5-6 nights driving tour of Brittany and Normandy

[toe-nee-gee]

Hoping to take a driving tour of the Brittany and Normandy coast in September but never been before so we area open to recommendations of scenic coastal routes and great places to stay. The trip will be in sports car so travelling light but we do like a nice hotel at the end of a days driving.
Ive planned as far as Calais - Le Mans - St, Nazaire but after that we have no plans.
TIA

[rlw]

I wouldn't bother with Le Mans if I was going to Brittany. Too far out of the way. Stick to the west coast and you'll not go wrong.

I can recommend Christian Dior's house at Granville as well worth visiting if you like a bit of modern history.

[omniflow]

It depends what you're in to, but if decent food is your thing then I can recommend:

Deauville / Trouville - there are 3 or 4 nice restaurants in those two places. We stayed in the Cures Marines and it was great. Make sure to stop off at Cabourg and read the plaques on the beach. The D-Day gliders used the unique layout of the streets as an aid to navigation.

The Hotel Ar Men Du in the middle of the south coast of Brittany - it's a "Relais Du (De?) Silence" and the restaurant has 1*. It's a bit isolated, so if you're not eating in the hotel then make sure to have a decent lunch somewhere as the options for dinner in the vicinity are quite limited.

Concarneau is worth a visit - make sure to pop into Maison Larnacol and pick up some Kouginets (probably both spelled wrong)

St. Malo is a surprisingly lovely place - much more than just a ferry port. We've never stayed here though.

[rdjohn]

rlw said:

I wouldn't bother with Le Mans if I was going to Brittany. Too far out of the way. Stick to the west coast and you'll not go wrong.

I can recommend Christian Dior's house at Granville as well worth visiting if you like a bit of modern history.

Noted, thanks

[Squadrone Rosso]

Have you done the D Day beaches before?

[Castrol for a knave]

We did 2 trips to Normandy last year in the 928. Concentrated on the British / Canadian sector one trip and then the US sector the other.

We stayed here -

https://www.aurefees.com/en/home-bed-and-breakfast...

Can't recommend it highly enough. The owner is super friendly, the rooms quirky and immaculate, great breakfast and 10 minutes outside Bayeux. He even owns an old Hotchkiss jeep.

Wife and I are military nerds, so we also stooged around the sites of Epsom and Goodwood - binge watched Al Murray and James Holland beforehand.

[blueg33]

Do Pegasus bridge and the museum. There are some nice places on the peninsula that St Malo is on, Concarneau is nice Sea Life centre at Brest is amazing

[Joe5y]

I don't know where you will be arriving into France, but if part of the experience is driving, and distance isn't an issue, I would consider looking to include these destinations;

Le Touquet
Montreuil
Rouen
Honfleur
Berney
Chartres
Le Mans
Saumur
Chinon
Mayenne
Mont Saint-Michel

With family in France (Cholet) I've travelled a lot of northern France, these are just some places that I have really enjoyed visiting.

[Landlubber]

Joe5y said:

I don't know where you will be arriving into France, but if part of the experience is driving, and distance isn't an issue, I would consider looking to include these destinations;

Le Touquet
Montreuil
Rouen
Honfleur
Berney
Chartres
Le Mans
Saumur
Chinon
Mayenne
Mont Saint-Michel

With family in France (Cholet) I've travelled a lot of northern France, these are just some places that I have really enjoyed visiting.

Chartres is great for the cathedral.
Samurai has great food AND the military museum.
Mont saint is a visual must.

[Rob 131 Sport]

omniflow said:

It depends what you're in to, but if decent food is your thing then I can recommend:

Deauville / Trouville - there are 3 or 4 nice restaurants in those two places. We stayed in the Cures Marines and it was great. Make sure to stop off at Cabourg and read the plaques on the beach. The D-Day gliders used the unique layout of the streets as an aid to navigation.

The Hotel Ar Men Du in the middle of the south coast of Brittany - it's a "Relais Du (De?) Silence" and the restaurant has 1*. It's a bit isolated, so if you're not eating in the hotel then make sure to have a decent lunch somewhere as the options for dinner in the vicinity are quite limited.

Concarneau is worth a visit - make sure to pop into Maison Larnacol and pick up some Kouginets (probably both spelled wrong)

St. Malo is a surprisingly lovely place - much more than just a ferry port. We've never stayed here though.

I would get the ferry to St. Malo and would recommend staying there having done this previously. Dinard which is nearby is also well worth visiting.

[NDA]

Honfleur is a very pretty town with an attractive harbour and loads of restaurants.

I always stay here:

https://www.hotel-ecrin-honfleur.com/en/

It has it's own secure car park too and a very short stroll into the centre.

[Landlubber]

If you're planning to go near Le Mans I can heartily recommend this place. Great piece of race history.

https://www.tripadvisor.fr/Hotel_Review-g1067659-d...

[blueg33]

Landlubber said:

If you're planning to go near Le Mans I can heartily recommend this place. Great piece of race history.

https://www.tripadvisor.fr/Hotel_Review-g1067659-d...

I m staying there twice in May, Derek Bell suite is my favourite. Restaurant is average.

Despite the average restaurant, we always eat there during the Le Mans weekend. Atmosphere is amazing. Have been going to this hotel for over 20 years

Edited by blueg33 on Wednesday 18th February 20:51

[Landlubber]

blueg33 said:

Landlubber said:

If you're planning to go near Le Mans I can heartily recommend this place. Great piece of race history.

https://www.tripadvisor.fr/Hotel_Review-g1067659-d...

I m staying there twice in May, Derek Bell suite is my favourite. Restaurant is average.

Very average, eat over the road.

[andygo]

We stayed at the hotel last year, as you say, restuarant was average, very formal, bit stuffy. Nice digs though, we have booked this year again for June on the way down to Dordogne.

Streetview image from 2016 shows welcoming local

[chip*]

NDA said:

Honfleur is a very pretty town with an attractive harbour and loads of restaurants.

I always stay here:

https://www.hotel-ecrin-honfleur.com/en/

It has it's own secure car park too and a very short stroll into the centre.

You recommended this hotel to me last year on my French trip, but they didn't have the availability for my stay (ended up at Mercure as it had secured parking).
During my walk on the Honfleur high street, I made a small detour to check out this hotel and saw plenty of exotic / classic cars in the car park. Hotel looks really nice, and perfectly located too. I promise to myself I will stay here next time I visit Honfleur

[Chicken Chaser]

Suisse Normandy is a beautiful part of France, it's quite small but worth a visit to Clecy to spend some time by the river.

[chip*]

Just a short drive outside of Deauville, worth dropping in one of the premier calvados distillery Christian Drouin. They have a choice of free or paid for tours throughout the day. I don't really drink, but still tried the tasting session for a bit of fun!

[AstonZagato]

NDA said:

Honfleur is a very pretty town with an attractive harbour and loads of restaurants.

I always stay here:

https://www.hotel-ecrin-honfleur.com/en/

It has it's own secure car park too and a very short stroll into the centre.

I'm booked to stay here in May.

When I've been before, there is a lot to do. All the DD day stuff, I found interesting: Pegasus Bridge, the landing beaches. There is the Bayeux Tapestry (but I think there is a plan to loan it to the UK soon). Mont St. Michel is lovely.

[blueg33]

Last time I went to Mont St Michel it was very hot and very busy - hated every second of it!