Montanel & Brittany

Cuisine

Amongst the many Brittany delicacies probably the most famous are the crêpe and the galette. This is also a great area for monkfish (la Lotte). The specialty dish is ‘la Lotte a l’Armoricaine’, from the French Armorique Breton lobster coast. Another type of fish stew cotriade, is a Brittany specialty and can be compared to Bouillabaisse.

Cotriade does not contain shellfish unlike the Marmite Dieppoise. Breton (Celtic) is spoken throughout the region and most signs (as in Wales and Ireland) are in both English and Celtic languages.

Brittany towns of interest

Saint-Brice-en-Cogles

While the town itself doesn’t take long to explore, it is very pleasant. The most interesting houses and shops can be found in the main street, the Rue Chateaubriand. There are several small restaurants here. Worth a visit is the recently restored Chateau Portail.

Antrain

Just a few kilometres from Chateau de Chambres, this old Breton town has an ancient church (eglise) if you’d like to pause and reflect. It’s close enough to your accommodation for banking, boulangerie, pharmacy and an express Carrefour.

Fougères

Le Château de Fougères is the largest medieval fortress in Europe. Steeped in a thousand years of history, it sits on the Normandy/Brittany border, and hosts a great shopping district and a lively Saturday morning market. Check out Place du Marchix, which is lined with half-timbered houses.

Vitre

Its 15th and 16th-century buildings rival Dinan for medieval quaintness and its fairy tale castle will delight you. The most atmospheric street in Vitré is Rue de la Baudrière, where you’ll find grand high-rise halftimbered houses. Rue de la Poterie is also worth a look for its preponderance of ‘porch houses’, whose first floors extend over the street creating an arcade underneath. On the north side outside the 13th-century town walls is the district of Rachapt, where old stone cottages are built into the slopes. The area is reached through St Pierre postern, a medieval covered gateway that was big enough for riders and walkers but not carriages. The Fairy tale castle dates from the 13th century, with its pointy slate turrets. The best view of the castle is from the Tertres Noirs viewpoint off the road to Rennes.

Dol-de-Bretagne

Dol-de-Bretagne is reputed to be the origin of the royal House of Stewart who became the monarchs of Scotland and later England and Ireland; a plaque in Dol-de-Bretagne commemorates that origin. The town was unsuccessfully besieged by William the Conqueror, and taken by Henry II of England in 1164, supported by an army of 20,000 mercenaries. Dol-de-Bretagne boasts some exceptionally long-standing medieval houses in centre ville, but the outstanding building in the town is the hulking, defensive 13th-century cathedral. A gargoyle on it is said to resemble the English monarch King John.

saint-malo

Saint-Malo is the nearest ferry port to Montanel (a one-hour drive), This beautiful atmospheric walled city, is complete with amazing shops, narrow cobbled streets, restaurants, and bars. It is really superb and never fails to impress its visitors. Saint-Malo sits on the coast and has beautiful sea views and beaches.

Dinard

Further along the coast from Saint-Malo is Dinard a holiday destination with a nice town, casino and beach. The town also houses a small international airport. Routes have recently changed but do check to see if it serves you.

Dinan

Dinan is without doubt one of the most attractive and best preserved small towns in Brittany. With its ramparts, half-timbered houses, attractive port and cobbled streets filled with art galleries and craft shops, it’s definitely worth a day trip. Be sure to include visiting the port. The quay is lined with old stone houses, many of which are now waterside restaurants and boutique shops.

Take a walk along the old towpath or cross the 15th-century stone bridge to Lanvallay. From the port, you can take an exhilarating walk up the steep cobbled hill to take in the medieval architecture.

Dinan has been designated a Ville d’Art et d’Histoire (Town of Art and History), and the town is filled with artists, sculptors, engravers, bookbinders, glassblowers and more. It’s old town is full of crooked, narrow streets where time stands still.

Locate Place des Merciers where you’ll find the best examples of the town’s half-timbered houses; just opposite is rue de la Cordonnerie, also known as ‘thirsty street’ as it has nine bars.

Rennes

The capital of Brittany. Full of museums and restaurants, with a river running through the centre, it has a sort of Parisian feel. Most of old Rennes was burnt down in 1720 when a fire ravaged the city, however some authentic pockets remain. The streets around Place Ste-Anne are lined with higgledy-piggledy half-timbered houses. A must on a Saturday is the Marché de Lices or the Lices Food Market, the second biggest market in France. Open at the crack of dawn, there are richly colored stalls filled with local produce: fish, seafood and shellfish, meat and charcuterie, fruits and vegetables, cheese and butter, flowers, jams, honey, bread, cider — and busking musicians.

Josselin

Josselin is a lovely medieval castled town. It is small but worth a visit. Full of old timbered houses, restaurants and bars., it claims to be from where came crepes and galettes. Crepes are usually eaten as deserts, but galettes, made from buckwheat flour are filled with various savory fillings, such as ham, egg mushrooms and tomatoes, almost always washed down with Breton cider.

Great for breakfast or any other time of the day.

The Beaches of Brittany within easy reach of Montanel

Cherrueix

The beach is positioned within the Bay of Mont St Michel. It has sand surfing facilities available and a children’s playground. There are plenty of places to park and three local restaurants, one on the beach front. The Train Marin will take you along the beach to near Mont St Michel, which can be seen from Cherrueix in the distance. There are voluminous amounts of samphire growing on the salt marshes, for the lambs to feast on. This gives the lambs their distinct flavour which is much revered. After leaving Cherrueix you can follow the coast road en-route to Cancale, through the many villages such as St Vivier, most of them selling an abundance of seafood

Cancale

This is the last Brittany beach town in the Bay of Mont St Michel. One of the oyster capitals of France, set on the Emerald Coast. There are also breath-taking views over the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel and scenic walks around the coast. There is a lovely and abundant array of seafood restaurants here specialising in local produce especially oysters, from the many oyster beds seen from the quayside.

Saint-Coulomb

A beautiful beach on the coast road between Cancale and Saint-Malo. You may find limited parking here but the vast expansive beach is well worth a visit.

Plage des Chevrets

This is probably the finest beach in the area. It boasts a large expanse of beautiful sandy beach. You will find fine golden sand and lovely little bays. Overlooking the beach with its sparkling sea views is a lovely restaurant called Colette. It sports a superb terrace where you can relax with refreshments whilst gazing out to sea. At peak season times it can be difficult to park, but a must to visit.

Porte St Louis

This stunning bay is en-route to St Malo from Chevrets along the small roads following the coast.

saint-malo

This fine town described above in Brittany towns, is also surrounded by lovely beaches.

Dinard

Again this larger coastal town, described above in Brittany towns, has a good beach with loads of facilities.

Get in Touch

T (33) 02 33 68 39 36
E chateaudechambresinfo@gmail.com

27 Rue de Rennes, Montanel-St James, 50240

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