In my quest to cover every possible corner of France, I checked off the rugged northern coast of Brittany and Normandy in early September. Mom was my copilot in this Brittany Travelogue. We began our time in France after a weekend in Amsterdam where I revisited all of my favorites. We flew from Amsterdam to Rennes and picked up a car before heading to Dinard. I had debated staying in St. Malo vs. Dinard but am so glad we chose Dinard, not only was our hotel Castelbrac utterly spectacular, but the vibe was much less touristy than St. Malo (and we had the best of both by getting to view the church spire and town walls of St. Malo from our bedroom across the sea).

Every touch at Castelbrac was something special, from the chocolate and Canelé at turndown, to the wide bay windows that opened up and allowed us to fall asleep to the sound of the ocean. I never wanted to leave!

We took day trips to St. Malo and Dinan and then would return back to our perch overlooking the sliver of a pool on the bay. The weather gods were smiling on us, we had 2 perfectly sunny days!

We took walks each morning through Dinard and along the beach, and visited the lively Tuesday market where we had possibly the best ham and cheese crepe of the trip along with the famous Breton pastry, Kouign Amann.

Travel tip: we out of the pricey hotel breakfast and instead gathered snacks from local pastry shops and the market.

We had some great meals at Crêperie Carrèmentcrêp, Le Bistro de Jean, and Crêperie Ahna.

But our best meal was dinner at Au Bouchon Breton in Dinard. The tuna tartar, homard bleu, and white fish with peppers and olives were seriously delicious. All washed down with a lovely bottle of Chablis.

Our last morning was rainy and grey, signaling our time to leave. We headed for Mont Saint Michel where we did a lightening fast tour before the crowds. Word of warning, by the time we left around 11am there were lines to the parking lot, and this was certainly not the high season!

Truly a manmade wonder of the world! We continued on to Normandy for 3 days of WWII history and adventure. Recap coming right up!