The peninsular province of Brittany, rich in Celtic heritage, juts out from the mainland of France like a thumb, with a rocky coastline, monuments and calvaries -- sculpture carvings of crucifixion scenes scattered in the churchyards of villages and small towns. In the summer, it's an extremely popular vacation destination. And nearby Normandy, on northern coast, faces the English Channel but draws history buffs to its shoreline to visit the D-Day Beaches and art lovers who want to see the region that inspired Monet, as the province is also known for its fertile, rolling countryside and its cheese. We've found some packages that allow you to take in the landscape at your own pace.
European Destinations (tel. 877/267-2257; www.europeandestinations.com) is offering a special fly-drive to Brittany and Normandy. The company's specials are really custom-built trips; it offers an itinerary that includes hotel stays in Paris, Tours, Nantes, St. Malo and Deauville, but you can determine how many nights you want to spend in each place, where you depart from, and so forth. The company is showing a price of $1,725 per person, departing from Newark, for nine nights' accommodations at inns and bed and breakfasts, hotel taxes, car rental for a week, and airfare, for a Saturday, March 31 departure.
The company also has a special for Normandy and La Cote Fleurie, priced from $849 for six days and seven nights, including airfare from New York City (the best prices reflecting travel March through May). You'll spend two nights in Paris and three in the resort town of Deauville (where designer Coco Chanel launched her career). The trip also includes a rental car for four days -- Paris and Deauville are about two hours apart from each other, daily breakfast if stated in hotel information and hotel taxes. Other departure cities, such as Chicago from $975, Los Angeles from $995 and Miami from $1,129 are also available.
France Vacations (tel. 866/613-5630; www.francevacations.net) has a couple of options for travelers looking to visit Normandy. The three night "Discover Normandy" trip is priced from $450 and the six-night trip is priced from $790. The trip includes car rental (a Paris pickup), hotel accommodations, hotel taxes and service charges -- airfare is not included. You can request, for additional price, train service from Paris to Normandy and extra nights and sightseeing options, too. Or you can add airfare right through the company's site and bundle it into the price.
The Right Vacation Rental (email: service@therightvacationrental.com; www.therightvacationrental.com) has a few home rentals in both Brittany and Normandy. You can rent a stone farmhouse located in rural Lorousse, so that you can explore Normandy and the eastern part of Brittany. The home shows availability from March through May, with prices ranging from $856-$988, depending on the week. If you're coming with a bigger clan, the House at Le Haras has good access to the beaches and sleeps up to eight priced from $2273 per week. Right Vacations also has more than a half-dozen properties in the Brittany area, including La Plage Celtique, on the coast and in the heart of Celtic Brittany with easy access to shops and the beach. The property sleeps up to six and is available from $901 per week and it is showing availability through May. Note: property questions go straight to the host; there's a place where you can click through on the booking page to do this.
If you like the idea of doing things on your own time but want a little more structure, guidance, and a car rental, Go-Today (tel. 800/227-3235; www.go-today.com) has a "Northwest Loop" self-drive package priced from $1,299 with a booking deadline of April 20. The cost includes six nights at a "superior" or "standard" hotel, continental breakfast and dinner as noted. You'll also get a mid-size rental car for seven days, Michelin maps, hotel taxes and service charges, and sightseeing tips. You'll be near the Normandy D-Day landing beaches, Mont St. Michel, Chateaux of the Loire Valley. The suggested route starts you off driving from Paris to Normandy, passing Monet's home at Giverny to the city of Roen. The price posted reflects travel in the fall, for departures October 16-31, but departures March 27-June 9 are priced from $1,419.
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