Brittany was one of our earliest French loves. Nicola spent a month in the region in 2010, and places such as Plancoët, medieval Dinan and elegant Dinard became part of a France story that has kept us returning to the country since 2006. What stayed with us most was Brittany's strong identity — unmistakably French, but with a Celtic character that feels particularly interesting when you're arriving from Ireland.
Our main France page records a full month in Brittany in 2010, with Plancoët becoming our base while we explored the region. That longer stay is a big part of why Brittany stands out in our memories: it wasn't simply a quick city break or one famous sight ticked off a list.
Two places in particular stayed with us. Dinan brought the medieval Brittany people picture — cobbled streets, half-timbered buildings and a historic centre full of character. Dinard, across the water from Saint-Malo, felt completely different: an elegant seaside town of villas, beaches and Atlantic views.
And then there is the Celtic connection. Brittany has its own language and cultural traditions, and that distinctive Breton identity was part of what made the region feel familiar to us as Irish visitors without ever feeling like anywhere other than France.
For us, the interest is not that Brittany is somehow “Ireland in France”; it's that both places have strong Celtic cultural histories. The Breton language and regional identity give Brittany a character of its own.
Our longer stay meant Brittany became more than one headline attraction. Small towns, coast and historic centres are a large part of the appeal, so it suits travellers who want to explore beyond a single city.
Plancoët became our base during that month in Brittany. It isn't the sort of place that dominates international France itineraries, which is part of why it belongs in our story: it represents the smaller-town Brittany we got to know during a longer stay.
Dinan is the historic showstopper of the three — a medieval centre of cobbled streets and half-timbered buildings that makes it an easy place to explore on foot and one of the Breton stops we remember most clearly.
Dinard changes the mood completely. Its villas, beaches and seaside setting give it an elegant resort feel, with Saint-Malo sitting just across the water. It showed us another side of Brittany altogether.
Also nearby: Saint-Malo is an obvious companion to Dinard for travellers exploring this part of the coast. We're mentioning it here as useful regional context rather than inventing a separate personal story around it.
These images already appear in our France collection. We've deliberately kept the captions broad rather than pretending an old photo is a specific Brittany landmark when the source file doesn't identify it that precisely.
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Drive From Home has experiences for Rennes, Quimper and Brest. They aren't being presented as places from our 2010 personal itinerary unless our source establishes that; instead, they're a useful way to explore three different Breton cities virtually and get a broader feel for the region.
Take a virtual look around another side of Brittany.
Explore the western Breton city virtually from the road.
Some of our own photos from Brittany — wild Atlantic coastline, beaches, rocky headlands and the towns we explored along the way.
If you're planning your own trip, use the widget below to browse current Brittany experiences. These are planning options rather than a claim that we personally took the exact tours shown.
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Common questions
Brittany is only one chapter of a France story that has taken us from Normandy and Paris to the Loire Valley, Provence, the Côte d'Azur and Alsace.