VIP BRITTANY + MONT SAINT MICHEL TOUR (5 Days)

During the VIP Brittany and Mont Saint Michel tour, on the way to Brittany (4 hours of driving), your personal driver-guide will give you an introduction to the history of Brittany. The first destination of the tour will be the Cancale bay, probably the most famous oyster farming area in France. There, you will meet an oyster farmer who will show you the amazing job that a delicious oyster requires before enjoying a tasting. The availability of the oyster farmers depends on the tides, on high margin tides (vives eaux in French) period the oyster farmers are in the sea, on low margin tides (mortes eaux in French) they are in land and the visits are easier to schedule. Then, you will visit St-Malo that was named after Maclow a monk who came from Wales in the 6th century based on the hermitage settlement tradition and the evangelization of the local population. St-Malo is one of the greatest examples of the fortifications works made between the 12th and the early 18th centuries. The greatest military engineer Maréchal Vauban designed in the 17th century the expansions and reinforcement city walls and the amazing island forts. Walking on the city ramparts you will see and understand that St-Malo was originally an island. You will visit with your private guide the Saint-Vincent Cathedral where some of the most famous people are buried. Thanks to the Cathedral to have a different point of view you will see what St-Malo had to go through during World War 2. To really understand the story and the expansion of St-Malo, your personal driver-guide will take you to Alet area, the original settlement of Maclow where there is still a left over of the Roman city wall. Now, it is time for a nice lunch in a very nice, typical French restaurant or brasserie (not included in the price) in Saint Malo. After this culinary break your personal driver-guide will take to you to Dinan, one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Brittany located on a 75 meters (220 feet) high hill over the Rance River and offers a unique overview of the Rance. From here, by Saint-Sauveur Basilica, you will notice that the river is under the influence of the tides. Dina became the Duke of Brittany territory in the late 13th century, that is why huge city walls were built. The wealth, until the French Revolution, was exhibited through Saint-Sauveur Basilica, the private mansions, the Belfry…But thanks to all the stores, inns of the city that you can still see today the main aspects of Dinan are the timber frame houses very well preserved covering the period that goes from the 15th to the 17th century. Dinan is an amazing journey through the middle ages. On the way to Dinard, you will visit Montmarin and the gardens of la Malouinière. Montmarin is listed as national monument and dating from 1760 and the only Malouinière located in the left bank of the Rance river. A Malouinière was a large secondary residence where the rich ship-owners could stay because St-Malo was too neural inside the walls. In Dinard, you will finish your day by a nice stroll that leads to “Pointe du Moulinet” from where you will have a marvelous view over St Malo. You will spend the night in Saint Malo (hotel not included in the price) where, if you need, we could book your dinner in a restaurant or brasserie

On the second day, you will begin the day by the discovery of Fort La Latte. The construction started in the 13th century. Located on the cliff over the sea with a gorgeous view of the Emerald Coast from Frehel Cape to Cancale. It is one of the best examples of a medieval defensive fortress in use until the early 1800, very picturesque. Some scenes of the movie “The Vikings” with Kirk Douglas and Tony Curtis were shot there especially the final fight on the dungeon Now, it is time for a nice lunch in a very nice, typical French restaurant or brasserie (not included in the price). After this culinary break, your personal driver-guide will take you to the Beauport Abbey. Count Alain de Goëlo founded Notre-Dame de Beauport Abbey in 1202 in a quiet sheltered bay near Paimpol city to ensure his parents to be hosted in heaven and to provide a religious structure to the local population. The canons that stayed there came from La Lucerne Abbey in Normandy, the motherhouse, as those who became priests in the local parishes. After several centuries of economic prosperity, the decline started in the 16th century. The abbey was restored in the 17th century but it started to fall apart again in the 18th century. Finally the local council decided to preserve and maintain the remaining parts of the building and to not rebuild the ruins. That’s why most of the Abbey today is a very beautiful and evocative ruin where medieval architecture and wildlife (birds, bats…) live together. The last visit of the day will be the La Roche Jagu Castle that was a fortress since the 11th century but the Castle dates from the early 15th century, between 1405 and 1418. The castle is one of the best examples of the civil medieval architecture in Brittany and a great key to understand these times in France called feudal times that cover most of the Middle Ages. In 1532, Brittany was attached to the French crown, it became part of France, so such fortresses were not useful anymore although garrisons could be stationed in. It was both a fortress and a lord residence, as you will notice through the main wings of the building. The fact that the owners didn’t live often in the castle in the 17th and 18th centuries you have a great example of a wealthy medieval castle, including the architecture, the way of living…in those times. Until recently, the 19thcentury, it was a prosperous farm located in a beautiful park on a hill with a gorgeous and impressive view of the valley. You will spend the night in Perros Guirec (hotel not included in the price) where, if you need, we could book your dinner in a restaurant or brasserie.

On the third day, your personal driver-guide will take you to the beautiful pink granite coast. Unbelievable light thanks to the sea and the pink granite reflections, it is a must see coast. There, you will begin by a private visit of the Rosanbo Castle that is owned by the same family since the 14th century built on a hill over the Bô River to prevent invasions. This castle is also the meeting of the Brittany nobility and the Parisian Parliament aristocracy. After the guided visit by the people of Rosanbo, you will have time to enjoy the beautiful gardens labeled “Jardin Remarquable” (Great Garden) designed by the famous landscape designer Achille Duchêne. After the visit of the Rosanbo Castle, your personal driver-guide will drive you to the Enclos Paroissiaux (the Parish Close) of St-Thégonnec and Guimilliau. A Parish close is an area enclosed by a wall surrounding a church and side buildings. The cemetery that is today often graceless, the monumental archway, the cavalry cross, the ossuary (initially to host the bones from the church)…. The Enclos Paroissiaux monumental architecture and construction notion was born in Brittany. Now, it is time for a nice lunch in a very nice, typical French restaurant or brasserie (not included in the price). After this culinary break, your will go to Camaret sur Mer where there is the mysterious Lagatjar Megalith that are at 2500 years old and located next to the impressive bunker turned into the Memorial Museum of the Atlantic Battle on a 50 meters (150 feet) high cliff. Then, your personal drive-guide will take you to Locronan, a beautiful village classified as “les plus beaux villages de France” (the most beautiful villages of France). Locronan is one of the nicest places to stroll in. Around the 7th century, the Irish bishop Ronan decided to have his hermitage in the Nevet forest, this is how a land of druids and pagan Celts started to be christened. The miracles of this saint are the origins of the wealth of the village. Anne of Brittany went there on a pilgrimage to prey the saint to have children. People still go nowadays for the same purpose. In the 15th century the linen and hemp culture thanks to the weather and the numerous rivers made definitely the wealth of the village. This industry made the boat sails and supplied commercial and war ships such as the royal French navy, the British navy, the Spanish navy and even Christopher Columbus ships. You will spend the night in Quimper (hotel not included in the price) where, if you need, we could book your dinner in a restaurant or brasserie.

On the fourth day, you will begin the day by the capital City of Cornwall: Quimper, a land of myths and legends. Quimper which means in Breton language “confluence” is located in a little valley on the banks of the River Odet where tides are as large as in the ocean 20 km further south. The legend says that Gradlon the pagan king of Cornwall, after the destruction of the island city Ys built for his daughter, founded a new capital city at the confluence of the rivers. You will have a guided visit of the old medieval center where old timber framing buildings are located whose ground level was always made of stone and where were the stores and the workshops while people were living in the upper floors. You will finish the city tour by a private visit the Cathedral Saint Corentin, the first bishop of Quimper according to the legend of the King Gradlon. After Quimper, your personal driver-guide will drive by the fortified city of Concarneau to reach Pont Aven, the “city of the painters” where among many others, Bacon, Gauguin, Peel stayed because of the inspiring beauty of the site. The first generation of painters called by the locals the “Americans” started the fame of Pont-Aven as an artist gathering spot. This tiny village, remains a great place to visit where you will enjoy a nice lunch in a very nice, typical French restaurant or brasserie (not included in the price). After 2 great days in West Brittany, le Finistère (where the land ends) your personal driver-guide will drive you back to the northern part of Brittany (St-Malo). You will spend the night in Saint Malo (hotel not included in the price) where, if you need, we could book your dinner in a restaurant or brasserie.

On the fifth day, you will discover the “Marvel of the Occident”: the world renowned Mont Saint Michel, some say that it is to the sea what the pyramid of Keops is to the desert, some describe it as an imaginary manor-house, stupefying as a dream palace, others say that is not dry land and yet not the sea. Surrounded by the sea with one of the highest tidal ranges in the world the Mont St. Michel is simply unique. On the Mont St. Michel, the tour will begin with a private guided visit of the Abbey founded by Aubert at the beginning of the 8th Century and that became a major cultural and pilgrimage center during the Middle Ages. You will admire the Romanesque Church, the Gothic “Marvel” with the monk’s Cloisters and Refectory, the Knights Room, the Guest Room, the Undercroft, the Refectory, as well as various chapels. After that, we will book your lunch in a very nice, typical French restaurant or brasserie (lunch not included in the price) before making a stroll through the steep-sided narrow streets of the town and its ramparts. On the way back, your personal driver-guide will do a stop in the town of Villedieu les Poêles (if time), famous for its numerous craftsmen-shops selling exceptional creations of leather goods, lace, copper and tin goods. Then, he will drive you back to your hotel in Paris. This tour due to the VIP treatment that we provide will leave you without doubt outstanding memories of these 5 days in Brittany and Mont Saint Michel.