible from Paris (4 hours); Mont Saint Michel (1 hour); and 40 minutes from Saint-Malo (St. Malo) by car (more transportation options are at the bottom of this post). The first time we visited Dinan, it was part of an all-day road trip from Cancale to Dinan on to Saint-Malo and back “home” to Cancale again.

On our second visit, we spent sunrise at Mont Saint Michel and then headed to Dinan mid-morning to experience a little more of medieval France.

However you get to Dinan, from wherever you come, I assure you, you will love this quaint medieval village. One of the things I most enjoyed was how walkable Dinan was. Sure, we all know that most cities, towns, and villages and Europe, France included, are “walkable” but it is always something I always remark on.

I don't take it for granted that I can visit a place, park my car (or get off the train or bus), and spend the whole day on foot while seeing so much. I truly appreciate that. In doing research, Mr. Misadventures put together a walking route for us to catch most of the historic center's highlights.

The Visitor's Center in Dinan has done a really good job creating itineraries (we love this one, even though we didn't follow it 100%) and they sell walking maps in the center (0.20 Euros), but we always run into the same problem. The absolute best time to visit any place in France so that you have the streets (and historic sites) to yourself is in the morning before 10.

As soon as 10 hits, the stores open, and out come the locals and tourists. I always recommend and will continue to recommend that you wake up early and hit your most coveted spots before 10! We did eventually stop into the visitor's center after it opened (they open “early” at 9:30), but I recommend being prepared by using our map or getting information ahead of time.

The visitor's center (called Dinan-Cap Fréhel Tourisme) is located very close to the Dinan Chateau at 9 Rue du Château. And like I said they have a great website.

The main historic or medieval part of Dinan sits in 3 pieces: the hilltop, the hill, and the river port. Dinan sits on the Rance River and the regional area is called Rance Valley or Vallée de la Rance. Our walk took us through all 3 parts. If you do take my advice and arrive early, there is plenty of parking near the chateau which is the perfect place to start on foot.

You have to pay to park, so have coins or a credit card. It isn't too expensive, a few Euros for a few hours. That is exactly what we did and then we walked into town for the first time ready for our Dinan adventures.

What to Do and See in Dinan France

We focused our time in Dinan in the historic medieval area (and not in the more modern parts of town). Throughout the village, you can find beautiful buildings, some dating from the 13th century, the city has done an amazing job of restoring them and keeping them protected.

There are still large portions of the protective walls and ramparts. The most impressive buildings are the half-timbered houses. There are 130 of them throughout Dinan with their frames, studs, and beams on the outside. The ones in Dinan were built between the 15th and 18th centuries and they are quite impressive to see!

The Hilltop

The Clock Tower/Tour de l’Horloge

The Clock Tower is the highest point in Dinan and in typical French fashion was built in 1498 as an “F-you” from the bourgeoisie (middle-class townspeople) to the church and the elite. If you can make it up the 100 steps you'll get a gorgeous panoramic view of the valley and the Rance River.

It costs 4 Euros to go to the top and is open from 2:00 – 6:30 pm (April 1 – May 15) and 1:00 am – 6:30 pm (June 1 – September 30), the rest of the year you are out of luck! Location: 23 Rue de l'Horloge.

Place des Merciers et des Cordeliers and Halles de Dinan

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Although there is shopping to be found just about everywhere in Dinan, the boutiques and restaurants in the Place des Merciers et des Cordeliers area have a lot of character due to the fact that they are in such beautiful old buildings.

We walked and shopped through these streets picking up some clothing (have to go with the mariner stripes when you are in Brittany) and sardines, we cannot resist the products from La Belle-Iloise!

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We also stumbled into the beautiful food hall, Les Halles de Dinan where we admired the gorgeous glass hall and picked up some cheese – bien sûr! The front entrance to the food hall (first photo above) is located on Rue de la Ferronnerie and the back entrance (last photo above) is located off the Rue du Petit Pain a little pedestrian street with shopping off of Place des Merciers. It is open every day but Monday.

Saint-Sauveur Basilica/Basilique Saint-Sauveur de Dinan and the Sainte-Catherine Tower/Tour Sainte-Catherine

This stop hadn't been on our initial walking tour, but the second time we visited Dinan, we parked behind the Saint-Sauveur Basilica (for free, the early bird gets the free parking!) and walked through the beautiful English Gardens (Jardin Anglais) to get to Sainte-Catherine Tower where we had a good view of the river and port from above.

You can walk along the ramparts here for quite a ways and you can quickly understand why the city is in such good shape, the defenses were incredible! In total there are nearly 2 miles of walls with 10 towers and 4 gates. Address for the Saint-Sauveur Basilica: 14 Place Saint-Sauveur.

Saint-Malo Church/L’église de Saint-Malo

The Saint-Malo Church sits just outside the historic area of Dinan, but its famous magnolia tree and Gothic architecture make it a nice spot to visit. It has quite a history of ups and downs when it comes to construction, reconstruction, and restoration. 500 years later they are still “working” on it. It's worth a peek inside to see some gorgeous stained-glass windows.

But the pièce de résistance is what is considered to be THE masterpiece of English organ builder Alfred Oldknow. The organ inside the Saint-Malo church is the only surviving Oldknow organ in Brittany and is a cherished historical landmark. It sits on a raised platform and if you get an opportunity to hear someone play it or practice on it, stop and definitely listen!

Dinan Chateau

We parked by this baby, an imposing castle near the Visitor Center. It was built in 1384 as a residence for a duke and has terrific views of the neighboring village of Léhon. There are several parts to the chateau including a town museum and medieval tomb.

There is also the keep or donjon of Duchess Anne (from the 14th century), but I think the best parts are on the exterior: the Tower or Donjon Ducal/la tour ducale; the Gate of the Wicket/la porte Guichet and the Artillery Tower Coëtquen/la Tour Coëtquen all built in different centuries – the 13th, 14th, and 15th and brought together as a unit in the 16th century.

We didn't spend a ton of time here, but it is worth a quick stop, and as I mentioned we easily found cheap parking here in the morning, it was the perfect spot to start and finish our day in Dinan.

The Hill

Rue du Jerzual

When I refer to the hill in Dinan, I'm mainly talking about my favorite part of the city, the Rue du Jerzual, the delightfully-pretty-completely-photographable street that leads from the port to the top of the hill. It has been used for 10 centuries to transport goods (and now locals and tourists) up and down the hill and it is famous all over Brittany.

We spent a lot of time walking up and down and up again because everywhere you turn there is something to take a photo of (remember, go early before the shops open and the French wake up!).

_{[TOP: Sony A7RIII; Lens: FE 12-24mm; Apertures: (left) F10, (center) F8.0; (right) Lens: FE 35mm; Aperture: F14]
[BOTTOM: Lens: FE 35mm; Apertures: (left and right) F14, (center) F8.0]}

The half-timbered homes in a rainbow of colors, the ancient gardens, the friendly shopkeepers, I love this street! Dare I say my favorite medieval town in France! There is a lot of regional pride in Brittany and in particular the area around St-Malo.

The production of local/artisanal goods is highlighted everywhere, but I felt it even more so on Rue du Jerzual where nearly every storefront boasted a “made in Dinan” or “Dinan entrepreneur” sticker. It was encouraging to see!

The shopkeepers are extraordinarily friendly and we chatted with a few of them about the Rue du Jerzual, Dinan, and about France. They really were quite lovely. In particular, we had a nice conversation with Claude, the owner of Maison Bleu Lin, a textile store with quite a bit of history.

The shop itself is beautiful, Claude is quite gifted at displays, she is also passionate about photography and does amazing color-themed flat-lays that she turns into postal cards and journals. She is dedicated to sustainable products and staying local and has even been noted in a book on French artisans called Made in France (I've already picked up a copy for myself). Oh! I could have talked to her all day!

The reason why we went up and down the Rue du Jerzual so many times is that there is so much to photograph, so many details, I never got tired of discovering something new each step I took (plus you know, I was burning Kouign-Amann, see below!).

Ramparts

I've already mentioned that there are nearly 2 miles of ancient medieval walls in Dinan. With the walls comes the ramparts (remparts in French) the top part of the wall that you can walk on. There are the ones on top of the hill by Sainte-Catherine Tower, but there are also those in the middle that runs through the Rue du Jerzual.

Halfway down the Rue du Jerzual, you will run into the Porte du Jerzual and there will be signs on both the left and right sides guiding you to access the ramparts.

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The ramparts are surrounded by beautiful stone homes and offer great views of the hills above and the river below. Everything about Dinan is picturesque!

Le Bignon Guy

Depending on where you entered the ramparts at the Porte du Jerzual if you walk away from Rue du Jerzual you will exit the ramparts on a lovely little street called Le Bignon Guy. We could not get enough of the house below which entrance was surrounded by a blooming wisteria that was so fragrant you could smell it from very far away. That little bench was also very inviting!

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We walked a few down the hill and struck up a conversation with an elderly madame. She quickly told us she was 85 years old and that she had moved to the house she stood in front of with her husband when she was 20. She had a crackpot English terrier that observed us from a distance and would not allow us to take a photo.

I took a photo of the garden gate, taking a peek into her backyard, I would have loved to have spent an afternoon in there soaking up the sun. After conversing with her for a few minutes, we headed back up the hill to the Rue de l'École which intersects with Rue de l'École to hunt down lunch!

But not without first admiring a little courtyard with a flowering red tree. I tell you, everywhere you turn in Dinan, there's a photo!

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The Port

Rue du Jerzual turns into Rue du Petit Fort and at the bottom of the street is the port of Dinan which sits along the Rance River. We crossed over the river and turned right following a well-worn path along the backside of more medieval homes and found ourselves lost in time for a bit.

With some of the remaining stone structures, you can easily imagine townspeople dating back to the Middle Ages doing laundry in the river, transporting goods, and enjoying the security of their walls. But back to the port. It is the base for lots of water-focused activities.

During the boating season from April to October, there are a large number of cruises and boat trips on the Rance River. Along the banks, there are trails for walking and cycling and you can partake in water sports such as kayaking and canoeing. There are plenty of bars, restaurants, and terraces to enjoy in good weather as well.

Best Views in Dinan

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Based on our time in this pretty village, there are 3 places that offer the best views of Dinan.

• Sainte-Catherine Tower
• From the top of the Clock Tower
• The Ramparts in the middle of Rue du Jerzual, the Porte du Jerzual

Special Events: Dinan's Fête des Remparts

During the 3rd weekend in July, every even-numbered year, the town has a Ramparts Festival (ête des Remparts) where locals get dressed up in medieval clothing and have a party. There is medieval music and other merriment to be had!

Where to Eat in Dinan

Dinan is in the region of Brittany France, therefore, the vast majority of restaurants are focused on seafood, crepes, and meat (pork from Brittany and beef from nearby Normandy). Like any town of a certain size, you can also find plenty of pizza joints (the French love pizza) and franchise or chain restaurants. I always recommend trying to stay local to get the freshest ingredients and to get to know the place you are visiting.

Creperies in Dinan

The best crepes in France are from Brittany so you can [almost] never go wrong by eating in a creperie in this region. And as you travel through Brittany you will see that there are quite a few of them. Dinan is no different. They say the best creperie in Dinan is Crêperie Ahna (7 Rue de la Poissonnerie) [P.S. there are several restaurants to choose from on Rue de la Poissonnerie.] but when we went to go eat there, it was packed so we headed to another creperie near Place des Merciers that had caught our eye, Créperie Le Connétable (1 Rue de l'Apport) which we found to be delicious.

First of all, they served my “complete” (ham, cheese, and egg crepe) with a gorgeous pat of salted Brittany butter on top, something I've never had before and now never wants to eat a crepe without again! And secondly, I was introduced to their “house” cider (Cidre Bouché De Bretagne from Ferme des Landes) which was delicious and very inexpensive. Turns out we would drink this brand at least 3 more times during our trip, no complaints from me!

More than Creperies

I offer 3 other suggestions for restaurants in Dinan that aren't creperies.

• You cannot beat the 29 Euros for 3-courses at Le Restaurant Les 3 Lunes (22 Rue de la Lainerie), a wonderful little restaurant just beyond the top of Rue du Jerzual.
• While the Le Bistrot du Viaduc (22 Rue du Lion d'Or) is located across the river from Dinan in Lanvallay, it does offer great views of Dinan and chef Dominique has a great reputation for simple and generous meals using fresh regional ingredients.
• Lastly, there is Le Cantorbery which is outside of the center village (6 Rue Sainte-Claire) but is well known for its intimate (aka romantic) 17th-century setting and a fantastic menu focused on local seafood and beef.

Pastries in Dinan

I have one word for you. Kouign-Amann. And one place. La Maison de Tatie Jeanne. If pushed, I might even confess that our second trip to Dinan happened because I needed to have another raspberry Kouign-Amann from this bakery. We ate many Kouign-Amann during our 10 days in Britanny, but none were as good as the ones from La Maison de Tatie Jeanne.

A Kouign-Amann is a Breton specialty the words translating to “butter” and “cake” and is laminated croissant dough that’s 50 percent butter and 50 percent yeasted dough. It is considered one of the “fattiest” pastries in Europe – but I say when you are climbing up and down the ramparts and Rue du Jerzual, who cares! La Maison de Tatie Jeanne is at the bottom of Rue du Petit Fort on the righthand side just before the bridge, at 82 Rue du Petit Fort. The good news is they open at 8:00 and don't close until 7:00 pm every day except Wednesday when they are closed.

Where to Stay

We were staying in Cancale and visiting Dinan as part of a day trip and a road trip. But there is enough to do in Dinan to make it worth staying for a couple of days or for a weekend. This beautiful fortified settlement is the home of over 10,000 residents and has plenty to offer in the way of accommodation, but much like our explorations, I would want to stick to the historic center, otherwise, I feel like I could be in any other town, not the medieval village that is core to Dinan's attractiveness.

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Hotels in Dinan

• Le Logis du Jerzual Dinan Bed and Breakfast Côtes d'Armor (25 Rue du Petit Fort) I do not love B&B's but I passed by this one several times on our trips up and down Rue du Jerzual and Rue du Petit Fort and the location is absolutely phenomenal plus they have great reviews.
• Hotel Le Davaugour (1 place du Champ Clos) is a beautiful stone building that overlooks the ramparts.
• La Maison Pavie (10 Place St Sauveur) the owner, Jérôme is well known to be a fantastic host, and its location right smack dab in the historic district makes it a bonus!

Airbnb Recommendations in Dinan

The next time I visit Dinan, and we will be back, I'll probably stay in an Airbnb. I did some research to find 3 spots to stay in the historic district. All the owners have really good reviews and I would stay in any one of these!

• Si Dinan m'était conté…
• La Re-naissance , maison de la fin du xv siècle

The Village of Lehon

If you are spending a day in Dinan, take some time out to visit Lehon, a neighboring village incorporated into Dinan in 2018. You can drive there in 5 minutes from Chateau Dinan or you can walk or bike there along a beautiful path along the river. Once you get to Léhon, visit the Abbaye Saint Magloire de Léhon begun by 6 monks in the 6th century.

Over time additions have been added, but I think the best part is the garden. I was so impressed with the gardens here and on the Rue du Jerzual. Someone has taken great care to educate visitors on the original medieval plants and flowers and what their purpose of medicinal value was. I learned so much!

How to Get to Dinan

Dinan is a 4-hour drive from Paris on major Autoroutes – A10 to A11 to A81 which will cost you about 35-40 Euros in tolls before you eventually find yourself on national and departmental roads (which I love looking at the scenery on!). We rented our car from Sixt at Charles de Gaulle airport and have done so for years.

They have great customer service – they even bailed us out on Easter Sunday when we locked the keys in the car! As I mentioned we were on a 10-day trip to Brittany so we drove to Dinan from Cancale, an easy 40-minute trip. If you are visiting Mont Saint Michel it is also only 40-minutes by car or you can continue on your Brittany adventures with a stop in St.-Malo which is one hour by car.

The train from Paris on TGV to Rennes is about 80 Euros and then take a bus or regional train to Dinan. More info is available on the OuiSNCF.com site (in English) or check out Rome2Rio.

Camera Equipment used in our Dinan photos

Photos that were taken by me were done so on an iPhone and Sony Cybershot RX100. I love this camera, so small and easy to travel with! I use 3 accessories: a Sony VCT-SGR1 Shooting Grip; and 2 straps: the Peak Design SLL-AS-3 Slide Lite Camera Strap, and the Peak Design CL-2 Clutch Camera Hand Strap.

I used my ancient Osprey 18 backpack (the closest thing to it) to carry it all. However, for Mr. Misadventures (anything with a Sel & Poivre Photography watermark), the real pro in the household, he used his Sony A7RIII and the following lenses: Sony FE 12-24mm, and Sony FE 35mm. Under each photo, we have provided the lens and aperture information. His camera equipment was carried around in a MindShift Gear BackLight 18L backpack.

Places to Visit Around Dinan

• Check out the medieval port town of Saint-Malo, 40-minutes from Dinan.
• Mont Saint-Michel, the UNESCO World Heritage Middle-Aged monastery 1 hour from Dinan.
• Fougères is another medieval fortress-of-a-town with a chateau and half-timbered homes just over a 1-hour from Dinan.
• Fort La Latte, is a historic 14th-century fort/chateau on the coast just under a 1-hour drive from Dinan.
• Cap Frehel – peninsula in Côtes-d'Armor with 2 well-known lighthouses, just under a 1-hour drive from Dinan.
• And of course our home base of Cancale, a beautiful fishing port and the oyster capital of France.

Because of Dinan, I have a newfound love for French medieval villages and have my eye on Sarlat in the south and Bastides in the southwestern regions of France.

Our time in Dinan was part of a 10-day trip to Brittany so I have much more to share, but I wanted to write about Dinan first because we fell head over heels in love with this village!

How about you? Have you been to Dinan? Or other parts of Brittany in France? Do share! If not, have I inspired you to visit? Do tell!

Like it? PIN it!

The post Dinan France: An Historic Medieval Village in Brittany appeared first on Misadventures with Andi.

We did make the best of it and searched out places to visit the best we could.

Our first attempt was to visit the marais area known as le Parc naturel régional de Brière. We wanted to picnic somewhere within the park but were frustrated time and time again by not being able to find roads to take us deeper into the park rather than just off the autoroute. We took a few photos at one stop, but eventually gave up and moved on to trying to check some beaches.

We headed to the Bay of Biscay picnicking on the way to a beach in Poudrantais. At least it provided us with a beautiful view and fresh air, and with sardines and cider, we couldn't complain!

From there we headed to Pénestin known for its beach the plage de la Mine d'Or because it shines like gold at sunset. But we couldn't really get to the beach [again] so we moved on. We decided to head back to the hotel to enjoy the property stopping for a tour through La Baule. La Baule is like the St. Tropez of Brittany and it is quite fun to drive along the beach and look at all the condos and beach people milling about. Staying along the coast to get back to Le Croisic proved to be another baffling adventure and we gave up after 20 minutes!

The next day we headed to Vannes for lunch. We found a lovely brasserie with a terrace to have a pre-lunch drink and I marveled at the number of hipster-type young-ins that seemed to be everywhere. We strolled around the historic old town area, but it was rather small so it did not take us long to complete the tour, but I did enjoy the architecture.

We decided to eat in the port de plaissance area chose a restaurant called L'Atlantique. Having enjoyed the amazing langoustines at L'Azimut the day before, I did not hesitate to order them again. Unfortunately, they weren't as good (and they were very stingy). I would continue to be disappointed the rest of our trip. For my entree I selected a salmon tartare which was lovely and beautiful, look at the color:

Vannes has an amazing harbor and marina area and we walked up and down it for more than an hour. There is only one place to cross, so once you start you are committed. There are many sailboats, other little restaurants and lots of schools along the tree-lined path and we enjoyed the sunshine and water as we digested our food.

We headed back to Le Croisic to pick up fresh bread and allergy medicine. Le Croisic is a fishing town and we stopped at one of the piers and watched the fishing boats come in from their daily outings. There is a big fish market and the boats come right up with their catch of the day and it is immediately taken inside to be sold – can't get fresher than that!

Here is a boat that brought in lobster – yum! My video skills leave a lot to be desired (AND I could not figure out how to rotate the video despite several “Help” searches!), but it was fun to watch them pull them up, check it out nonetheless!

The end result was this:

We stayed around to watch for awhile and then headed back to the other end of the pier where we had left our car. I took several photos along the way including this one of Mr. and Mrs. Misadventures exchanging a kiss:

I think we were happy that our road trip was over. We had a great time but were ready to give back the car and enjoy a few days in Paris before heading home.

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Before checking into Le Fort de l’Ocean we had a few hours to kill on the road so we started seeking out lunchtime options. We stopped in a several small port towns along our route as we leisurely made our way to our destination. When we reached a town called Trinité sur Mer I spotted a restaurant called L'Azimut and shouted: “stop!” There was something about this place that told me it was special.

Despite a chilly welcome (they warmed up to us), we ultimately had one of the best meals of our trip. The restaurant specialized in Bretagne and Morbihan (the department within Brittany) cuisine, so that meant great seafood.

We did not get menus, choosing to order à la carte, but we were given an amuse-bouche nonetheless. It was a cold melon soup and while I found it too sweet, the presentation was gorgeous.

Next as a started I ordered langoustine, one of my favorite seafood items. The starter was quite copious, much more generous than you get in most places. In fact, I had an order of langoustine a few days later in Paris and it was 1/3 the size at the same price!

I could just shoot myself when I tell you I forgot to take a photo of our main course because it was the best sole meunière I have ever had in France or anywhere else in the world! It was tender and flaky, but the taste was delicate, subtle, the butter (Brittany butter of course) enhanced the freshness of the fish and each bite melted in our mouths.

This dish is normally served with potatoes, but ours was served with flavored rice that almost beat out the sole for our affection. We coerced the secret ingredient out of the waiter, amazingly it is sauce Maggi!

We did not order dessert but when our coffee order came we received a plate of mignardises that the perfect end to our meal (the banana smoothie was awesome!).

After the meal, we continued on to our hotel, had that amazing dinner there the first night, and enjoyed our final days in Brittany. The details of which are coming next!

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After being on the road so many days and eating a lot of rich meals I can honestly say I wasn't really looking forward to another three-hour multi-course dinner. But I was a sport and went along with it. After all, we had eaten excellent meals at Chateau Richeux and Hotel Brittany. The competition was fierce.

And oh my goodness did they nail it! Well, actually chef Guillaume Brizard did. At the end of the meal, we spoke with the hotel manager because we wanted to compliment the chef on such a fantastic meal. I told her he deserved a Michelin star. She promptly informed us that he had just got it! It was announced in March and they were extremely proud. And I happily agree, it is well earned.

Our meal was extraordinary. There were several courses, but each felt light, delectable, and filled with amazing and subtle flavors. The meal I am about to share was 60 Euros a person (I could choke when I think that I paid 65 Euros for the lobster at Hôtel de la Plage!) not including the demi-bottle of white wine we shared plus a couple of champagne to start the meal.

The light in the restaurant was lovely. The table settings looked beautiful against the fading sun.

We ordered champagne and were served a plate of amuse-bouche as an apéro including a cold carrot soup that tasted as if the carrots had just been picked out of the garden, which they likely had been!

Apéro complete, we began our meal with another amuse-bouche that consisted of cabillaut and petit-pois (fresh spring peas) with a little bit of ham and cracked pepper. Again the peas tasted like they just came off the vine. The fish was just barely cooked and practically melted in your mouth.

As an entrée, we were served local lobster and langoustine. The langoustine was served on a skewer just barely touched by the grill and the lobster was served sushi-style in a seaweed wrapper with some black roe.

Next came a salad with jellied beets, radish, and smoked salmon. Divine!

Between courses, we ate house-made bread with local butter made with seaweed. We didn't need to eat the bread and butter, but it was hard to stop ourselves!

Finally, the main course arrived. Rabbit and carrots served three ways. The rabbit was the best I have ever eaten (sorry Mr. Misadventures who makes a darn good roasted rabbit). It was cooked rare-to-medium-rare and so refined. The true flavor of the meat was not hidden by a heavy sauce but simply accentuated by the carrot.

Up next was the cheese course. It was two cheeses served together. A goat-cheese infused with chive prepared to the consistency of crème-fraîche served on top of black bread and a very creative variation of a petit bûche goat cheese rolled in corn flakes (!) and served with a mini salad.

Dessert was a series of mini items, all agrumes-based (lemon, orange, grapefruit) and all lovely.

Coffee was served with a plate of mignardises, I wanted to cry “uncle” but I could not find it in me to deny myself the orange and banana smoothie, the apricot pâtes de fruits, or the chocolate and banana truffle! Could you have?

After complimenting the chef and learning that they had just been awarded their first Michelin star, we retired to our room to watch the sunset over the water and to count our blessings.

The next day we would begin exploring our last little corner of Brittany before returning to Paris.

Le Fort de l'Ocean: La Pointe Du Croisic, 44490 Le Croisic, France

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We did not need to worry.

When we arrived and were escorted to our room, I found it to be larger than many hotel rooms I have stayed in (these people had not been to Japan!)! It was like a little apartment. The only thing lacking was a terrace, but after being spoiled with the magnificent terrace at Hôtel de la Plage it would have fallen short anyway. We had a beautiful view of the ocean and the hotel garden so I really could not complain.

I thought I would share some photos since you can't see this room on their website.

The toilet and shower room were in their own areas when you entered the room separated from the sleeping room by a door.

The bathroom was beautiful, but without a shower I can't rate it very high. I need a REAL shower!

We didn't feel like getting in the car to explore (at this point we were getting road weary, plus we had two days ahead of us to do that) so we just relaxed on the grounds. The hotel is an old fort (moats and all!) that stood guard over attacks (likely from those pesky British!). It is oppressive looking at first, but really it is quite lovely.

Every guest gets their own private garage to park in and two bikes to use during their stay. There is a backyard with lovely sitting areas and a garden the chef uses for his delectable meals (more on that tomorrow). There is a swimming pool, sun deck and spa, all meticulously maintained and serviced by staff that anticipates your every whim and who discreetly and efficiently fulfills them.

We sat on the sun deck (well, in the shade actually) for several hours just enjoying the space. After a few hours we went up to our room to get ready for dinner. Here is a view of the backyard at dusk from our window.

I really enjoyed Le Fort de l'Ocean and I was about to experience one of my favorite parts…stay tuned to hear about it tomorrow!

Le Fort de l’Ocean: La Pointe Du Croisic, 44490 Le Croisic, France

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These towns also usually have marinas for sailboats and restaurants which are typically referred to as “porte de plaisance.” A good thing to note while following road signs in these towns!

We headed to Douarnenez to pick up picnic supplies and spent some time in their local traiteur (deli), boulangerie (bakery) and fish market. The fish market also sold vegetables, fruits, and cheeses, so we picked up a few items for the next few days.

While there I also saw my first creperie assembly line. I am used to the single or double creperie pans that you see on the Parisian streets or like Ms. Misadventures uses at home, but this was the first time I have seen several being used in the following fashion (p.s. the YouTube embedded video widget is being temperamental, if you can't see the video below, check it out here.):

Having taken their video as well as staring at them for awhile, I felt obligated to buy their work, but I have to say I was disappointed when I later tasted them, as the quality was not that great. Oh well. Picnic supplies in hand we headed out of town, but not before stopping at the marina. There I saw something else I had never seen before, a boat cemetery. I so wanted to figure out how to get to the little island that was across from the marina so that I could get close-up photos, but it was impossible. I am sure it is for safety reasons as the boats were falling apart and not safe to venture on.

We left Douarnenez and made our way towards Port de Saint-Guénolé where they are famous for their sardines that stand up in glass jars called sardines de Saint Gue. But first, we stopped for a picnic where we enjoyed our purchases and cider from Cidres Domaine de Kervéguen. There is nothing better than an open-air picnic close to the sea with fresh food items to make you enjoy the simple things in life!

We stopped in tiny Port de Saint-Guénolé, visited their farmers market and sardine factory and then bought some of these babies:

We bought them to bring home and when it came time to pack them, which I let Mr. Misadventures handle, they were placed into our dirty close bag with a tiny amount of bubble wrap. When we got home and opened up the suitcase, I could smell something was wrong! One of the bottles had cracked and sardine oil got all over a pair of my jeans and a pair of Mr. Misadventures jeans – it took about 10 washings to get the smell out and I swear I still smell it!

With these special sardines off our “to-do” list, we headed to Locronan for the afternoon. This is a 16th-century town that used to export hemp, which is naturally occurring around the village, all over the world. Many of the buildings have been kept in original condition from this era and it is an interesting place to walk around and photograph. It is also where several scenes from A Very Long Engagement (Un long dimanche de fiançailles) was filmed.

Not surprisingly the church is the main feature of the town, and although I explored inside, I found it lacking after last October's Mont-Saint-Michel's beauty.

We walked around admiring the architecture and window-shopped until we decided to head back to the hotel to enjoy the last sunset of our stay.

The next day we would be heading to our final location in Le Croisic before returning to Paris.

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