Our Blog - Brittany, France

Before the schools let out for summer break, we decided to take a 2-week trip to a region in France that we hadn't been to before ... Brittany (Bretagne in French). When we lived in France, we did a couple trips around Normandy, but never really ventured through the whole of the Brittany region. Mind you, we didn't even get to all of Brittany since we figured that there was too much to see and do and we lopped-off the area furthest North and West (Brest and Finistère) to do on another trip. We packed the clubs and headed out on a Monday, which ended up being a holiday (Whit Monday or the Monday of Pentecost) and so the roads were pretty empty.

Brittany covers the western part of what was known as Armorica during Roman occupation (it became part of the Roman Republic in 51 BC). It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532. The word Brittany, along with its French, Breton and Gallo equivalents Bretagne, Breizh and Bertaèyn, derive from the Latin Britannia, which means "Britons' land". Brittany lost 240,000 men during the World War I and World War II wasn't any better. It was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940 and freed after Operation Cobra in August 1944 although a couple areas were under German control until May 1945, several days after the German capitulation. There were also towns that were virtually destroyed by Allied air raids, like Brest and Saint-Malo, and other towns, such as Nantes and Rennes, had also suffered.

We caught the Autoroute des Deux Mers and drove towards Bordeaux before swinging North towards Nantes, our first overnight stop. Each city/town/village that we stopped at has its own page.

Jonzac - one of the "Plus Beaux Détours de France" (most beautiful detours of France) that was mostly a lunch stop.

Nantes - the 6th largest city in France and our first stop in Brittany.

Combourg - a "petite city of character", it was the childhood home of the renowned French writer, François-René de Chateaubriand.

Cancale - the Oyster capital of Brittany and, for the most part, France.

Dinard - a little seaside town on the Côte d'Émeraude of Brittany.

Auray - a little port city known for having Benjamin Franklin arrive here in 1776 at the beginning of the US War of Independence to seek military aid from Louis XVI.