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| Paris In Sites Newsletter Direct From France Edited by Linda Thalman Travel & Leisure Articles |
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Brittany: Vannes - Morbihan - August 2007
By Linda Thalman
From Paris you can get a TGV and be there in under 4 hours.
Living 35 kilometers southwest of Paris, the Massy TGV station is closest for us.
So, we booked Massy to Vannes and had 2nd class seats for 72.90 euros, leaving
at 16:31 and arriving in Vannes at 19:53. We were exactly on time.
Our return train was at 17:31 from Vannes, changing in Rennes and arriving
in Massy at 20:52. Again on time.
But get this: we were in first class for 72.50 euros each on the return trip.
Train Travel Tip
Spend the time to travel off-peak and you can be
in 1st class for less than the cost of a 2nd class seat at peak travel times.
Vannes
I'd booked two rooms a couple of weeks before our trip at Le Marina Hotel.
The hotel is at Place Gambetta which overlooks the port and is
ideally located for exploring the old town.
Le Marina is a perfectly acceptable 2-star hotel... smallish rooms, yes, with a lovely
view on the port, and our rooms had en-suite shower and WC. Unfortunately, no lift and
we were on the 3rd floor, but hey, we only spent about 6 hours in the room.
At 52 euros for a single for my brother-in-law and 57 euros for a
double for me and Pierre we were pleased.
Our Friday evening dinner at Restaurant de Roscanvec was
perfect.
There were a few tables outside, but it was just a tiny bit chilly, so
the inside table for three was just right. Be sure to reserve, as the Roscanvec
is very popular and for a good reason: the food is top notch.
Saturday morning, before taking bus number 7 to Crouesty to get our sail boat,
I wandered around the old town, enjoying the market, the colors, the history,
buildings and shops.
Shopping Tip
If you read French, you can get used paperback books in the market stalls. I bought a thriller for 1.50
euros rather than forking out 15 or 20 euros for a new bestseller.
Mor-bihan means little sea.
Believe you me, one needs to be able to read the sea charts for depth as this
little sea is a tricky one.
We had the pleasure of running aground on a small sand bank and having problems
with the keel - it wouldn't come up and we actually thought we'd lost it completely.
Exploring the Ile aux Moines is another 'should do'. If only we'd arrived earlier in
the day we would have rented bikes. I saw signs for 10 euros per day for bicycle rental
which is very reasonable.
The island is not completely flat, but you could certainly
visit most if not all of the sites in a long morning or full day visit.
Oh the pleasures of August sailing and exploring Brittany!
Email – Linda@wfi.fr
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Copyright since 1995 by Linda Thalman - all rights reserved.
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What a wonderful town Vannes is. You must put it on your 'to visit' list.
Vannes has a beautiful old town, lots of timbered houses, a huge market on Saturday,
plenty of shops, restaurants, bars and friendly people.
Sailing in the rain is just such fun - and a challenge. We sailed and used the
motor all around the Golfe du Morbihan.
Paris
