Stay in Brittany
- Isabelle Lemoine
- Jul 14
- 5 min read
Travel can take all sorts of forms. For this one, we combined the pleasures: sightseeing, friends, and improvisation matches.
Indeed, the main purpose of our stay in Brittany was Jeff's participation with his improv team, the FA'QUE!, in three classical matches and a performance of "Donjon et..." in Rennes and Saint-Brieuc.
So, eight of us left Quebec and settled in the small village of Servon sur Vilaine for a busy week.
Our itinerary
Day 1: Flight Montreal Nantes
Day 2: Nantes - Servon sur Vilaine
Day 3: Moncontour - Pointe du Roselier - Martin Beach - Match with the Colibri in Trémuson
Day 4: Fougères - Meeting with the Target
Day 5: Rennes - Match with the Target
Day 6: “Dungeon and Poutine” show in Rennes
Day 7: Mont Saint-Michel - Saint Malo
Day 8: Dinard - Match with the Freepoules in Rennes
Day 9: Departure towards Normandy
Our favorites
Welcoming the Breton improvisation teams
We had the pleasure of being welcomed by three extremely friendly improvisation troupes: La Cible , Le Colibri and Les Freepoules . We are infinitely grateful for these unforgettable moments of cultural exchange and genuine laughter.
The spectators were there. Every match was packed!
Mont Saint-Michel
Although Mont Saint-Michel is administratively located in Normandy, it has a central place in this trip to Brittany. Historically, it was part of Brittany for a period in its history (from 867 to 933), then returned to Norman control.
Visible from the Breton coast of Saint-Malo or Cancale, this granite rocky islet, approximately 960 meters in circumference, is located east of the mouth of the Couesnon River. The mountain is the third most visited cultural tourist site in France after the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles, with nearly 2.3 million visitors per year.
There is a small village (with plenty of shops for tourists) surrounded by ramparts, museums, an abbey at the top of the islet and a breathtaking view of the bay of Mont Saint-Michel.
Our travels
Plane
For this trip, we left Montreal for Nantes with Air Transat.
Car
We rented a car at Nantes airport and returned it to Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the Paris region at the end of our stay in France.
Our accommodation
We rented a house in Servon sur Vilaine for the whole week: the eco-gîte La Noé
Day 1
And off we go for a crazy week with our friends.
We didn't go unnoticed at the airport with our awesome team jerseys and hats.
Day 2
Arrival in Nantes around 7am where we pick up our car, then head to Rennes and more precisely Servon sur Vilaine to take possession of our rental for the week.
Day 3
As the FA'QUE! have an evening match in Trémuson near Saint Brieuc, we set off early in the morning to do some sightseeing in this pretty corner of Brittany.
First stop: the small town of Moncontour, a medieval city in Côtes d'Armor.
Perched on top of a hill, surrounded by its ramparts, it is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France.
Then head towards the Pointe du Roselier : superb view of the sea, access to the GR34 customs path
Then a quick trip to the beach, at Martin Plage at the end of the afternoon.
We ended this already busy day in Trémuson , with the first improvisation match planned for this trip, a match with the Colibri team. What a wonderful evening!
The two teams had a lot of fun playing together, to the delight of the large crowd who came out in force.
Day 4
Sightseeing day, we will visit the castle of Fougères , a castle with more than a thousand years of history.
The first Château de Fougères was built to defend the northeastern part of the border zone of the Duchy of Brittany. Located at the crossroads of important trade routes, it was built of wood.
As early as 1176, the first major reconstruction campaign began, and the castle was built of stone. Over the following centuries, new buildings were added to both enhance and protect it.
Today you can visit the three enclosures and around ten towers that make up this magnificent work.
To round off this wonderful day, we met the members of La Cible, the improvisation team that initiated this wonderful trip. The next day, the two teams will play a match together in Rennes.
Day 5
D-Day for the FA'QUE! We've been planning this trip for the match with La Cible for nine months.
We meet up with two members of the team, Manu and Delphine, for lunch to enjoy delicious Breton pancakes and crepes in Rennes. Then we spend a good part of the afternoon strolling through the old town of Rennes.
In the evening, the long-awaited match finally arrived. The players were eager to get down to business on the ice...
That evening too, there were people in the audience, despite the exceptionally oppressive heat in Brittany.
Needless to say, the evening ended rather late. It was time to release all the adrenaline that had been building up over the past few months!
Day 6
A more relaxed morning at home for the team.
Isa takes the opportunity to return to her roots and visit her grandparents' house in Ploërmel, where she spent all her summers during her childhood.
Late in the afternoon, the FA'QUE! will experience a new adventure. They will participate in a "Dungeon and Poutine!" show. A form of long improvisation they have never done before: two 45-minute stories inspired by the "Dungeons and Dragons" role-playing game format. Despite some apprehension, they did great and the show was really good.
Day 7
No appointments, FA'QUE!, that day. So we play the tourists and head off to visit Mont Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo.
We left early to be at the Mont for opening, for two reasons: 1. To arrive before the hordes of tourists filling the site. 2. To avoid the intense afternoon heat. It was exceptionally and extremely hot during our stay in Brittany.
Mont Saint-Michel is one of our favorites from this trip. It's an absolutely unique and magnificent place.
Stop at Cherrueix beach, but the tide is going out. It's impossible to swim.
We end our day in Saint-Malo, another must-see in Brittany, especially for Quebecers. There is a strong historical connection between the city of Saint-Malo and Quebec.
Jacques Cartier's birthplace, it was also from here that he set out to discover Canada in 1534. The Maison du Québec can be found on the ramparts.
Day 8
A quiet day at Dinard beach.
Dinard is considered one of Brittany's most prestigious seaside resorts. It is renowned for its Belle Époque-style villas that line the Emerald Coast.
And to end this day and this stay on a high note, the FA'QUE! are playing a final match in Rennes with the Freepoules .
Day 9
The end of their stay in Brittany has arrived. The close-knit group goes their separate ways. While Jeff and Isa head off to Normandy and the D-Day landing beaches, the rest of the group heads to Paris.
It was a pleasure and see you soon.
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