The capital of Brittany, Rennes is a picture-perfect gem that will richly reward a couple of days’ exploration. At a little over an hour and half by TGV from Paris, it’s the ideal starting point for a tour of Brittany.
Like many people familiar with the rugged coastal landscapes of Monet and other Impressionist painters, we had long been curious about this small island, 15 kms off the southern coast of Brittany. As its name suggests, Belle Île is certainly one of France’s most beautiful islands.
As discussed in a recent blog, there are many exciting possibilities for exploring Paris and its regions if you’re armed with a Navigo travel pass. The 17th century masterpiece Vaux-le-Vicomte is just one of 100 châteaux about an hour or less from Paris, many of which are open to the public. A Navigo pass makes a visit to this magnificent château easy to achieve.
The wonderful market at St Tropez’ Place des Lices is reason enough to visit this famous coastal resort town on the French Riviera. Despite the celebrity reputation of ‘St Trop’, the market is still a traditional gathering place for visitors and locals alike, selling a huge range of the best Provençal produce, as well as a great range of other must-have goodies.
We’ve known and loved this market over many years, and if we’re heading to southern Provence, we make sure that we plan our visit to take in at least one of the two market days.
We first visited this lovely little town a couple of years ago. It was an unplanned day trip from Paris, as we were knee-deep in the renovation of our apartment. Our good friend and colleague in charge of the works urged us to escape the dust and mess for a while—a not-so-subtle way of getting us out from under his team’s feet for a few hours!
