Ille-et-Vilaine - named after two of its rivers - has a relatively short coastline, but it is very beautiful; it stretches along the north coast of Brittany, from St-Malo to the Bay of Mont St-Michel in the east and is known as the Emerald Coast - La Côte d'Emeraude.

St-Malo has a wonderful sea-faring tradition and the wealth of the town came originally from merchants who sent ships to ply the seas in search of foreign trade, as well as pirates and privateers who preyed on unwary ships in the Channel. The lovely Mont St-Michel is one of the best known and most photographed sites in the whole of France, attracting 3 million visitors a year.

The Chateau of Combourg, linked with the Romantic writer Chateaubriand, is perhaps the most impressive in the Département, though Fougères and Vitré are also splendid reminders of Brittany's colourful history.

Vitré's original wealth was founded on the cloth trade. It has a wonderful triangular castle with impressively tall turrets, and within the town there are some well-preserved 15th- and 16th-century houses that are most appealing.

Rennes is the capital of Ille et Vilaine, and what a vibrant city it is! There is a great charm in its medieval streets, and the 50,000 students who study here ensure that there is a profusion of bookshops, cafes and bistros. Rennes also hosts one of the best markets in the whole of France - well worth a visit. (It's about a 45 minute drive from La Roche-Bernard.)

Redon is much smaller, but used to be a port of some importance until the river silted up. It stands at the confluence of the Vilaine and the Oust and, to make matters even more complicated, the Nantes-Brest Canal crosses through the town centre. There is a lovely pedestrianised street of medieval houses (now mostly with shops on the ground floor), several good restaurants, and the lovely abbey-church of St-Sauveur, one of the finest Romanesque buildings in Brittany.

Finally - and something of a surprise - at St-Just near Pipriac you will find some of the finest megaliths in Brittany, at least as important as the much more famous alignments at Carnac and, in my opinion, much more atmospheric. The great advantage over Carnac is that you will more than likely have the site to yourself, as the flocks of tourists and the gift-shops and associated museums are completely absent. I remember as a child being taken to Stonehenge, and in those days there wasn't a building or a fence or a tourist in sight - unlike the circus that surrounds the monument today - and a visit to St-Just may well give you the sense of being alone in a pre-historic world.

Markets

Fougères - Saturday morning.

Vitré - Monday morning and Saturday morning.

Rennes - Saturday morning. Place des Lices. One of the best markets in France! Brilliant!

Redon - Monday morning.

Pipriac - Tuesday morning.

Bécherel - Saturday morning.

Combourg - Monday morning.

St-Malo - Tuesday morning and Friday morning. Intra-muros.

Dinard - Tuesday morning.