A little more Brittany

Parc du Thabor in Rennes is home to this pair of pretty birds.

In pursuit of some new scenery, hopefully filled with colorful autumn foliage, we head to Brittany for a few days. We choose the city of Rennes as our home base and decide to confine our exploration to this area. Brittany is big, and having just a few days here, we know that points further afield will need to wait until a subsequent trip. 

Paimpont Abbey was founded by the King of Brittany in 6th century

I'm eager to explore Forêt de Brocéliande, the legendary home to Merlin and King Arthur. We arrive in the village of Paimpont in time for lunch. After satisfying our tummies and an exploration of the village, we have only a few hours before the sun will set. Thus, we'll need to limit ourselves to just one of the six forest hikes recommended by the tourist office. We drive about 20 minutes to Tréhorenteuc and look for the unmarked path around Arbre d'Or. I'd love to say that we completed the loop, but we were chilly and tired and eager to check in to our Rennes lodging before dark. A more thorough visit to Forêt de Brocéliande will also have to wait until our next trip.

From Tréhorenteuc, we set out on a path in the ancient Forêt de Brocéliande.

The first resident of La Tour Duchesne in Rennes was responsible for
opening and closing the Mordelaise city gates in the 15th century.

Rennes's city hall is located in Place de la Mairie, which also
contains the city's opera house.

On Day 2, so we forego the car and take a short subway ride into downtown Rennes. I don't feel at ease in a new city until I have a paper map in my hand, but unfortunately the tourist office doesn't open until the afternoon. Instead we muddle through using GPS and an online map that is too tiny to be much help. 

With its charming buildings and plenty of places to eat, Rennes
is a great city in which to spend a day.

Golden heralders are perched atop the Parliament building in Rennes.

Overall, though, we manage to see a lot of historical sites. Rennes is the capital of Brittany and in addition to an impressive Hôtel de Ville, the Parlement de Bretagne is here. One has to have advance reservations to tour the Parliament, which is now the city's Palace of Justice. Reservations are only handled through the tourist office, so there's no way we can join a tour today. 

Parc du Thabor is at beautiful place to walk in Rennes.

Instead, we head to Parc du Thabor. This being late in the year, there aren't many flowers, but the foliage more than makes up for that. We come upon an aviary where, despite not being a bird person, we spend an enjoyable half-hour watching the shenanigans of the winged residents. The park has a fascinating history. In 1867 Thabor was inaugurated by a decree from Napoleon III who commanded that every large city in France have a public park. Originally, only men were allowed, then another part of the park was open only for women. Within its 10.3 acres, visitors can find rare trees, rose and botanical gardens, ponds, waterfalls, a carousel, a bandstand, as well as the aforementioned aviary. 

Nearly 2 kilometers of walls surround the citadel of Saint Malo. 

The following day, we head about an hour north to the Emerald Coast. Our first destination is the Pointe du Grouin on the headlands just north of the town of Cancale. We arrive only to find that the parking and all access to Pointe du Grouin are closed for safety improvements. It would have been nice if there had been signs alerting us to the closure as we passed by Cancale. Oh well, on to Saint-Malo.

Expect tourist prices as well as ambience in Saint-Malo restaurants.

We park near the tourist office, just outside the old city walls. Saint-Malo was nearly completely destroyed during the allied invasion of 1944, and most of the buildings have been meticulously reconstructed. The old city is easy to explore, but as it starts to rain, we decide to have lunch (an overpriced, but yummy salmon galette) instead of walking along the 2-km-long ramparts.

Saint-Vincent Cathedral of Saint-Malo was severely damaged during
World War II, and its reconstruction was completed nearly 30 years later.

The 15th-century clock tower, Tour de l'Horage
dominates the town center of Dinan. 

The rain has stopped by the time we get to Dinan, a charming medieval town. We spend our time here strolling about and admiring the buildings, particularly the old clock tower. The tourist office, located near the Dinan Château provides a handy walking-tour map for a few centimes. 

Originally built by the Duke of Brittany to dominate Dinan's residents,
the château became the town's major defense against invaders.  

Upon reflection, November is not a bad month to visit this part of Brittany. The weather is a bit iffy, but there aren't any crowds. I look forward to allowing more time on our next trip here to explore much more of beautiful, rugged Bretagne.

Even when the weather is gloomy, the charm of Dinan shines through.