Brittany Tour

We were meant to be a party of three, but one, very sadly, had to drop out. Superb trip with the most excellent tour guide. Helene went out of her way to be helpful. Such a lovely personality. Perfect hotel in just the right place for finding evening meals and supermarkets nearby. My only problem was with the oat milk I had requested. Despite asking for 'lait d'avoine', I was actually given almond milk. I felt pretty ill for two days and nights until the weekend staff realised the mistake. Luckily I do not have a bad nut allergy, but other people do and this could have been fatal. The only other very slight issue was toilets when we were out and about. I always like to know where they are before I get off the coach. Not a problem in Carnac and Mont St Michel, though. The driver was really accommodating, and the toilet on the coach was really clean and well looked after. Thank you for another superb holiday, (despite the heat!). I look forward to Zundert in September!

This was a lovely tour with a fascinating & varied itinerary. Helene was a friendly guide with plenty of useful tips as to what to see, where to eat etc. The hotel room was spacious & they did an amazing breakfast - a vast improvement on the old French offering of croissant & coffee! Thoroughly recommended.

Free day in Rennes would have been better on a weekday as shops would have been open.

Although Rennes is a lovey town and I very much enjoyed my day off there, I did feel that it might have been better to have 3 nights on the south coast of Brittany and three on the north coast. We seemed to spend a lot of time on the coach instead of at the very interesting places we visited. The Paimpol & Pink Granite coast in particular was spent mainly on the coach , with a visit to the market in Paimpol and 30 minutes to see a bit of the pink granite coast, and then a very long journey back to Rennes.

Enjoyed my trip, no problems with trains. Rennes was an excellent base, hotel handy for evening walks and varied eating options, so much to enjoy in Rennes. All trips were good but not enough time in each place, last trip to the coast very long and because of the large coach not particularly scenic, excellent driving by our French driver and careful guiding by Helene Gaujac. A great holiday Thank you.

We had a great holiday, the only problem was the weather but no one can guarantee to keep the rain away.

Stonehenge on Steroids is one way of describing the extraordinary array of megaliths at Carnac, the destination of the first excursion from Rennes. I found the extent and scale of the site almost overwhelming. My little Guide Book names it as the best place to see in Brittany and I can see why. If you look at a map of Brittany, find Rennes almost in the centre and then imagine a spider - Itsy Bitsy, Charlotte, call it what you will. Its body is Rennes and the legs are the roads to the coast, north, south, east and west we travelled daily to see the fabulous sights of Brittany. South east to Vannes for the morning before travelling to Carnac. I cheated and jumped on Le Petit Train which went through the medieval old town past the carvings of Vannes et sa femme adorning a corner of a Maison de Vannes and the cathedral and still got back in time for a delicious lunch at L’Atlantique. The stormy weather did not spoil the visit to Le Mont-Saint-Michel on the north coast, the abbey, with its statue of St Michel crowning the spire, last seen by me on TV at the Grand Depart of Le Tour de France in 2016! The sun had come out for the brief visit to Fougères, which, with its round towers and conical roofs reminded me more than a little of Carcassonne. Rennes is a good base to see Brittany. The Mercure Hotel was very good, its air conditioning keeping us cool in ever increasing heat. Plenty of restaurants close by and I enjoyed my visit to le Musee de Beaux-Arts, especially when I found a beautiful White Iris painting by the American artist Georgia O’Keefe on loan from Madrid. The legs of our spider might not be too interesting, mainly fringed by small fields of maize and the occasional black and white cow, conifer and deciduous trees and purple-pink heather but the destinations are perfect. Terry Regan, our experienced Tour Manager, ensured we were familiar with the history, sometimes very gory, of the places we visited and Valerie, our driver, delivered us safely and smoothly to all our destinations. I loved Dinan with its medieval centre and again jumped on le Petit Train which went down to the river and back. At Dinard, right on the sandy beach with its rows of little blue and white striped tents, I enjoyed my lunch, Moules & Frites and a glass of Muscadet which set me up nicely for the visit to the imposing granite walled citadel of St Malo. Paimpol is a very pretty fishing port and we visited on market day where I bought delicious local cherries and apricots. Sitting out of the sun in a cafe on the quayside, I enjoyed a coffee and a chat with some locals who were very impressed with the TV quality on my iPhone. Fortunately, I had been able to keep up with le Tour de France as it headed towards the Pyrenees and its first high altitude stage. Did you see Julian Alaphillippe in his race leader’s yellow skin suit, win Stage 13, the Time Trial at Pau? Beating our Geraint Thomas by 14 seconds it was one of the most exciting stages of the race. The second rest day seemed a long time coming. In 2011, I travelled with Travel Editions to Brittany, staying on the west coast and visiting many coastal places. This present Tour is an excellent way to see Brittany and another very successful Tour. Thanks again, Travel Editions.

Overall a very enjoyable holiday. Rennes was a good base, with plenty to see and do, and the free day there was much appreciated. The hotel was well located for access to the old town, with plenty of good quality restaurants within easy walking distance. All of the excursions were worthwhile, with the exception of the trip to the pink granite coast where the few glimpses of the coast that we saw did not justify the long hours spent on the coach. The earlier start to the day for the trip to Mont St Michel was well worth it as we avoided the worst of the crowds, making for a much pleasanter experience.