10 day tour - Normandy or Brittany?

[gregoryoftours]

I'm planning to tour either of these areas in early July. Does anybody have any recommendations and experience?

[Swallow]

Never been to Normandy but I love Brittany, in fact I'm over there again at the end of June doing the Nantes Brest canal. Also the Tour de France is in Brittany early July

[boblo]

If you go to Normandy, watch out for 'Swiss Normandy'... you should be able to guess the reason it's called that and it's not due to the Toblerone mines

Unhelpfully, either offer really nice rural riding. Might be worth deciding what 'must sees' you want to see and plan round that.

[simonineaston]

OK I know it's a whopping generalisation, but I've come to think of Brittany as 'French Cornwall', and Normandy, 'French Devon'...
You'll enjoy either!
PS Normandy could be argued to be cheaper to get to... LD Lines being substantially cheaper than Brittany Ferries, the latter seeing themselves as providing a premium service, and charging accordingly. The differences between these 2 services could (and have!) fill whole forums on their own. If interested, go to AngloInfo forum and search... http://brittany.angloinfo.com/forum/

[AndyK]

If you go to Normandy, watch out for 'Swiss Normandy'... you should be able to guess the reason it's called that and it's not due to the Toblerone mines

{Pedant mode on} Er - actually "La Suisse Normande" means "Norman Switzerland", not "Swiss Normandy". Yes it's hilly but it's not exactly the Alps and it does have some of the most dramatic scenery in Normandy if you can face the climbs. A group of us had a great long weekend riding round that area last autumn.

[boblo]

Errr, OK. Thanks...

[BeeKeeper]

Google translate does not agree - but then no translation can ever be exact. Both alternatives mean the same thing, which is all you can ever hope for in a translation.

[TwoPlusTen]

Google translate can say what it likes. Internet translators usually cause us experienced polyglots much amusement (and sometimes confusion).

Normandy, the noun, is Normandie in French. Its adjective is Normand (or Normande if you're female).

However, Normand/e can also be a noun - and it means the inhabitants of Normandy. Clearly, we are not talking about people, but a distinct geographical area.

Suisse can be both a noun (country or inhabitant) and an adjective (Swiss) and does not change apart from pluralisation.

In this case the correct translation is Norman Switzerland.

I have regularly been confused for being French when I'm in France, so I think I have a smattering of the language

[BeeKeeper]

My French is dreadful but I used to speak Arabic quite well and translating Arabic to English was never an exact science which is why Muslims say you cannot really understand the Koran unless you read it in Arabic - any translation is only an approximation - which is the point I was making about translations in general.

[boblo]

<sigh> To the OP, don't go to Normandy. It's too complicated and full of pedants. Go to Brittany, it's much more fun

[simonhill]

I've cycled, hitch hiked and driven in both. I like them both. I think (as said above), you need to do the research to see which you fancy best. Also, take into account other things, eg getting there, weather (probably better in S Brittany), food, etc.

Re the Swiss Normandy thing - that is what they call it in the English language guidebooks. It is a made up term which is meant to be descriptive and it sounds OK to me.

[andymiller]

It does depend a bit on where you start from: if you live within striking distance of Plymouth then Plymout-Roscoff is a no-brainer. If you go via Plymouth then it's a bit more 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. Bear in mind that the St
Malo ferries are overnighters.

I loved Britanny, but as I've not been to Normandy I can't say x is best.

Pedantic note 1: the western part of Britanny is the most Cornwall-like (check the place names in particular). The eastern part is less so: so Normandy is probably more the French Dorset.

Pedantic note 2: whatever Google Translate may say a noun is a noun, and an adjective is an adjective. 'Swiss Normandy' would be 'la normandie suisse' not 'la suisse normande'.

[al_yrpal]

Cycled normandy last week, in Brittany with my Mrs this week. Normandy has the invasion history, Brittany has nicer coastal scenery and there are more hills. Both have great cuisine. The part from Caen to le Havre is very built up. Honfleur and st malo are unmissable as is st vast la Hogue for foodies. In Brittany guerande, la Gacilly and josselin are nice. The canal is boring. La Baulle is boring. Deauville and granville are part of a bygone age. Normand Suisse is fairly spectacular. Thee are lots of megaliths in Brittany, carnac is the most well known. I like the ride from Cherbourg to Pegasus bridge, lots of history and many nice fishing ports.

Al

[gregoryoftours]

Thanks for all of your answers, it's given me plenty to think about.

[gregoryoftours]

Just in case anybody reads this forum again, we ended up going to Cherbourg in Normandy and doing a big circle east along the coast through Bayeaux and Caen as far as Liseaux, then south through some cheesy villages - in Vermoutiers we stayed about a bit for a cool fancy dress 24hr go-kart race! Then west as far as Mont Saint Michel and North to Cherbourg again. Saw a huge variety of stuff, (don't miss the war museum in Caen if you go there). Missed out Swiss Normandy which I would def have done if with other people. Great campsites and met lots of very nice people. Had a great time and I def want to go to see more of France. Thanks for all of your advice.