Cancale
The delightful harbour village of Cancale, across the peninsula 15km east of St-Malo, is not so much a one-horse as a one-mollusc town – the whole place is obsessed with the oyster, and with “ostréiculture”. It consists of two distinct halves: the old town up on the hill, and the very pretty and smart port area of La Houle down below. Glass-fronted hotels and restaurants stretch the length of the waterfront, always busy with visitors, while fishing boats bob in the harbour itself. At its northern end, demarcated by a stone jetty, local women sell fresh oysters by the dozen from stalls with bright striped canvas awnings.
Dinan
The wonderful citadelle of Dinan, sitting 30km south of St-Malo just before the river Rance broadens towards the sea, has preserved almost intact its 3km encirclement of protective masonry, along with street upon colourful street of late medieval houses. However, despite its slightly unreal perfection, it’s seldom overrun with tourists. There are no essential museums, the most memorable architecture is vernacular rather than monumental, and time is most easily spent wandering from crêperie to café and down to the pretty port. During the third weekend of July, every even-numbered year, Dinan celebrates the Fête des Remparts with medieval-style jousting, banquets, fairs and processions, culminating in an immense fireworks display.
Rennes
The capital and power centre of Brittany since its 1532 union with France, Rennes is – outwardly at least – uncharacteristic of the region, with its Neoclassical layout and pompous major buildings. Any potential it had as a picturesque tourist spot was destroyed in 1720, when a drunken carpenter managed to set light to virtually the whole city. Only the area known as Les Lices, at the junction of the canalized Ille and the River Vilaine, was undamaged.
Rennes’ subsequent remodelling left the city, north of the river at any rate, as a muddle of grand eighteenth-century public squares interspersed with intimate little alleys of half-timbered houses. It’s a lively enough place though, with around sixty thousand university students to stimulate its cultural life, and a couple of major annual festivals, the Tombées de la Nuit and the Transmusicales, to lure in visitors.
Rennes Festivals
Rennes is at its best in the first week of July, when the Festival des Tombées de la Nuit takes over the whole city to celebrate Breton culture with music, theatre, film, mime and poetry. A pocket version of the same festival is also held in the week between Christmas and New Year.
A busy calendar of rock festivals includes La Route du Rock in mid-February; Youank, in early November, which is geared towards young up-and-coming bands; and the Transmusicales in the first week of December.
St-Malo
Walled with the same grey granite stone as Mont St-Michel, the elegant, ancient, and beautifully positioned city of St-Malo was originally a fortified island at the mouth of the Rance, controlling not only the estuary but also the open sea beyond. Now inseparably attached to the mainland, it’s the most visited place in Brittany, thanks partly to its superb old citadelle and partly to its ferry service to England, and the lively streets that lie within the walls – the area known as intra-muros – are packed with restaurants, bars and shops. Yes, the summer crowds can be oppressive, but even then a stroll atop the walls should restore your equilibrium, while the vast, clean beaches beyond are a huge bonus, especially if you’re travelling with children.